Codex VS Code extension is stuck on about:blank#blocked and never shows the authentication page on Ubuntu 22.04

Codex
,
1

Summary

The Codex sidebar never loads the authentication page in VS Code. Instead, it gets stuck on the loading spinner and eventually shows about:blank#blocked.

Environment

  • OS: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
  • Desktop: GNOME
  • Session: Wayland (also reproduced when launching VS Code with X11)
  • VS Code: 1.128.0
  • OpenAI ChatGPT Extension: 26.707.31428
  • Architecture: x64

Expected behavior

Opening the Codex sidebar should display the ChatGPT authentication page or automatically sign in.

Actual behavior

  • Open the Codex sidebar.
  • OpenAI logo/spinner appears.
  • Authentication page never loads.
  • Eventually the webview becomes:
about:blank#blocked

Codex cannot be used.

What I already tried

  • Reinstalled the OpenAI extension.
  • Removed VS Code caches.
  • Removed extension caches.
  • Created a completely new VS Code profile.
  • Started VS Code with separate --user-data-dir and --extensions-dir.
  • Disabled GPU.
  • Tested with Wayland and X11.
  • Browser authentication works correctly.
  • https://chatgpt.com/auth/login opens normally in Chrome.
  • Internet connectivity is normal.
  • Same issue occurs on a clean profile.

Codex backend

The bundled Codex backend starts successfully.

Activating Codex extension
Spawning codex app-server
Initialize received

The Codex binary is running correctly:

~/.vscode/extensions/openai.chatgpt-26.707.31428-linux-x64/bin/linux-x86_64/codex app-server

Codex log

The only authentication-related message is:

failed to warm featured plugin ids cache

https://chatgpt.com/backend-api/plugins/featured

401 Unauthorized

This appears to happen because the authentication flow never starts.

Developer Console

The Codex webview eventually becomes:

about:blank#blocked

Console also reports:

Failed to fetch
ERR_SOCKET_NOT_CONNECTED

VS Code status

Version: 1.128.0
OS: Ubuntu 22.04
Session: Wayland
GPU: Intel Iris Xe
Extension Host: Running
Network Service: Running
Codex app-server: Running

Additional information

Since:

  • the browser authentication works,
  • the Codex backend starts correctly,
  • the issue reproduces on a completely clean VS Code profile,

it looks like the VS Code WebView/OAuth flow is failing before the authentication page is rendered.

I can provide additional logs if needed.

2

Hi!

Last time I had something like this it was due to something like the C++ runtime not being installed. Can you check that you have the basics a dev machine would expect to have, it was a while ago and I can’t quite remember what dll/library was missing.

3

I experienced the same problem on Ubuntu 22.04; you can solve it by downgrading VS Code to version 1.127.0.

4

I found the actual cause. It’s a Windows-specific bug in the Codex VS Code extension, not necessarily VS Code 1.128. The central editor route incorrectly uses uri.fsPath instead of uri.path, causing New Codex Agent to open as a blank tab.

The workaround is to patch the installed extension’s out/extension.js:

{path:t.fsPath,conversationId:s}

Change it to:

{path:n,conversationId:s}

Then run Developer: Reload Window in VS Code.

This fixed it for me without downgrading VS Code. The patch may be overwritten when the Codex extension updates.

Can’t post links, but here’s the official bug report: https:// github. com/openai/codex/issues/21863

5

I just fixed this issue by downgrading VS Code to version 1.127.0 on Linux. Thanks !