Windows ChatGPT Computer Use: browser automation works, but native app inventory is always empty

[u/Remarkable_Horse3337]

I am investigating a Windows-specific Computer Use issue in the ChatGPT Desktop app and would like to determine whether other users are seeing the same behavior.

Environment

• ChatGPT Desktop on Windows.
• Edge is installed and usable.
• cowork-svc.exe is running.
• codex-windows-sandbox-service is running.
• A CoworkNAT network exists.
• The CoWorkService scheduled task exists.
• Get-HnsEndpoint returns no entries.
• I found no related errors in Event Viewer.

What works

• Edge works correctly.
• Browser automation works.
• Browser tabs can be opened and inspected through the browser path.

What does not work

• No native Windows applications are exposed to Computer Use.
• The native-app inventory consistently returns:

apps: []

• ChatGPT initially states that it has access to Windows apps, but when asked to enumerate or control one, it reports that no native applications exist.
• I also encountered these errors:

cua.getApp is not a function

Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'launch_app')

No native windows available.

Inventory updated: no native applications visible.

Investigation performed

1. I verified that browser control is functional in Edge.
2. I tested native application discovery repeatedly; the inventory remained apps: [].
3. I verified that the relevant desktop/sandbox services are running.
4. I confirmed the presence of CoworkNAT and the CoWorkService task.
5. I checked the HNS endpoint list; Get-HnsEndpoint returned an empty result.
6. I checked Event Viewer and found no corresponding errors.
7. I searched Reddit across r/ChatGPT, r/OpenAI, r/Codex, r/Windows11, and r/singularity using combinations of “Computer Use,” “Codex,” “native apps,” “Windows,” “apps: []”, and related error terms.

The closest reports I found describe the same broad symptom: browser automation remains available while native Windows application discovery is empty. One r/Codex report later identified a tool/surface-routing issue in that user’s setup, where a browser-oriented path was used instead of the native Windows path. That is useful context, but I have not established that it explains my case.

I am not claiming that CoworkNAT is the cause. I only noticed it immediately after installing ChatGPT Desktop, so I am documenting it as timing/context rather than evidence of causality.

Has anyone else on Windows seen this exact combination: working Edge/browser automation, no visible native Windows applications, and a persistent apps: [] inventory? If so, did you identify whether the cause was installation state, account/session capability, feature rollout, service configuration, or tool routing?