FIX: WSL Paste image does not work #6793

Waxime64 · 2025-11-17T20:31:59Z

Related issues:

Area: codex-cli (image handling / clipboard & file uploads)
Platforms affected: WSL (Ubuntu on Windows 10/11). No behavior change on native Linux/macOS/Windows.

Summary

This PR fixes image pasting and file uploads when running codex-cli inside WSL. Previously, image operations failed silently or with permission errors because paths weren't properly mapped between Windows and WSL filesystems.

Visual Result

Last Rust-Cli

Root cause

The CLI assumed native Linux/Windows environments and didn't handle the WSL↔Windows boundary:

Used Linux paths for files that lived on the Windows host
Missing path normalization between Windows (C:\...) and WSL (/mnt/c/...)
Clipboard access failed under WSL

Why `Ctrl+V` doesn't work in WSL terminals

Most WSL terminal emulators (Windows Terminal, ConEmu, etc.) intercept Ctrl+V at the terminal level to paste text from the Windows clipboard. This keypress never reaches the CLI application itself, so our clipboard image handler never gets triggered. Users need Ctrl+Alt+V.

Changes

WSL detection & path mapping

Detects WSL by checking /proc/sys/kernel/osrelease and the WSL_INTEROP env var
Maps Windows drive paths to WSL mount paths (C:\... → /mnt/c/...)

Clipboard fallback for WSL

When clipboard access fails under WSL, falls back to PowerShell to extract images from the Windows clipboard
Saves to a temp file and maps the path back to WSL

UI improvements

Shows Ctrl+Alt+V hint on WSL (many terminals intercept plain Ctrl+V)
Better error messages for unreadable images

Performance

Negligible overhead. The fallback adds a single FS copy to a temp file only when needed.
Direct streaming remains the default.

Files changed

protocol/src/lib.rs – Added platform detection module
protocol/src/models.rs – Added WSL path mapping for local images
protocol/src/platform.rs – New module with WSL detection utilities
tui/src/bottom_pane/chat_composer.rs – Added base64 data URL support and WSL path mapping
tui/src/bottom_pane/footer.rs – WSL-aware keyboard shortcuts
tui/src/clipboard_paste.rs – PowerShell clipboard fallback

How to reproduce the original bug (pre-fix)

Run codex-cli inside WSL2 on Windows.
Paste an image from the Windows clipboard or drag an image from C:\... into the terminal.
Observe that the image is not attached (silent failure) or an error is logged; no artifact reaches the tool.

How to verify the fix

Build this branch and run codex-cli inside WSL2.
Paste from clipboard and drag from both Windows and WSL paths.
Confirm that the image appears in the tool and the CLI shows a single concise info line (no warning unless fallback was used).

I’m happy to adjust paths, naming, or split helpers into a separate module if you prefer.

How to try this branch

If you want to try this before it’s merged, you can use my Git branch:

Repository: https://github.com/Waxime64/codex.git
Branch: wsl-image-2

Start WSL on your Windows machine.

Clone the repository and switch to the branch:

git clone https://github.com/Waxime64/codex.git
cd codex
git checkout wsl-image-2
# then go into the Rust workspace root, e.g.:
cd codex-rs

Build the TUI binary:
cargo build -p codex-tui --bin codex-tui --release
Install the binary:
sudo install -m 0755 target/release/codex-tui /usr/local/bin/codex
From the project directory where you want to use Codex, start it with:
cd /path/to/your/project
/usr/local/bin/codex

On WSL, use CTRL+ALT+V to paste an image from the Windows clipboard into the chat.

github-actions · 2025-11-17T20:32:08Z

All contributors have signed the CLA ✍️ ✅
_{Posted by the CLA Assistant Lite bot.}

Waxime64 · 2025-11-17T20:32:13Z

I have read the CLA Document and I hereby sign the CLA

Waxime64 · 2025-11-17T20:46:14Z

I close #5644 and create new PR. Last version have too many commit and merge

Waxime64 · 2025-11-17T20:46:40Z

@codex

chatgpt-codex-connector · 2025-11-17T20:46:49Z

Note

To use Codex here, create an environment for this repo.

…r Linux) new version

Loongphy · 2025-11-18T08:34:08Z

I close #5644
*

and create new PR. Last version have too many commit and merge

why not use force push? There's no need to open a new PR for the same implementation.

However, it seems the Codex team hasn’t really prioritized Windows support — even though both the community and the team themselves have provided fixes #6046 .

Waxime64 · 2025-11-18T17:05:53Z

I close #5644
*
and create new PR. Last version have too many commit and merge

why not use force push? There's no need to open a new PR for the same implementation.

However, it seems the Codex team hasn’t really prioritized Windows support — even though both the community and the team themselves have provided fixes #6046 .

I’m agree, but last PR have multiples problem. Fist commit update too many file, multiple change in some class. Yes the result is the same, but now is only the change and not multiple revert.

Other PR have the problem of Codex isn’t sign the CLA.

Waxime64 · 2025-11-18T22:27:19Z

…wsl-image-2

draft: feat: Better OS Detection, starting with windows openai#6046

Use is_probably_wsl Separate function: Clipboard Use chatwidget.rs Add key_hint::ctrl_alt

…nux distro name

Waxime64 · 2025-12-04T02:14:23Z

I think I forget nothing

Visual Test

Rust-CI
https://github.com/Waxime64/codex/actions/runs/19915423862

@dylan-hurd-oai

dylan-hurd-oai

Looking much better! Some final comments

codex-rs/tui/src/clipboard_paste.rs

codex-rs/tui/src/bottom_pane/chat_composer.rs

clipboard_paste.rs: fallback for is_probably_wsl and remove public convert_windows_path_to_wsl

Waxime64 · 2025-12-04T16:38:41Z

New test with: wsl.exe --install -d Debian --no-launch
Work and WSL is detected

Test with default, Ubuntu and Debian

dylan-hurd-oai · 2025-12-04T18:19:49Z

codex-rs/tui/src/bottom_pane/chat_composer.rs

        };

+        // normalize_pasted_path already handles Windows → WSL path conversion,
+        // so we can directly try to read the image dimensions.


@Waxime64 final clean-up, can we remove this comment?

Waxime64 · 2025-12-04T18:30:15Z

@dylan-hurd-oai: That can be in other ticket. But I found a problem if "Windows interop is disabled". Example on Feudora. The hint to call powershell fail.
I check if I can detect the problem and write the good answer in this case. But for clipboard can work, interop have to be activate. Is activate on Ubuntu (Default value of WSL) and Debian

dylan-hurd-oai · 2025-12-04T18:32:20Z

Good find - thanks for investigating. Based on your report, it does not appear to be a regression - i.e. calls that failed before will continue to fail. Therefore I think we can proceed with this fix. Can you open up a new github issue for that specific problem so we can track the new PR accordingly?

Waxime64 · 2025-12-04T18:34:27Z

Good find - thanks for investigating. Based on your report, it does not appear to be a regression - i.e. calls that failed before will continue to fail. Therefore I think we can proceed with this fix. Can you open up a new github issue for that specific problem so we can track the new PR accordingly?

I install all WSL linux possible on my computer. I can create the issue and make the correction, but for log in other Bug

etraut-openai · 2025-12-04T18:59:28Z

Nice! I'm so happy to see this merged!

@Waxime64, thanks again for the contribution. We really appreciate your diligence and persistence on this one.

Waxime64 mentioned this pull request Nov 17, 2025

Fix: Image paste/upload does not work under WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) #5644

Closed

Fix: Image paste/upload does not work under WSL (Windows Subsystem fo…

8d73a8b

…r Linux) new version

Waxime64 force-pushed the wsl-image-2 branch from 0ee6668 to 8d73a8b Compare November 17, 2025 21:20

Waxime64 added 3 commits November 17, 2025 16:20

Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

4ae3063

Merge openai#6046

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Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Waxime64 changed the title ~~Fix: Image paste/upload does not work under WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)~~ WSL: Paste image does not work Nov 18, 2025

Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Waxime64 added 4 commits November 18, 2025 12:05

Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Waxime64 added 8 commits November 18, 2025 19:17

Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Correction merge prompt_caching

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Correction merge prompt_caching

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Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Waxime64 changed the title ~~WSL: Paste image does not work~~ FIX: Paste image does not work Nov 19, 2025

Waxime64 added 8 commits December 3, 2025 19:48

Merge branch 'wsl-image-2' of https://github.com/Waxime64/codex into …

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…wsl-image-2

Revert openai#6046

cea4bad

draft: feat: Better OS Detection, starting with windows openai#6046

Code review correction:

b41c568

Use is_probably_wsl Separate function: Clipboard Use chatwidget.rs Add key_hint::ctrl_alt

Format /etc

200daea

Format /etc

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Correction is_probably_wsl for use correctly /proc/version and not Li…

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…nux distro name

Remove old base64 section

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Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Waxime64 requested a review from dylan-hurd-oai December 4, 2025 02:14

Remove eprintln

e003c9a

dylan-hurd-oai reviewed Dec 4, 2025

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Waxime64 added 2 commits December 4, 2025 08:53

Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

580149e

chat_composer.rs: Remove image_dimensions Err correction

6153595

clipboard_paste.rs: fallback for is_probably_wsl and remove public convert_windows_path_to_wsl

Waxime64 requested a review from dylan-hurd-oai December 4, 2025 13:58

Waxime64 added 3 commits December 4, 2025 10:50

Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Waxime64 added 2 commits December 4, 2025 13:00

Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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Merge branch 'main' into wsl-image-2

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dylan-hurd-oai approved these changes Dec 4, 2025

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dylan-hurd-oai merged commit ce0b38c into openai:main Dec 4, 2025
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Waxime64 deleted the wsl-image-2 branch December 4, 2025 18:51

FIX: WSL Paste image does not work #6793

FIX: WSL Paste image does not work #6793

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Waxime64 commented Nov 17, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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Related issues:

Summary

Visual Result

Last Rust-Cli

Root cause

Why Ctrl+V doesn't work in WSL terminals

Changes

WSL detection & path mapping

Clipboard fallback for WSL

UI improvements

Performance

Files changed

How to reproduce the original bug (pre-fix)

How to verify the fix

How to try this branch

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Why `Ctrl+V` doesn't work in WSL terminals

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