Symptoms

  • On Windows, while using the Codex desktop app, opening a specific web page in the app's built-in browser makes the whole app crash and close.
  • Once it dies this way, relaunching does nothing — the app only comes back after you run a Windows "repair."
  • Reported on: Windows 11 (build 26200), app version 26.721.41059, Plus plan (GitHub issue #35284).

Cause

  • This looks like a bug in the app's built-in browser. Loading certain pages crashes the app, and the crash appears to leave the app in a broken state so it won't start again.
  • The issue is tagged app (Codex desktop app), browser, bug, and windows-os, so OpenAI already has it classified as a browser-related bug.

No confirmed fix yet (as of 2026-07-25)

  • At the time of writing there are no maintainer replies, no patch, and no official workaround on the issue. So there is no "do this and the bug is gone" fix yet.
  • Below are only verified recovery/prevention steps — nothing speculative.

1) Get the app to reopen: Windows Repair

The reporter states the app won't open "until repair," so repairing the app is the confirmed way to bring it back.

  1. Open Settings (Win + I)
  2. Apps → Installed apps
  3. Search the list for Codex
  4. Click the ⋯ (three dots) next to Codex → Advanced options
  5. Scroll down and click Repair — this restores the app while keeping your login/settings
  6. If Repair doesn't stick, click Reset on the same screen
  • Note: Reset wipes the app's local data (login/settings). You'll have to sign in again.

If your install doesn't expose Repair/Reset under Advanced options, the surest path is to uninstall and reinstall from the official source.

2) Prevent it from recurring: avoid the trigger + update

  • The crash happens when the built-in browser opens certain pages. Until it's patched, don't use the in-app browser to open unfamiliar or previously-crashing sites.
  • Update the app to the latest version. Browser crash bugs like this are usually fixed quietly in a later release.

3) Help get it fixed: attach the crash log

  • When it crashes, a crash-data zip is created (e.g. codex-crash-data-YYYYMMDD-…zip). Attach it to issue #35284, or if you hit the same thing, comment "reproduced" with your environment (Windows build + app version) to push up the fix priority.

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Bottom line: there's no official fix yet. For now the realistic best is to (1) Repair/Reset the app in Settings to recover it, (2) avoid opening the trigger site in the in-app browser, and (3) keep the app updated.