codex - 💡(How to fix) Fix Codex Desktop bundled Chrome/Browser plugins not available or failing on Windows [3 comments, 2 participants]

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

26.506.3741.0

What subscription do you have?

Plus

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

I am using Codex Desktop on Windows.

Codex Desktop version shown in settings: 26.506.11943

Issue: The bundled Browser / browser-use and Chrome plugins are not available or do not install/work correctly from the official plugin UI.

What I observed:

• The Codex installation package includes these bundled plugins:
  • browser-use
  • chrome
  • latex-tectonic
• latex-tectonic appears/installs normally.
• browser-use / Browser and chrome / Chrome do not appear normally in the plugin marketplace, or fail after uninstall/reinstall.
• This does not appear to be caused by CODEX_HOME. CODEX_HOME is currently unset.
• My Codex home is accessed through the default path C:\Users<USER>.codex, which is a directory junction to my actual Codex data directory.

Chrome-specific issue:

• After Chrome plugin setup, Codex Desktop can show the Chrome integration as connected, but the Chrome extension itself shows “Disconnected”.
• The Chrome plugin fails to actually use the browser.
• One error I saw was: privileged native pipe bridge is not available
• Another diagnostic indicated that the Chrome native messaging host was missing: HKCU\Software\Google\Chrome\NativeMessagingHosts\com.openai.codexextension C:\Users<USER>\AppData\Local\OpenAI\extension\com.openai.codexextension.json

Node runtime issue also appeared:

• node_repl was using my system Node: D:\nvm4w\nodejs\node.exe version v22.17.1
• The Chrome plugin required:

  = v22.22.0

• Pointing node_repl to Codex’s bundled Node v24.14.0 fixed the Node version error, but the Chrome extension/native host connection still did not work reliably.

Expected behavior: Browser / browser-use and Chrome should appear/install normally from the official Codex plugin UI, and the Chrome extension/native messaging host should be configured correctly.

Actual behavior: Browser / Chrome are missing or fail installation/connection, while latex-tectonic from the same bundled plugin set works.

This looks like a Windows-specific issue in Codex Desktop’s official bundled plugin discovery, installation, or Chrome native host setup flow.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Uploaded thread: f5c3d908-3fb4-4d35-88b7-37e07b0400be

Steps to reproduce:

1. Install and open Codex Desktop on Windows.
2. Open the Codex plugin marketplace.
3. Search for Browser, browser-use, Chrome, or chrome.
4. Observe that Browser / browser-use and Chrome do not appear normally, while latex-tectonic from the same bundled plugin set can appear/install.
5. Inspect the local Codex Desktop installation package. It contains bundled plugin files for:
   • browser-use
   • chrome
   • latex-tectonic
6. Try uninstalling/reinstalling the Chrome plugin through the UI, if it appears.
7. Observe that installation or connection fails.
8. In Chrome, the Codex extension shows “Disconnected”, while Codex Desktop may show the Chrome integration as connected.
9. Attempting to use the Chrome plugin fails with errors related to the native host / bridge, such as: privileged native pipe bridge is not available
10. Diagnostics also indicated the native messaging host was missing or not configured: HKCU\Software\Google\Chrome\NativeMessagingHosts\com.openai.codexextension C:\Users<USER>\AppData\Local\OpenAI\extension\com.openai.codexextension.json

Additional details:

• CODEX_HOME is currently unset.
• C:\Users<USER>.codex is a directory junction to my actual Codex data directory.
• I previously used CODEX_HOME pointing to the same directory, but Browser / Chrome were already missing before changing to the directory junction.
• A Node runtime issue also appeared during troubleshooting:
  • node_repl used my system Node v22.17.1
  • the Chrome plugin required >= v22.22.0
  • pointing node_repl to Codex’s bundled Node v24.14.0 fixed the Node version error, but Chrome extension / native host connection still did not work reliably.

What is the expected behavior?

Browser / browser-use and Chrome should appear normally in the official Codex plugin marketplace if they are bundled with the Codex Desktop installation.

Installing or reinstalling the Chrome plugin from the official UI should also correctly configure the Chrome extension, native messaging host, extension-host, and required runtime dependencies.

After installation, the Chrome extension should show as connected, and Codex should be able to use Chrome without native host / bridge errors.

The behavior should be consistent with latex-tectonic, which appears or installs normally from the same bundled plugin set.

Additional information

Additional information:

This seems different from a general plugin installation problem because latex-tectonic works, while browser-use and chrome do not.

The issue was present before I changed my setup from CODEX_HOME to a directory junction. Initially, CODEX_HOME pointed to the same Codex data directory, and Browser / Chrome were already missing then. Later I removed CODEX_HOME and made C:\Users<USER>.codex a junction to that same directory, without changing the underlying files.

I can provide logs or run additional diagnostics if needed.