Reposted from L站

Many fellow users have reported that when using Codex Desktop on Windows, they cannot find plugins, or the plugins are completely unusable after installation. This article compiles a complete personal troubleshooting and repair approach, hoping to help others facing the same issue.

About Accounts and API Access

It is worth noting that the two plugins browser and chrome can be used without needing to log into an account. Currently, no missing features have been found when accessing via API, so you can use them with confidence.

What the Normal State Should Look Like

Bundled Marketplace Plugin Directory

Under normal circumstances, the following path should contain three bundled plugins:

%USERPROFILE%\.codex\.tmp\bundled-marketplaces

• browser
• chrome
• latex

Helper Binaries Directory

Codex will automatically prepare several helper binaries during the first conversation, located at:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\OpenAI\Codex\bin

The original six files are:

• codex.exe
• codex-command-runner.exe
• codex-windows-sandbox-setup.exe
• node.exe
• node_repl.exe
• rg.exe

Note (May 16 Update): In the May 16 version, the Codex App adjusted its storage logic, splitting the six files into four subfolders, with folder names dynamically calculated by Codex based on file hash and file name.

Root Cause of the Problem

If any of the following situations occur, the Browser / Chrome tools will fail to start properly:

• The plugins under bundled-marketplaces are incomplete
• The bin directory is missing files (common error: noderepl not found)

These two issues are highly correlated: when the plugin directory is incomplete, the bin directory is also likely missing files.

The root cause is: The Codex App itself already carries these bundled plugins, but they have not been properly synchronized, registered, or loaded into the current user environment.

A large number of users on GitHub have reported similar issues, triggered in scenarios such as initial installation, after a Codex version upgrade, and after system environment changes.

Fix: Manually Trigger a Skill

For the above issue, a manually triggered Skill has been compiled, consisting of two core steps.

Simply copy the following two steps and run them with Codex:

Step 1: Synchronize Bundled Marketplace Plugins

From the latest installed Codex Desktop package, synchronize the openai-bundled plugin marketplace to the user directory, and automatically update .codex/config.toml to ensure the plugins are correctly registered and loaded.

Step 2: Fix Helper Binaries

Only copy the necessary executable files required by the Browser Use / Chrome tools to the corresponding directory, making no unnecessary changes.

This Skill does not run automatically and must be triggered manually. It will not actively modify the environment, making it suitable for on-demand use.

Applicable Scenarios

It is recommended to execute this fix process in the following situations:

• Plugin list is empty or missing browser / chrome
• Plugin fails after Codex version update
• Browser Use or Chrome tool startup error

5.21 Update Notes

In the May 21st version, Codex registered node_repl as MCP (Model Context Protocol). After testing, using the above fix, the situation where both CLI and plugins could not use Chrome on Windows has been resolved, and it now works normally.