Windows desktop notification click opens invalid WindowsApps path with type=click query

[natebeeman]

Summary

On Windows, Codex desktop turn-complete notifications can trigger an Electron launch error when the notification is clicked/opened. The error dialog shows Windows/Electron trying to launch a path under C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.527.3686.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\... with notification click metadata appended, e.g. ?type=click&tag=..., and then reports that the Electron app/module cannot be found.

Disabling Windows notifications for the Codex app stopped the error immediately, which points to the desktop notification activation path rather than the CLI notify hook.

Environment

• OS: Windows
• Codex desktop package observed in logs: OpenAI.Codex_26.527.3686.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
• App-server version reported in logs: 0.135.0-alpha.1
• Codex desktop build flavor: prod
• Approx observed time: 2026-05-29 evening Pacific / 2026-05-30 UTC

Repro steps

1. Run Codex desktop on Windows.
2. Send a prompt and wait for the assistant turn to complete.
3. Codex shows a desktop notification for the completed turn.
4. Click/open the notification.
5. An Electron error dialog appears.

Observed behavior

The dialog title is Error, with heading Error launching app. It says it is unable to find the Electron app at a path shaped like:

C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.527.3686.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0\...\?type=click&tag=...

It also reports Cannot find module for the same path shape.

Relevant redacted log sequence:

[desktop-notifications] show turn-complete conversationId=<redacted> turnId=<redacted>
[desktop-notifications] forward show kind=turn-complete notificationId=turn-<redacted>
[desktop-notifications] show notification actionCount=0 kind=turn-complete notificationId=turn-<redacted>
[desktop-notifications] emit action actionId=none actionType=open notificationId=turn-<redacted>
[desktop-notifications] notification click open notificationId=turn-<redacted>
[desktop-notifications] action actionType=open conversationId=<redacted> requestId=none

There were also repeated startup lines such as:

[desktop-notifications] service starting
[computer-use-native-pipe] computer-use notify config ensure finished platform=win32 reason=missing-helper-path status=skipped

Earlier, when the notify = [...] CLI config hook existed, it was removed/disabled. The error still reproduced on desktop notification click/open events, so the issue appears to be the app's built-in notification activation handling.

Expected behavior

Clicking a Codex turn-complete notification should focus/open the existing Codex desktop window and navigate to the relevant conversation without an Electron launch error.

Workaround confirmed

Disable Windows notifications for the Codex app registry entry:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Notifications\Settings\OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0!App
Enabled = 0

After setting this, the turn-complete notification no longer appeared and the error stopped occurring.

[github-actions]

Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.

• Windows Codex app deep link / OAuth callback fails: "Unable to find Electron app" #25188
• Codex Desktop Windows: connector OAuth "Open in Codex" opens Electron error instead of completing callback #25157

Powered by Codex Action

[aoaoaoao-wu]

+1

[galaxywk223]

Additional local reproduction evidence

The issue is reproducible on another Windows installation with the same Codex Desktop package version.

Environment

• OS: Windows 11 Pro x64
• OS version: 10.0.26200
• Codex package: OpenAI.Codex_26.527.3686.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
• Codex app version: 26.527.3686.0
• AppX status: Ok
• AppUserModelID: OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0!App

Observations

• Normal AppX launch works and creates Codex.exe processes.
• The installed application files exist:
  • app\Codex.exe
  • app\resources\app.asar
  • app\resources\codex.exe
• The failure is specific to Windows toast notification click activation.
• The latest Codex toast notification stored by Windows Notification Platform used this launch payload:

<toast launch="type=click&amp;tag=<notification-tag>" scenario="reminder">

• Clicking the notification opens the Electron error dialog with the type=click&tag=... payload appended/interpreted as part of the Electron app path:

Error launching app

Unable to find Electron app at C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.527...\type=click&tag=...

Cannot find module 'C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_26.527...\type=click&tag=...'

Result

The evidence points to the Windows toast activation argument (type=click&tag=...) being passed through as an Electron app path instead of being handled as notification activation data. The main Codex app remains usable when launched normally.

[selaquik]

+1