codex - 💡(How to fix) Fix Codex Desktop Windows: node_repl bridge fails with `windows sandbox failed: spawn setup refresh`

Bug Report

Codex Desktop on Windows cannot start the node_repl MCP bridge. This blocks Browser and Computer Use because even a minimal node_repl smoke test exits before running any JavaScript.

Environment

• App: Codex Desktop for Windows / Microsoft Store package
• Package: OpenAI.Codex_26.527.3686.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
• Codex CLI helper observed: codex-cli 0.135.0-alpha.1
• OS: Windows
• Affected MCP server: node_repl
• Affected features: Browser plugin / Computer Use plugin

Symptom

Any node_repl call fails immediately:

node_repl kernel exited unexpectedly
node_repl diagnostics: {"kernel_status":"running","kernel_stderr_tail":"windows sandbox failed: spawn setup refresh","reason":"stdout_eof","stream_error":null}

This happens even for a no-op smoke test such as:

nodeRepl.write(JSON.stringify({ ok: true, cwd: nodeRepl.cwd }, null, 2));

Because node_repl never starts, Browser and Computer Use cannot connect.

Relevant config/process evidence

%USERPROFILE%\.codex\config.toml is regenerated with:

[mcp_servers.node_repl]
args = []
command = '%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\bin\34ab3e1324cc55b5\node_repl.exe'
startup_timeout_sec = 120

[mcp_servers.node_repl.env]
NODE_REPL_NODE_PATH = '%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\bin\5b9024f90663758b\node.exe'
CODEX_CLI_PATH = '%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\bin\7dea4a003bc76627\codex.exe'

Process inspection during failure shows:

node_repl.exe
  "%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\bin\34ab3e1324cc55b5\node_repl.exe"

codex.exe child
  "%LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\bin\7dea4a003bc76627\codex.exe" app-server --listen stdio://

Sandbox logs show repeated setup refresh attempts via the WindowsApps package resources path:

setup refresh: spawning C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.527.3686.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\app\resources\codex-windows-sandbox-setup.exe
setup refresh: processed 2 write roots (read roots delegated); errors=[]
setup binary completed

Despite the setup binary logging success in ordinary shell/sandbox operations, node_repl still fails with windows sandbox failed: spawn setup refresh and exits before accepting JS.

Things tried

• Restarted Codex Desktop.
• Logged out/in of Windows session.
• Rebooted the PC.
• Full uninstall/reinstall of Codex Desktop via Microsoft Store / winget.
• Renamed %LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenAI\Codex\bin to force helper-cache regeneration.
• Verified helper cache was regenerated with hash directories including:
  • 34ab3e1324cc55b5\node_repl.exe
  • 5b9024f90663758b\node.exe
  • 7dea4a003bc76627\codex.exe
• Tried adding args = ["--disable-sandbox"] under [mcp_servers.node_repl]; Codex launched node_repl.exe without passing the arg.
• Tried a reversible wrapper that launched node_repl.exe --disable-sandbox; wrapper launched correctly, but child still routed through CODEX_CLI_PATH and failed.
• Tried removing CODEX_CLI_PATH from [mcp_servers.node_repl.env]; Codex regenerated it on restart.

Expected behavior

A basic node_repl smoke test should start the kernel and return output. Browser and Computer Use should then be able to bootstrap from node_repl.

Actual behavior

node_repl exits before running any JS, with windows sandbox failed: spawn setup refresh. Browser and Computer Use are unusable on this machine.

Impact

This blocks Codex Desktop features that depend on node_repl, including Browser and Computer Use, despite the plugins and helper binaries being present.