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[Codex Desktop Windows Bug] Path normalization error with SUBST mapped drive triggers frequent crashes (no issues on macOS) #37525

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@lex1982103

When using the Windows version of Codex, I encounter frequent crashes. This issue does not occur on my Mac. I ran an analysis within Codex itself, and its findings are as follows:

We can confirm there is a bug related to path handling. More precisely, the Codex Windows desktop version has issues normalizing paths for drives created via the SUBST command.
Local verification results:
Drive X: is indeed mapped to D:\X using SUBST.
Both D:\X\out\zy and X:\out\zy exist and point to the same project.
However, Codex incorrectly concatenates the two path formats into:
D:\X\out\zy\X:\out\zy
This invalid path does not exist, and this error has appeared 777 times repeatedly in the logs to date.

The path bug is confirmed. It likely increases the risk of crashes, though existing crash reports only confirm main process failures. We cannot conclusively prove that all four crashes were caused solely by this issue.

The most reliable workaround for now: remove the X:\out\zy project from Codex’s sidebar, then re-add it using the physical path D:\X\out\zy. Do not have the same project listed simultaneously under both its physical path and mapped drive path.

The OpenAI documentation does not list mapped drives as an officially documented limitation. It only recommends verifying working directories when path anomalies occur and submitting issues together with sessions and logs, per official troubleshooting documentation.

Since switching to using the actual physical directory, I have not experienced any further crashes.

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    appIssues related to the Codex desktop appbugSomething isn't workingwindows-osIssues related to Codex on Windows systems

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