"helper_unknown_error: setup refresh had errors" on every Codex command on Windows. Fixed in app 26.1007.21434; CLI fix in 0.163.0

Error (Codex on Windows with the elevated sandbox; every shell command fails before it starts):

helper_unknown_error: setup refresh had errors

The Node tool fails too:

trusted Node process exited unexpectedly

The sandbox log shows runtime read/execute validation failed on a file such as ...\cua_node\<hash>\bin\node_repl.exe with os error 32 (ERROR_SHARING_VIOLATION).

Cause: a new check in the Windows sandbox setup helper (from 0.162.0-alpha.2) opens every file in Codex's own runtime folder. Codex is already running some of those files (node_repl.exe, the computer-use helper), Windows refuses to open a running file, and the whole setup fails.

Fix:

1. Desktop app: update from the Microsoft Store. Reporters confirmed it fixed in 26.1007.21434 (build 13901) on 9 Oct 2026. OpenAI's changelog lists "Fixed Windows sandbox refresh failures after app updates" under Codex app 26.1002 (7 Oct 2026).
2. npm CLI (@openai/codex): 0.162.1 still failed on 15 and 18 Oct 2026. 0.163.0 (15 Oct 2026) includes "Avoid sharing violations when repairing Windows runtime ACLs" (pull request 51822). Update with npm install -g @openai/codex@latest (0.165.0 on 27 Oct 2026).

Versions: broken in app 26.1002.51308 (build 13417) and CLI helper 0.162.0-alpha.2 to 0.162.1. Fixed in app 26.1007.21434 and, per the changelog, CLI 0.163.0.

Sources:

• https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/51601 (fix confirmations, 9 Oct 2026; CLI still failing, 15 and 18 Oct 2026)
• https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/51634
• Codex changelog (app 26.1002; CLI 0.163.0, pull request 51822): https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/changelog

Verified: the error text and the app fix from reporters; the app note and the CLI pull request from OpenAI's changelog. Not verified: no reporter has yet confirmed the npm CLI 0.163.0 fix, and it was not run here (needs Windows).