codex - 💡(How to fix) Fix Intel macOS: Appshots fail because managed Computer Use service cannot spawn

Title: Intel macOS: Appshots fail with "Unable to attach appshot" because managed Computer Use service cannot spawn

What happened?

On an Intel Mac running Codex Desktop, Appshots consistently fail with the UI toast:

Unable to attach appshot

The failure happens when trying to attach the frontmost Google Chrome window from the add-context menu. No screenshot or accessibility text is produced.

This appears to be the same Intel macOS Computer Use packaging/helper availability issue family as #18404, #19704, and #19932, but it now affects the Appshots feature directly.

Environment

• Codex Desktop: 26.519.41501
• Bundle ID: com.openai.codex
• macOS: 15.4.1
• Architecture: Intel / x86_64
• Installed app: /Applications/Codex.app
• Official Intel DMG tested: https://persistent.oaistatic.com/codex-app-prod/Codex-latest-x64.dmg

Evidence from logs

Codex Desktop log:

/Users/hodohimehime/Library/Logs/com.openai.codex/2026/05/26/codex-desktop-13694a64-0440-47ef-9677-361fe1ecee54-56330-t0-i1-012847-0.log

Relevant lines:

Appshot capture request created bundleIdentifier=com.google.Chrome name="Google Chrome" source=add_context_menu
Appshot capture start request sent bundleIdentifier=com.google.Chrome name="Google Chrome" source=add_context_menu
Codex Computer Use capture worker failed errorMessage="Failed to spawn managed Computer Use service" errorName=Error
Appshot capture update received updateType=failed
Appshot capture settled hadAxText=false hadScreenshot=false status=failed
Appshot capture start request finished hasResponse=false

This pattern repeats every time Appshot capture is attempted.

Local package inspection

The installed app contains only this executable under Contents/MacOS:

/Applications/Codex.app/Contents/MacOS/Codex

There is no:

/Applications/Codex.app/Contents/MacOS/SkyComputerUseService

Search results only found:

/Applications/Codex.app/Contents/Resources/native/sky.node

The official Intel DMG currently linked from the Codex app download page has the same result:

/Volumes/Codex Installer/Codex.app/Contents/MacOS/Codex

and no SkyComputerUseService.

The installed app and the official Intel DMG also have the same app.asar hash:

6fd25fec22b577309e54ea237475b0a99348f47a50fbbf1b41ea6c63494849ee

So reinstalling the current Intel DMG does not appear to change or fix the issue.

Expected behavior

Appshots should attach the frontmost app/window context successfully on Intel macOS, or the UI should clearly explain that Appshots/Computer Use are not currently supported on Intel builds.

Actual behavior

Appshots fail immediately, showing:

Unable to attach appshot

The logs show the capture worker cannot spawn the managed Computer Use service, and the capture settles with:

hadAxText=false hadScreenshot=false status=failed

Steps to reproduce

1. Install Codex Desktop Intel build from the official download page.
2. Open Codex on an Intel Mac.
3. Try to attach an Appshot from the add-context menu while Google Chrome is frontmost.
4. Observe the toast Unable to attach appshot.
5. Check the Codex Desktop log for Failed to spawn managed Computer Use service.

Why this may be related to existing Intel Computer Use issues

Related issues:

• #18404
• #19704
• #19932

Those issues describe Intel macOS Computer Use plugin/helper availability problems. This report adds that the same underlying problem breaks the Appshots feature in current Codex Desktop 26.519.41501 on Intel macOS.

Suggested fix

Please either:

1. Ship the required Computer Use service/helper for Intel macOS in the Intel DMG, or
2. Disable/hide Appshots on Intel builds until the helper is available, with a clear user-facing error message, or
3. Document a supported workaround if Appshots require an external Computer Use helper installation.