codex - 💡(How to fix) Fix Codex Desktop Windows browser extension is disconnected and Chrome plugin is not injected after cache rebuild

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

26.521.10419

What subscription do you have?

business

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

After updating Codex Desktop on Windows, the Chrome/Edge browser integration no longer works.

I am using Microsoft Edge, and this setup worked normally before the Codex Desktop update. The Codex browser extension now shows Not connected. In a new Codex thread, when I type the @ character and search for Chrome, the Chrome plugin cannot be found in the plugin list.

I also tried removing or resetting the browser plugin from Codex Desktop, but the app reports that plugin uninstall/removal failed. This leaves the browser integration stuck in a disconnected state that cannot be reset from the app UI.

I verified several local components:

• The native messaging manifest exists and appears normal:
  • C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\OpenAI\extension\com.openai.codexextension.json
• Edge policy checks returned no blocking configuration.
• I renamed the user-level bundled Chrome plugin cache:
  • C:\Users\<user>\.codex\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\chrome
• Codex Desktop rebuilt the cache successfully.
• The rebuilt cache/plugin version is now 26.519.81530.
• The browser plugin version also reports 26.519.81530.

However, Codex Desktop still does not connect the browser integration, and the Chrome plugin is still unavailable in a new thread.

This appears to be a Codex Desktop-side browser plugin registration, connection-state synchronization, or tool-injection issue on Windows, rather than only a stale bundled plugin cache or missing native messaging manifest.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Use Codex Desktop on Windows.
2. Use Microsoft Edge with the Codex browser extension.
3. Update Codex Desktop.
4. Open Codex Desktop and go to the browser / Chrome skill or plugin area.
5. Observe that the browser integration shows as not connected.
6. Open the Edge extension popup.
7. Observe that the extension shows Not connected.
8. Try to remove or reset the browser plugin from Codex Desktop.
9. Observe that removal/uninstall fails.
10. Rename the user-level bundled Chrome plugin cache at C:\Users\<user>\.codex\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\chrome.
11. Restart Codex Desktop.
12. Observe that Codex Desktop rebuilds the browser plugin cache successfully.
13. Confirm the rebuilt plugin/cache version is 26.519.81530.
14. Start a new Codex thread.
15. Type the @ character and search for Chrome in the plugin list.
16. Observe that the Chrome plugin cannot be found or invoked from the plugin list.

What is the expected behavior?

After the browser extension and bundled plugin cache are installed or rebuilt correctly, Codex Desktop should connect the Chrome/Edge browser integration and expose the Chrome browser-control plugin in new threads.

If the browser integration is broken or partially installed, Codex Desktop should allow the user to remove or reset the integration successfully from the app UI.

If Microsoft Edge is not supported, Codex Desktop should clearly state that only Google Chrome is supported, instead of leaving the browser plugin in a disconnected and unremovable state.

Additional information

Environment:

• Product: Codex Desktop
• OS: Windows
• Browser: Microsoft Edge
• Codex Desktop version: [fill in About Codex version]
• Edge version: [fill in edge://settings/help version]
• Codex browser extension version: [fill in edge://extensions version]

Native messaging host:

• Host name: com.openai.codexextension
• Manifest path: C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\OpenAI\extension\com.openai.codexextension.json
• Manifest status: exists and appears normal

Registry / policy checks:

• Edge policy paths checked:
  • HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge
  • HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge
• Result: no output / no blocking native messaging policy found

Bundled plugin cache:

• Original user-level cache path:
  • C:\Users\<user>\.codex\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\chrome
• Action taken:
  • Renamed the cache directory and restarted Codex Desktop.
• Result:
  • Codex Desktop rebuilt the cache successfully.
• New cache/plugin version:
  • 26.519.81530
• Browser plugin version:
  • 26.519.81530

Relevant protected app package path:

• C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.519.11010.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\app\resources\plugins\openai-bundled\plugins\chrome

I did not manually delete files under C:\Program Files\WindowsApps because it is a protected Windows app package directory.

Observed final state:

• Codex browser extension in Edge: Not connected
• Codex Desktop browser/Chrome skill: not connected
• Remove/reset from Codex Desktop: fails
• New Codex thread: Chrome plugin cannot be found after typing the @ character and searching for Chrome
• Bundled Chrome/browser plugin cache: rebuilt successfully to 26.519.81530
• Native messaging manifest: exists and appears normal
• Edge policy: no blocking policy found

Impact:

• The browser-control workflow is no longer usable from Codex Desktop.
• The Chrome plugin is not available in new threads even after the bundled plugin cache is rebuilt.
• The browser integration cannot be repaired from the Codex Desktop UI because the remove/reset flow fails.
• Users cannot easily tell whether the failure is caused by the browser extension, native messaging host, bundled plugin cache, or Codex Desktop plugin injection state.

Possible root cause:

• This appears to be a Codex Desktop Windows-side browser plugin registration or tool-injection bug.
• The bundled browser plugin cache can be rebuilt successfully, but Codex Desktop still does not connect the browser extension or expose the Chrome browser-control plugin in new threads.
• The uninstall/reset flow also fails, leaving the browser integration stuck in an unrecoverable disconnected state.

Questions:

1. Does Codex Desktop refresh browser plugin registration after the bundled plugin cache is rebuilt?
2. Can the Chrome browser-control plugin fail to be injected into new threads even when the bundled plugin cache exists and reports the current version?
3. Is Microsoft Edge expected to be supported for this browser extension workflow?
4. If Microsoft Edge is not supported, can Codex Desktop show a clear unsupported-browser message instead of a generic disconnected state?
5. Can the plugin remove/reset flow be made resilient enough to repair this state from the Codex Desktop UI?

Formatting note:

• This issue avoids writing the raw plugin invocation as a single token because some UIs may auto-link or render it incorrectly.
• The exact user action is typing the @ character followed by Chrome.
• This draft intentionally avoids nested Markdown code blocks to reduce the chance of truncation when pasted into GitHub issue forms.

Original Chinese context:

更新 Codex Desktop 后，之前可正常使用的 Edge/Codex Chrome 插件变为未连接；重建 openai-bundled\chrome 缓存后版本已更新到 26.519.81530，但 Codex Desktop 仍无法连接插件，新会话中输入 @ 后也找不到 Chrome 插件。