Troubleshooting hub
Codex on Windows fixes
Desktop, CLI, VS Code, Windows Sandbox, WSL, and configuration failures.
Fix “AbsolutePathBuf deserialized without a base path” in Codex on Windows
Invalid request: AbsolutePathBuf deserialized without a base pathTwo Windows reports point to workspace-mode and path-state failures. Switching out of WSL mode or reloading the VS Code window restored chat creation temporarily.
Codex fatal error: “HW capability found … but requested …” on Windows
Fatal Error: HW capability found: 0x178BFBFF 0x7EF8320B, but HW capability requested: 0x200000 0x00A Windows regression affected some Ryzen systems. Version 0.104 or WSL were the repeatedly reported escape hatches while newer native builds failed before startup.
Fix “Windows cannot find codex-windows-sandbox-setup.exe”
Windows cannot find 'codex-windows-sandbox-setup.exe'Standalone and extension installs can lose the sandbox helper path. Running Codex from the official release package’s bin folder completed setup in a clean Windows VM.
Fix Codex config.toml “missing escaped value” on Windows
missing escaped value, expected b, e, f, n, r, \, quote, x, u, UA double-quoted Windows path makes TOML interpret backslashes as escapes. Forward slashes or literal single-quoted TOML strings fixed the reported startup failure.
Codex WSL error: codex-linux-sandbox “doesn’t exist” (ENOENT)
Unable to spawn codex-linux-sandbox because it doesn't exist on the filesystem (ENOENT)A full Codex Desktop restart rebuilt the missing helper directory for one reporter. Native Windows mode or the Ubuntu CLI are safer fallbacks by repository location.
Fix “Unable to locate the Codex CLI binary” on Windows
Unable to locate the Codex CLI binary. Set CODEX_CLI_PATH or ensure the Electron resources include bin/codex.A move or reinstall to the C: drive restored Codex Desktop for the original reporter. Check the resolved install before creating a custom wrapper.