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codex - 💡(How to fix) Fix Windows Codex Desktop Browser Use fails to start app-server for DOM/screenshot on in-app browser [1 comments, 2 participants]

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openai/codex#20354•Fetched 2026-05-01 05:43:40
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EtienneLescotEtienneLescot
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On Windows Codex Desktop, the bundled Browser Use plugin can attach to the in-app browser enough to read basic tab metadata such as title and URL, but DOM/screenshot/CUA operations fail with:

failed to start codex app-server: Le chemin d’accès spécifié est introuvable. (os error 3)

This prevents Browser Use from inspecting or automating the current in-app browser tab.

Error Message

failed to start codex app-server: Le chemin d’accès spécifié est introuvable. (os error 3) failed to start codex app-server: Le chemin d’accès spécifié est introuvable. (os error 3) and via Node execFile('codex', ['app-server','--help']), but Browser Use DOM/screenshot still failed with the same os error 3. Only basic tab metadata works. DOM/screenshot/CUA operations fail because Browser Use cannot start codex app-server, reporting os error 3.

Root Cause

Only basic tab metadata works. DOM/screenshot/CUA operations fail because Browser Use cannot start codex app-server, reporting os error 3.

Code Example

failed to start codex app-server: Le chemin d’accès spécifié est introuvable. (os error 3)

---

const { setupAtlasRuntime } = await import('C:/Users/etien/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/browser-use/0.1.0-alpha1/scripts/browser-client.mjs');
await setupAtlasRuntime({ globals: globalThis, backend: 'iab' });

---

await tab.playwright.domSnapshot()
await tab.playwright.screenshot(...)

---

failed to start codex app-server: Le chemin d’accès spécifié est introuvable. (os error 3)

---

codex app-server --help
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Summary

On Windows Codex Desktop, the bundled Browser Use plugin can attach to the in-app browser enough to read basic tab metadata such as title and URL, but DOM/screenshot/CUA operations fail with:

failed to start codex app-server: Le chemin d’accès spécifié est introuvable. (os error 3)

This prevents Browser Use from inspecting or automating the current in-app browser tab.

Environment

  • OS: Windows
  • Codex Desktop package after reinstall: OpenAI.Codex_26.422.9565.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
  • Browser Use plugin: openai-bundled/browser-use/0.1.0-alpha1
  • In-app browser target tested: Google Photos, e.g. https://photos.google.com/u/0/albums?hl=fr&pli=1
  • Shell: PowerShell

Reproduction

Using the Browser Use skill setup in the Node REPL:

const { setupAtlasRuntime } = await import('C:/Users/etien/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/browser-use/0.1.0-alpha1/scripts/browser-client.mjs');
await setupAtlasRuntime({ globals: globalThis, backend: 'iab' });

Basic tab metadata works, for example title/URL can be read. But calls such as:

await tab.playwright.domSnapshot()
await tab.playwright.screenshot(...)

fail with:

failed to start codex app-server: Le chemin d’accès spécifié est introuvable. (os error 3)

CUA screenshot/click/scroll operations fail similarly.

Diagnostics already tried

  • Reinstalled Browser Use plugin.
  • Added Microsoft Defender exclusion for: C:\Users\etien\.codex\plugins\cache\openai-bundled\browser-use
  • Restarted Codex Desktop.
  • Ran Codex Desktop as administrator.
  • Ran codex login; login succeeded.
  • Uninstalled/reinstalled Codex Desktop.
  • Verified Browser Use plugin files exist and browser-client.mjs is readable.
  • Verified app logs changed from ChatGPT account ID not available, please re-run codex login to successful app/list after login.
  • Verified named pipes exist, including:
    • codex-ipc
    • codex-browser-use\31c04a4e-6a05-42ee-a901-2b9ee0de4d7a
  • Get-Command codex resolved to WindowsApps path: C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.422.9565.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\app\resources\codex.exe
  • Directly running that WindowsApps codex.exe failed with access/EPERM.
  • User-local binary works: C:\Users\etien\AppData\Local\Packages\OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0\LocalCache\Local\OpenAI\Codex\bin\codex.exe
  • Creating a shim earlier in PATH for codex.cmd/codex.exe pointing to the user-local binary made this work from PowerShell and from Node:
codex app-server --help

and via Node execFile('codex', ['app-server','--help']), but Browser Use DOM/screenshot still failed with the same os error 3.

Expected behavior

Browser Use should be able to start or reach the required Codex app-server and return DOM snapshots/screenshots for the current in-app browser tab.

Actual behavior

Only basic tab metadata works. DOM/screenshot/CUA operations fail because Browser Use cannot start codex app-server, reporting os error 3.

Notes

This looks like a Windows path/process-launch issue inside the Browser Use / app-server startup path rather than a Google Photos-specific problem, because the failure happens before DOM/screenshot data is returned and persists across reinstall, login, admin launch, and Defender exclusion.

extent analysis

TL;DR

The issue is likely due to a path or process launch issue on Windows, and creating a shim for the codex executable earlier in the system's PATH may resolve the issue.

Guidance

  • Verify that the codex executable is correctly referenced in the system's PATH environment variable.
  • Try creating a shim for the codex executable, as done previously, to ensure that the correct binary is being used.
  • Check the file system permissions for the codex executable and its dependencies to ensure that they are accessible.
  • Consider using the execFile function in Node to launch the codex executable with the app-server argument, as this has been shown to work in the past.

Example

const { execFile } = require('child_process');
execFile('codex', ['app-server', '--help'], (error, stdout, stderr) => {
  if (error) {
    console.error(error);
  } else {
    console.log(stdout);
  }
});

Notes

The issue appears to be specific to the Windows environment and the interaction between the Browser Use plugin and the Codex app-server. Further debugging may be necessary to fully resolve the issue.

Recommendation

Apply the workaround of creating a shim for the codex executable earlier in the system's PATH, as this has been shown to resolve similar issues in the past. This may help to ensure that the correct binary is being used and that the codex app-server can be launched successfully.

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FAQ

Expected behavior

Browser Use should be able to start or reach the required Codex app-server and return DOM snapshots/screenshots for the current in-app browser tab.

#authentication setup#request error#file not found#serialization error#model compatibility

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