Codex VS Code extension: voice dictation shows "Dictation stopped" and logs `Error fetching httpStatus=403 ... url=/transcribe` / `dictation failed errorMessage=cloudflare_challenge`

Context

Source(s): https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/49351 Status: reported working by source, not reproduced by us (workaround only; root fix not confirmed).

Problem

In the Codex composer in VS Code, the microphone records (the waveform moves), but when you stop, the UI shows "Dictation stopped" with Retry and no text is inserted. Typed chat works, and dictation works in the ChatGPT desktop app and other apps on the same machine. Logging out and in, restarting VS Code and resetting the local auth cache did not help.

Error (redacted / normalized)

[error] Error fetching httpStatus=403 requestId=<request-id> statusText=Forbidden url=/transcribe
[error] [Composer] dictation failed errorMessage=cloudflare_challenge errorName=Error

Applies when

VS Code 1.140 to 1.141 on macOS, Windows, Ubuntu and Arch, Codex extension and Codex Audio 26.917.x to 26.1007.x, signed in with ChatGPT, late September to mid October 2026.

Confirm it is this problem

1. Open the extension's output log after a failed attempt → expect: the two lines above (403 on /transcribe, then cloudflare_challenge).
2. Dictation in other apps or the ChatGPT desktop app works with the same account → expect: yes (if the microphone itself fails, this card does not apply).

Not this when / boundary

The log shows no /transcribe request or no 403 (for example the microphone never starts); a missing keyboard shortcut for dictation on the Linux desktop app is a separate problem (commenter).

Root cause

The transcription endpoint answered the extension's request with a Cloudflare challenge (HTTP 403) instead of a transcript. A commenter found an unauthenticated request to /transcribe got cf-mitigated: challenge while other Codex endpoints did not, so it was specific to that endpoint. An OpenAI contributor said on 2026-10-14 that a server-side fix was deployed.

Fix

1. Try dictation again; staff said no extension update is needed (reloading the window first is our inference). → expect: per the OpenAI contributor (2026-10-14), the server-side fix resolves the 403. No user has confirmed it in the thread yet.
2. If it still fails, add "http.electronFetch": true to the Default profile user settings.json (a non-default profile's settings did not work for one commenter), save, and reload the window. → expect: a commenter on Windows and a commenter on Ubuntu each confirmed a real microphone-to-text dictation worked after this.

How to verify

Dictate a short sentence in the Codex composer → expect: the text appears in the composer and the log has no 403 on /transcribe.

What did not work

Logging out and in, codex logout plus resetting the local auth cache, restarting VS Code (original poster and commenters). One commenter said the http.electronFetch setting did not help when using VS Code Remote WSL.

Risks

http.electronFetch changes how every extension that uses the global fetch makes network requests; the commenter who confirmed it had not tested other extensions. our note: remove the setting once dictation works without it after the server-side fix.

Verified scope

Codex VS Code extension 26.917.x to 26.1007.x, October 2026.

Becomes obsolete when

Users confirm dictation works without the setting after the 2026-10-14 server-side fix, or the extension changes how it calls /transcribe. Open question: why the Remote WSL setup did not recover with the setting.