Codex desktop app keeps re-downloading update after restart

[hacksurvivor]

What version of the Codex App are you using (From "About Codex" dialog)?

26.506.31421, build 2620

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Pro ($200/month)

What platform is your computer?

macOS 26.4.1 (Build 25E253), Apple Silicon / arm64

What issue are you seeing?

I am trying to update the Codex desktop app to the latest version from the in-app update prompt. When I press Update, Codex quits as expected, but after I open Codex again it starts downloading the same update again. The update does not appear to persist, so the app is stuck in an endless update/download loop.

This is the desktop app updater flow, not the CLI codex update / npm updater flow.

Related but not exact duplicates:

• macOS Codex app updater times out waiting for Sparkle progress helper #19396 reports a macOS Sparkle helper timeout/error during the updater flow.
• Update loop #12107 and Codex updater should handle root-owned npm global installs and multiple install targets more explicitly #21897 are CLI/npm updater loops or install-target issues.

In this case, the visible behavior is:

1. Codex shows that an update is available.
2. I press Update.
3. The Codex app quits.
4. I reopen Codex.
5. Codex downloads the update again.
6. Repeating the flow leads back to the same update download every time.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Open the Codex desktop app on macOS.
2. Wait for the in-app update prompt.
3. Click Update.
4. Let Codex quit.
5. Reopen Codex.
6. Observe that the app downloads the update again instead of staying updated.

What is the expected behavior?

After pressing Update, Codex should install the downloaded update, relaunch or allow the user to reopen the updated app, and stop prompting/downloading the same update again.

Additional information

The loop is especially disruptive because it happens on a paid Pro account and prevents normal use of the latest desktop app. If there is a log bundle or updater diagnostics path maintainers want, I can collect it.

[hacksurvivor]

Update: the update eventually succeeded after the 8th try. The first 7 attempts followed the same loop: press Update, Codex quits, reopen Codex, and it starts downloading the update again. No separate workaround was used besides retrying the in-app update flow repeatedly.

[wwwangzd]

I encountered the exact same issue on Mac. I was stuck in the loop many times. After checking the app processes and resource loading, I found the cause may be my local proxy. After turning off the proxy and retrying the update, the problem was fixed.