[macOS][Compatibility] OpenCodex bridge breaks native Computer Use/Appshot and cannot currently coexist with third-party routing

[deSkyl1ne]

Summary

On macOS Apple Silicon, simply launching OpenCodex for the first time can immediately break ChatGPT Desktop's native Computer Use and Cmd+Cmd Appshot, even when the user has not enabled a provider, added a model, or intentionally turned on the gateway.

There is a second, more fundamental compatibility concern: if a future fix only delays bridge registration until a third-party model is enabled, native Computer Use/Appshot may still be unavailable while that third-party model is active if OpenCodex continues to replace the entire Codex runtime through a global CODEX_CLI_PATH. True coexistence requires runtime isolation, not only delayed registration.

Environment

• macOS 26.6.0 (Apple Silicon)
• OpenCodex 1.2.0
• ChatGPT Desktop 26.803.41515
• Codex 0.147.0-alpha.6.5
• Bundled Computer Use plugin 1.0.1000633

Reproduction A: startup takeover

1. Start with native ChatGPT Desktop Computer Use and Cmd+Cmd Appshot working.
2. Launch OpenCodex for the first time.
3. Do not add a provider, enable a model, or intentionally enable the gateway.
4. Leave OpenCodex open and try Cmd+Cmd or native Computer Use.

Actual behavior

Computer Use/Appshot fails immediately after OpenCodex starts:

1. OpenCodex registers a CODEX_CLI_PATH override pointing to:
   /Applications/OpenCodex.app/Contents/Resources/dist/codex-provider-bridge
2. A stale global [mcp_servers.computer-use] entry can remain, using a relative path under Codex Computer Use.app and marked disabled.
3. The ChatGPT log selects the OpenCodex bridge with codexCliPathSource=env-override.
4. Cmd+Cmd still registers successfully, but capture fails with:
   Codex Computer Use Apple Event error -1743: Unknown error
5. The macOS Privacy & Security → Automation list does not contain ChatGPT/Codex.

Clicking “Restore native” does not reliably undo the startup takeover for the currently running ChatGPT process; manual cleanup and a ChatGPT restart are still required.

The installed startup code appears to call registerProviderBridgeEnvironment(...) during gateway initialization, before the user has explicitly enabled a provider/model. The environment is only detached later during the gateway stop path.

Reproduction B: third-party model coexistence

If bridge registration is merely moved from startup to “third-party model enabled”, the global CODEX_CLI_PATH still points the ChatGPT/Codex process at the OpenCodex provider bridge.

This can leave the native Computer Use/Appshot path unavailable while third-party routing is active. Therefore, “register only when needed” fixes the startup regression but does not by itself prove that third-party models and native Computer Use can work simultaneously.

Recovery

The native integration recovered after:

1. Fully quitting OpenCodex.
2. Running codex mcp remove computer-use.
3. Removing the stale CODEX_CLI_PATH bridge line from ~/.codex/config.toml.
4. Running tccutil reset AppleEvents com.openai.codex.
5. Restarting ChatGPT Desktop.

After recovery:

• codex mcp list showed the bundled launcher:
  ~/.codex/plugins/cache/openai-bundled/computer-use/1.0.1000633/bin/computer-use-client-launcher
  with status enabled.
• ChatGPT selected the official bundled Codex path rather than the OpenCodex bridge.
• Cmd+Cmd Appshot succeeded and returned both screenshot and accessibility text.

Expected behavior

Startup

Launching OpenCodex without enabling a provider/model must not change the native ChatGPT/Codex Computer Use or Appshot runtime.

Third-party model mode

When a third-party model is enabled, one of these must be true:

1. Preferred: third-party requests are routed through an isolated OpenCodex bridge while the official ChatGPT/Codex runtime and native Computer Use/Appshot remain available; or
2. If process-level switching is unavoidable, the UI must clearly document the limitation and provide a reliable one-click switch that stops the bridge, clears all global environment/config state, restarts ChatGPT, and verifies native Computer Use/Appshot before reporting success.

Restore native

Clicking “Restore native” must completely restore the official runtime without manual cleanup. It should:

• clear any OpenCodex CODEX_CLI_PATH process/launch environment;
• remove or stop shadowing stale global Computer Use MCP entries;
• restart the currently running ChatGPT/Codex process if it inherited the bridge;
• avoid breaking native Computer Use Apple Events integration;
• verify Appshot and Computer Use after restoration;
• correctly handle the unified ChatGPT Desktop app with ChatGPT Work and Codex modes.

Suggested fix

Add a strict opt-in, runtime-isolation, and restore-native health-check path that:

• does not register the provider bridge on app startup alone;
• does not use a global launchctl CODEX_CLI_PATH override for all Codex work when native Computer Use must remain available;
• routes third-party requests through an isolated child/process/request-level bridge;
• unregisters all OpenCodex launch environment variables during restore/quit;
• removes or disables only OpenCodex-owned MCP/config entries;
• restarts the official ChatGPT Desktop process with a clean environment;
• tests both native Computer Use/Appshot and third-party model routing in regression tests.