The Codex Desktop application has a CPU usage issue that leads to process storms and failures in executing commands, blocking workflow.
The Codex Desktop application has a CPU usage issue that leads to process storms and failures in executing commands, blocking workflow.
Problem statement normalized from the linked evidence
CANDIDATE VIEW · NOT A PUBLISHED OPPORTUNITY
01
Qualification checklist
Gate decision: Aug 15, 2026
✓
At least 3 independent users6 / 3
MET
✓
At least 2 independent discussions6 / 2
MET
✓
At least 1 supporting signal4 Workarounds · 6 Blocked workflows · Persistence
MET
02
Observed signals
Users6
Discussions6
Mentions6
Active days6
Source coverageGitHub
TrendUNKNOWN
First seenMay 05, 2026
Last seenJul 31, 2026
Why the gate is holding
No rejection reason is currently recorded.
Qualification passed. Commercial analysis may still recommend REJECT; only non-rejected, evidence-backed analyses can be published as opportunities.
03
Source evidence
7 evidence records
github · CRITICAL · Jul 23, 2026
[P0 regression] Windows desktop launch saturates all CPU cores via WmiPrvSE (26.715.10079.0)
## Summary Launching the Codex Windows desktop app immediately causes severe system-wide CPU saturation. All 32 logical processors spike to or remain near 100%, making the machine and the app effectively unusable. Closing Codex is the only immediate way to recover. This appears to be a current-version regression or severe escalation of the WMI/electron-sampler behavior reported in #22912. In this case, the visible top CPU consumer is **WMI Provider Host (`WmiPrvSE.exe`)**, rather than the Codex renderer itself. **S…
same here! # Codex Desktop on Windows: WMI/Git/taskkill process storm causes system-wide stutter ## Paste-ready issue report ### Summary Codex Desktop `26.721.11231.0` on Windows repeatedly creates short-lived PowerShell, conhost, Git, and taskkill processes. ETW process ancestry and read-only inspection of the installed `app.asar` point to a feedback-heavy interaction between: 1. Windows child-process discovery implemented through PowerShell and WMI; 2. chat-process PID reconciliation with multiple retries; 3. aut…
I can reproduce this on a newer Codex Desktop build, so the issue persists beyond 26.715.4045.0. ### Environment - Codex Desktop: `26.715.7063.0` - Package: `OpenAI.Codex_26.715.7063.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0` - Windows 11 Pro x64, build `10.0.26200` - 32 GiB RAM ### Reproduction and evidence After fully quitting Codex, restarting Windows, checking for app updates, and relaunching Codex, the process storm returned. - Many live `C:\Windows\System32\taskkill.exe /pid /t /f` processes accumulated. - Every sampled `taskkill…
# Controlled A/B isolation: the Desktop child-process snapshot sampler triggers the WMI CPU storm This is a follow-up to openai/codex#33776 with a controlled isolation result from the currently shipped Windows build. ## Environment - Windows x64, build `26200.8875` (25H2) - 32 logical processors - Codex Desktop MSIX: `OpenAI.Codex_26.715.3651.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0` - Observation date: 2026-07-18 (UTC+08:00) ## Confirmed observations before the intervention - The updated `26.715.3651.0` build still reproduced the fai…
I reproduced the same issue on a newer Codex Desktop build, at substantially larger scale. There was also an unreaped-zombie component similar to #12491. ### Environment - Codex Desktop: `26.715.21425` - Bundled CLI: `codex-cli 0.145.0-alpha.18` - macOS `26.5.2` (`25F84`), Apple Silicon (`arm64`) - 128 GB RAM, 20 logical CPUs - Relevant global stdio MCP definitions: - `npx -y chrome-devtools-mcp@latest` - `uvx --from git+https://github.com/oraios/serena serena start-mcp-server --project-from-cwd --context codex` -…
Codex Desktop on Windows is extremely slow even when the computer is fine
## Summary Codex Desktop on Windows is extremely slow in day-to-day use. This appears isolated to the Codex app itself, not the machine. ## Environment - Platform: Windows desktop app - User report date: 2026-05-17 - Repo/workspace context where it is happening: normal local app development sessions, including browser/UI work and GitHub/reporting tasks ## What is happening The Codex Windows app becomes very slow during ordinary usage. The slowdown is severe enough to be a real workflow problem, not a minor polish i…
Codex Desktop becomes unusable on long active threads due to app-server/renderer memory and TRACE log churn
## Summary Codex Desktop becomes nearly unusable with long-running active threads, even after compaction-aware local transcript pruning. The slowdown appears to come from the Codex app-server and renderer repeatedly handling large hot conversation state and logging large websocket/SSE response frames into `logs_2.sqlite`. ## Environment - Codex Desktop: 26.429.30905 - Electron: 41.2.0 - macOS: 26.0.1 (25A362) - Machine memory: 16 GB ## Observed behavior During the slowdown: - `codex app-server` spiked to ~64% CPU.…