Computer Use plugin becomes unavailable after Codex Desktop restart

[LockyJohn]

Bug Report: Computer Use disappears after Codex restart

Summary

On Codex Desktop for macOS, the Computer Use plugin repeatedly becomes unavailable after restarting Codex. The "Computer Control" settings page shows:

Computer Use 插件不可用

Chrome and Browser may recover automatically, but Computer Use remains missing from the UI until manually reinstalled with:

codex plugin add computer-use@openai-bundled

Environment

• App: Codex Desktop
• Bundle identifier: com.openai.codex
• Version: 26.601.21317
• Bundle version: 3511
• Platform: macOS arm64
• Locale: zh-Hans-CN / zh-CN
• Codex Doctor: install consistent, state databases healthy, auth configured, network connected

Expected Behavior

After restarting Codex, the bundled Computer Use plugin should remain installed/enabled, and the Computer Control settings page should show the normal controls for:

• Any app / Computer Use
• Google Chrome
• Lock screen operation

Actual Behavior

After restarting Codex:

• The Computer Control page shows Computer Use 插件不可用.
• The UI does not show the normal Computer Use / Any App row.
• The issue returns even after reinstalling Codex by overwriting /Applications/Codex.app.
• Manual plugin reinstall restores the underlying plugin state:

computer-use@openai-bundled  installed, enabled  1.0.799

But after the next restart, the UI can again show Computer Use as unavailable.

Reproduction Steps

1. Install or reinstall Codex Desktop 26.601.21317.

2. Ensure Computer Use is installed and enabled:

   codex plugin list --marketplace openai-bundled

3. Quit Codex completely.

4. Reopen Codex.

5. Open Settings -> Computer Control.

6. Observe that Computer Use is shown as unavailable.

Relevant Log Timeline

Latest startup log shows Codex first creates a runtime bundled marketplace containing only latex, then uninstalls the other bundled plugins:

2026-06-04T16:55:45.095Z info [BundledPluginsMarketplace] bundled_plugins_runtime_marketplace_written pluginCount=1 pluginNames=["latex"]
2026-06-04T16:55:45.098Z info [BundledPluginsMarketplace] bundled_plugin_uninstall_requested pluginId=browser@openai-bundled reason=not_in_bundled_marketplace_plugin_names
2026-06-04T16:55:45.127Z info [BundledPluginsMarketplace] bundled_plugin_uninstall_requested pluginId=chrome@openai-bundled reason=not_in_bundled_marketplace_plugin_names
2026-06-04T16:55:45.153Z info [BundledPluginsMarketplace] bundled_plugin_uninstall_requested pluginId=computer-use@openai-bundled reason=not_in_bundled_marketplace_plugin_names

A few seconds later, Codex writes the correct marketplace containing all bundled plugins:

2026-06-04T16:55:47.727Z info [BundledPluginsMarketplace] bundled_plugins_runtime_marketplace_written pluginCount=4 pluginNames=["browser","chrome","computer-use","latex"]

Codex then reinstalls Browser and Chrome, but skips Computer Use:

2026-06-04T16:55:47.759Z info [BundledPluginsMarketplace] bundled_plugin_install_requested pluginName=browser reason=missing
2026-06-04T16:55:47.857Z info [BundledPluginsMarketplace] bundled_plugin_install_requested pluginName=chrome reason=missing
2026-06-04T16:55:47.983Z info [BundledPluginsMarketplace] bundled_plugin_install_skipped_missing pluginName=computer-use

The Computer Control UI appears to read the plugin/remote-control state during this transient missing period:

2026-06-04T16:55:48.447Z info [AppServerConnection] response_routed method=plugin/list
2026-06-04T16:55:48.624Z info [AppServerConnection] response_routed method=plugin/list
2026-06-04T16:55:48.710Z info [AppServerConnection] response_routed method=plugin/list

Current Diagnosis

This appears to be a Codex Desktop bundled plugin startup race or lifecycle bug:

1. Startup reconciliation writes a temporary bundled marketplace with only latex.
2. That causes browser, chrome, and computer-use to be uninstalled as not_in_bundled_marketplace_plugin_names.
3. The full marketplace is written shortly after.
4. Browser and Chrome are reinstalled automatically.
5. Computer Use is skipped with bundled_plugin_install_skipped_missing.
6. The Computer Control page caches or displays the transient missing state and reports Computer Use 插件不可用.

Workaround

Manual reinstall restores the plugin:

codex plugin add computer-use@openai-bundled

After this, the CLI shows:

computer-use@openai-bundled  installed, enabled  1.0.799

But this does not fully solve the startup/UI race after restart.

Additional Notes

• The Codex application bundle does contain the Computer Use plugin:

  /Applications/Codex.app/Contents/Resources/plugins/openai-bundled/plugins/computer-use
  

• The generated runtime marketplace also contains computer-use after startup completes:

  ~/.codex/.tmp/bundled-marketplaces/openai-bundled/.agents/plugins/marketplace.json
  

• The installed Computer Use app passes codesign verification when manually installed.

• codex doctor --summary --ascii reports install consistency and healthy state databases.

Request

Please fix bundled plugin startup reconciliation so Computer Use is not uninstalled during the temporary marketplace state, or ensure it is reinstalled/refreshed like Browser and Chrome after the full bundled marketplace is written.

[github-actions]

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

• Computer Use plugin is removed on restart and reappears only after manual reinstall #26296
• Computer Use plugin install does not persist after restart in Codex desktop #26377
• Codex App overwrites bundled plugin config/cache and removes Computer Use/Browser plugins #25758
• Browser and Computer Use plugins became unavailable in Codex desktop app #26387

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