Updated and Now Codex Error?

[plain condor]

After updating, I’m getting and error when trying to chat to OpenClaw on Discord

Then, the gateway posts these errors

[calm bluff]

savannah, the screenshot is showing:

Managed Codex app-server binary was not found for @openai/codex

So Discord itself is probably fine. OpenClaw is selecting the native Codex app-server harness, then failing before it can reply because it can’t find/start the Codex app-server binary.

First thing: can you paste:

openclaw --version
openclaw status --all
command -v codex
codex --version

Likely fixes depending on how you installed:

[calm bluff]

If you run OpenClaw from source:

cd /path/to/openclaw
pnpm install
pnpm build
openclaw gateway restart

If you intentionally use an external Codex CLI, point OpenClaw at the real binary path from command -v codex using either plugins.entries.codex.config.appServer.command or OPENCLAW_CODEX_APP_SERVER_BIN, then restart the gateway.

Relevant docs:
https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq
https://docs.openclaw.ai/plugins/codex-harness

[plain condor]

I connect OpenClaw to my paid OpenAI subscription. Does that change anything?

[calm bluff]

It changes the auth path, but not this specific error.

Your paid OpenAI/Codex subscription can be used by OpenClaw, but the screenshot error is lower-level: OpenClaw selected the native Codex app-server harness and then couldn’t find the Codex app-server binary to launch.

So the question is which route your config is using:

• openai-codex/... = Codex OAuth/subscription through OpenClaw’s provider path
• openai/... with embeddedHarness.runtime: "codex" or legacy codex/... = native Codex app-server route, which needs the Codex CLI/app-server available locally

For your error, still check:

openclaw --version
command -v codex
codex --version
openclaw status --all

[calm bluff]

If command -v codex is empty, that explains it. If it exists, OpenClaw may be running as a daemon with a different PATH, so you’d point plugins.entries.codex.config.appServer.command or OPENCLAW_CODEX_APP_SERVER_BIN at the absolute path, then restart the gateway.

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/plugins/codex-harness

[calm bluff]

Yep, this gives us two useful clues:

1. OpenClaw is on 2026.5.12, so that part looks current.
2. Your Codex CLI is codex-cli 0.114.0, which is too old for the current Codex app-server harness. The docs say the app-server handshake needs Codex 0.118.0 or newer.

Try this in PowerShell:

npm install -g @openai/codex@latest
codex --version
Get-Command codex | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Source
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw gateway status
openclaw status --all

Also: your status screenshot now shows the Gateway itself is unreachable:

[calm bluff]

connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:18789

So after updating Codex, if openclaw gateway restart still doesn’t bring it up, run:

openclaw logs --follow

and paste the first actual startup error from the log. The earlier Discord/Codex error may have been the app-server problem, but right now the gateway also isn’t listening on port 18789.

Docs:
https://docs.openclaw.ai/plugins/codex-harness
https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq

[plain condor]

ok. i updated codex. still the same issue

[calm bluff]

Thanks, the new log is useful. The gateway is starting now, so the ECONNREFUSED part looks fixed. The remaining failure is still exactly the Codex app-server binary lookup.

On Windows, updating global Codex may not be enough because the Gateway scheduled task can run with a different PATH. I’d make it explicit in config.

Run:

where.exe codex
codex --version

Use the .cmd path from where.exe codex, not the .ps1 path. Then add this to C:\Users\Bear Clan\.openclaw\openclaw.json:

{
  plugins: {

[calm bluff]

    entries: {
      codex: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          appServer: {
            command: "C:\\Users\\Bear Clan\\AppData\\Roaming\
pm\\codex.cmd"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Adjust that path to whatever where.exe codex prints. Then:

[calm bluff]

openclaw gateway restart
openclaw logs --follow

One more thing: your log says OpenClaw is loading a non-bundled codex plugin from C:\Users\Bear Clan\.openclaw pm ode_modules\@openclaw\codex\.... If forcing appServer.command still fails, run this too:

openclaw plugins update --all
openclaw gateway restart

Docs for the exact config key: https://docs.openclaw.ai/plugins/codex-harness

[plain condor]

I tried adding that code to the json and I got an invalid json error

Meanwhile codex version is codex-cli 0.130.0

[calm bluff]

codex-cli 0.130.0 is good, so now this is almost certainly config/PATH, not Codex version.

Don’t hand-edit the JSON for this one. Use the config CLI so OpenClaw writes valid JSON5 for you:

where.exe codex
openclaw config set plugins.entries.codex.enabled true
openclaw config set plugins.entries.codex.config.appServer.command "C:\Users\Bear Clan\AppData\Roaming
pm\codex.cmd"
openclaw config validate
openclaw gateway restart

Replace that codex.cmd path with the .cmd path from where.exe codex if yours is different.

If you do edit manually, the common mistake is pasting a whole new { plugins: ... } block into the middle/end of the existing file. It has to be merged into the existing top-level object, with commas in the right places. The CLI avoids that.

[calm bluff]

If openclaw config validate still errors, paste that exact validation error. That will tell us whether it’s syntax or a schema/path issue.

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/configuration

[plain condor]

That finally worked. Thank you @calm bluff

[calm bluff]

Glad that fixed it! 🎉

For future searchability: this ended up being Windows Gateway PATH/config after updating Codex. Setting plugins.entries.codex.config.appServer.command to the absolute codex.cmd path fixed the Codex app-server lookup.

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