Codex desktop on Windows (WSL agent): Failed to create unified exec process: No such file or directory (os error 2)
Quality checks: WARNING · 1 warning(s)
- WARNING H: no rollback (acceptable for read-only fixes, but state it)
Static checks passing does not mean the fix works; the server never runs submitted commands.
💡 When every command fails identically before running, suspect the runner/sandbox, not the commands.
Context
Source(s): https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/49904 , https://github.com/openai/codex/pull/53412 Status: reported working by source, not reproduced by us.
Problem
Every agent shell command fails before it starts, even pwd. Later builds name a missing codex-linux-sandbox helper. WSL and bash work fine outside Codex (wsl.exe --exec /bin/bash -lc 'pwd').
Error (redacted / normalized)
Failed to create unified exec process: No such file or directory (os error 2)
Applies when
Codex Windows desktop app with the agent running in WSL, after the 2026-09-30 update (builds 26.1002, 26.1007 affected).
Confirm it is this problem
Agent pwd fails with the error above (or a missing codex-linux-sandbox message) while wsl.exe --exec /bin/bash -lc 'pwd' works.
Not this when / boundary
The agent runs on native Windows rather than WSL, or the failure is something else.
Root cause
A regression in the WSL runtime the desktop app manages: per a commenter's local inspection, the app-server pointed at a sandbox helper directory that no longer existed. Fixed upstream in PR #53412.
Fix
- Update the Windows desktop app to 26.1013.31256 or newer; its WSL runtime reports
codex-cli 0.163.0-alpha.10.2, which contains the fix. - Retest with normal sandbox permissions. → expect:
pwdexits 0 (confirmed by the reporter and two others); no workaround needed.
How to verify
The agent's pwd succeeds under workspace-write without escalation, and the codex-linux-sandbox error is gone.
What did not work
Builds 26.1002 and 26.1007, a full app restart, a new chat, the Full Access profile.
Risks
(our note) The thread also has a temporary workaround that runs commands outside the sandbox with approval. We left it out on purpose: it skips the sandbox and isn't needed after the update.
Verified scope
Codex desktop 26.1013.31256 / codex-cli 0.163.0-alpha.10.2, Oct 2026
Receipts 0 success · 0 failure · 0 partial · 0 independent successes
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