From 7633a3ee90d672c14a373f7ae98ccdf0117238f2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: David Wiesen <iceweasel@openai.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2026 08:06:08 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Improve Windows sandbox UAC cancel error

---
 .../src/setup_orchestrator.rs                 | 25 ++++++++++++++++---
 1 file changed, 21 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/codex-rs/windows-sandbox-rs/src/setup_orchestrator.rs b/codex-rs/windows-sandbox-rs/src/setup_orchestrator.rs
index f6583e0de4..85ad2b6188 100644
--- a/codex-rs/windows-sandbox-rs/src/setup_orchestrator.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/windows-sandbox-rs/src/setup_orchestrator.rs
@@ -600,6 +600,14 @@ fn report_helper_failure(
     }
 }
 
+fn helper_launch_failure_message(last_error: u32) -> String {
+    if last_error == ERROR_CANCELLED {
+        "Windows canceled the sandbox setup helper launch (error 1223). This usually means the UAC elevation prompt was dismissed or denied. Approve the prompt and try again, or use the non-admin sandbox fallback.".to_string()
+    } else {
+        format!("ShellExecuteExW failed to launch setup helper: {last_error}")
+    }
+}
+
 fn run_setup_exe(
     payload: &ElevationPayload,
     needs_elevation: bool,
@@ -684,10 +692,7 @@ fn run_setup_exe(
         } else {
             SetupErrorCode::OrchestratorHelperLaunchFailed
         };
-        return Err(failure(
-            code,
-            format!("ShellExecuteExW failed to launch setup helper: {last_error}"),
-        ));
+        return Err(failure(code, helper_launch_failure_message(last_error)));
     }
     unsafe {
         WaitForSingleObject(sei.hProcess, INFINITE);
@@ -801,9 +806,11 @@ fn filter_sensitive_write_roots(mut roots: Vec<PathBuf>, codex_home: &Path) -> V
 
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
+    use super::ERROR_CANCELLED;
     use super::WINDOWS_PLATFORM_DEFAULT_READ_ROOTS;
     use super::gather_legacy_full_read_roots;
     use super::gather_read_roots;
+    use super::helper_launch_failure_message;
     use super::loopback_proxy_port_from_url;
     use super::offline_proxy_settings_from_env;
     use super::profile_read_roots;
@@ -852,6 +859,16 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(loopback_proxy_port_from_url("localhost:8080"), None);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn canceled_helper_launch_message_explains_uac_recovery() {
+        let message = helper_launch_failure_message(ERROR_CANCELLED);
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            message,
+            "Windows canceled the sandbox setup helper launch (error 1223). This usually means the UAC elevation prompt was dismissed or denied. Approve the prompt and try again, or use the non-admin sandbox fallback."
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn proxy_ports_from_env_dedupes_and_sorts() {
         let mut env = HashMap::new();