Keep your Codex Desktop hacks alive after updates

What it does

This project is a set of agent skill definitions and reference PowerShell scripts that diagnose and repair Windows-specific Codex Desktop breakages after official updates. It targets everything from vanished Fast Mode toggles and missing model entries to dead plugins, broken browser integration, Computer Use helper crashes, and mobile remote-control lockouts. The scripts inspect local MSIX packages, patch Electron ASAR bundles, and in some cases rebuild or replace native binaries, then repack and resign the app.

The interesting bit

The project treats Codex Desktop like a system you own rather than a sealed appliance: it patches specific Win10 screenshot COM deadlocks by hash-matched helper replacement, reconstructs remote-control native servers when API-key auth blocks the official flow, and even auto-updates its own skill definitions from GitHub before each run. It is essentially a field repair manual encoded as PowerShell surgery.

Key highlights

• Restores Fast Mode, custom providers, UI language, plugins, browser use, Computer Use, and mobile remote control after updates
• Patches and repacks MSIX/ASAR bundles, resigns packages, and replaces native Rust app-server binaries for remote control
• Handles precise Win10 Computer Use helper bugs (SetIsBorderRequired 0x80004002, FrameArrived deadlocks) with hash-specific patches
• Syncs session metadata to resurrect conversations lost after switching API providers, and can repair missing working directories
• Self-updating skill definitions and optional backup/restore for Codex configuration, MCP, and marketplace state

Caveats

• Windows-only; macOS requires an entirely separate toolchain and is explicitly unsupported
• Not a one-click fix: the scripts are reference implementations that demand reading SKILL.md, inspecting local paths, and often running -DryRun first
• Some repairs (MSIX repacking, app replacement) require an external agent or PowerShell session because they stop or uninstall the running Codex Desktop instance

Verdict

Worth bookmarking if you run Codex Desktop on Windows with unlocked features, third-party APIs, or regional patches that vanish every update. Skip it if you want official, zero-maintenance software or live entirely on macOS.