Install Codex Dream Skin on Windows

Support and requirements

• Windows with the official Microsoft Store Codex app installed
• Node.js 22 or newer
• PowerShell
• Permission to create Desktop and Start Menu shortcuts

Install the launcher

.\scripts\install-dream-skin.ps1

The installer records the existing appearance values, sets the matching base theme, and creates launch and restore shortcuts unless -NoShortcuts is used.

Launch the themed session

.\scripts\start-dream-skin.ps1

If Codex is already open without the verified Dream Skin endpoint, close it first. Command-line callers must explicitly add -RestartExisting when they want the script to restart an open window.

Verify the theme

.\scripts\verify-dream-skin.ps1 -ScreenshotPath "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\codex-dream-skin.png"

Check both the home view and a normal task. A missing hero, native composer, sidebar treatment, or injection marker is a verification failure.

Restore the official appearance

.\scripts\restore-dream-skin.ps1 -RestoreBaseTheme

Restore closes the recorded CDP session, restores saved appearance keys, and reopens the official app. Add -Uninstall only when you also want the shortcuts removed.

Common problems

• If port 9335 is occupied, the normal launcher chooses a free port unless you explicitly requested the occupied port.
• After a Codex update, rerun install and start so the scripts rediscover the current Store package.
• Do not run untrusted local software while the loopback CDP session is active.
• Use GitHub Issues and include the verify output when the theme does not appear.

Editorial review context

This page is a reading companion, not an installer mirror. It organizes the public upstream workflow into preparation, execution, verification, and recovery stages so that you can make a deliberate decision before running any script. Repository contents can change after this review date. Compare every command on this page with the current source, release notes, and file history before use. If a filename, required version, or described result differs, investigate the current repository rather than forcing an older command to run.

Verify the source before PowerShell

Open the original repository from the link above and confirm that the browser address, repository owner, and Windows directory match the source named by this guide. Read the README and inspect the scripts directory instead of downloading a similarly named archive from search results. GitHub exposes commit history for each file; use it to see when installation, launch, verification, and restore behavior last changed. A short review is especially important for PowerShell because a script can read local files, start processes, and change user-level configuration with the permissions of the person running it.

• Confirm that the official Codex app came from Microsoft Store and opens normally before adding a visual layer.
• Read install-dream-skin.ps1, start-dream-skin.ps1, verify-dream-skin.ps1, and restore-dream-skin.ps1 as one lifecycle rather than reviewing only install.
• Check recent repository issues for Store-package discovery or Codex-update reports that resemble your environment.
• Keep Windows Security enabled and do not suppress warnings merely to make an unfamiliar archive run.
• Record the commit or release you reviewed so later troubleshooting refers to the same source state.

Know the expected result at each stage

Preparation should leave the official app working and closed, with Node.js and PowerShell available from the same user account that will run the helper. Installation should create only the project-described user files, saved appearance state, and optional shortcuts. Launch should open a Codex window through the documented local runtime-styling path. It should not replace the official application with a second executable or ask you to upload credentials. Verification should confirm both visual changes and native interaction. Restoration should return the ordinary appearance without removing threads, projects, authentication, provider settings, or the signed Store package.

Treat unexpected behavior as information, not as a prompt to repeat commands blindly. If installation stops because the Store package is missing, first open the official app and check Windows settings. If launch reports an occupied port, identify the owning process instead of terminating arbitrary processes. If the visual layer appears on the home view but not a task, capture verification output and note exactly which route was open. If restore cannot identify a recorded session, close Codex normally, preserve the state directory, and consult current upstream instructions before deleting anything.

Windows verification checklist

• Open the home screen and confirm project cards, navigation, account controls, and keyboard focus still behave as native controls.
• Open an existing task and a new task; verify that the background does not obscure code, links, status text, or errors.
• Place focus in the composer, type without sending, and make sure the input region remains distinguishable from the background.
• Resize the window and test the narrowest size you normally use because responsive cropping can reveal noisy areas.
• Run the documented verification script and save its text output. A screenshot is supporting evidence, not a substitute for diagnostics.
• Run the restore path once before relying on the theme. A customization is not ready until you know how to exit it.

A successful visual check means the official interface remains usable, not merely that a background is visible. Contrast problems often appear only in task history, menus, hover states, muted text, or the composer. Use a quiet image with a dark reading region and verify under the Windows scaling setting you actually use. If the theme requires unusually bright text, hidden controls, or repeated restarts to remain legible, change the image or colors instead of accepting a fragile setup.

Handle updates and prepare a useful issue report

Microsoft Store updates can change the installed Codex package while the third-party project may also change its detection and styling logic. When a previously working setup stops, separate those two timelines. Confirm that official Codex works without the theme, note the app update date, then compare the repository state with the commit you originally reviewed. Reinstall or reapply only when current upstream documentation instructs you to do so. Do not copy commands from an old comment into an updated checkout without understanding the difference.

• Include Windows edition, CPU architecture, Node.js major version, and whether Codex came from Microsoft Store.
• Name the exact script and arguments, but remove usernames, tokens, identifying local paths, and task content.
• Attach verification output and the smallest relevant log excerpt; redact personal information before posting publicly.
• State whether the official appearance works after restore and whether port selection was automatic or explicitly configured.
• Link the upstream commit used. Send website-copy corrections to CodexSkin and tool behavior reports to the upstream project.