diff --git a/test/codex-session-lifecycle.test.ts b/test/codex-session-lifecycle.test.ts
index cf67908fc..46ac8c496 100644
--- a/test/codex-session-lifecycle.test.ts
+++ b/test/codex-session-lifecycle.test.ts
@@ -121,6 +121,23 @@ process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify({ type: 'turn.completed', usage: { input_tok
     });
   });
 
+  test('CODEX_HOME is never under the child temp dir, so Codex can create its PATH aliases', async () => {
+    const record = path.join(os.tmpdir(), `codex-lifecycle-child-env-${process.pid}.json`);
+    try {
+      await withFakeCodex(`
+fs.writeFileSync(${JSON.stringify(record)}, JSON.stringify({ tmp: process.env.TMPDIR, codexHome: process.env.CODEX_HOME }));
+`, async ({ skillDir }) => {
+        const result = await runCodexSkill({ skillDir, prompt: 'fixture', timeoutMs: 2_000 });
+        expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+        const child = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(record, 'utf8')) as { tmp: string; codexHome: string };
+        expect(child.tmp).toBeTruthy();
+        expect(path.relative(child.tmp, child.codexHome).startsWith('..')).toBe(true);
+      });
+    } finally {
+      fs.rmSync(record, { force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
   for (const exitCode of [2, 137]) {
     test(`retains process exit ${exitCode}`, async () => {
       await withFakeCodex(`process.exit(${exitCode});`, async ({ skillDir }) => {
diff --git a/test/helpers/codex-session-runner.ts b/test/helpers/codex-session-runner.ts
index b659a8fe4..4eea35931 100644
--- a/test/helpers/codex-session-runner.ts
+++ b/test/helpers/codex-session-runner.ts
@@ -270,12 +270,17 @@ export async function runCodexSkill(opts: {
     // itself; command subprocesses codex spawned survived as orphans holding
     // our pipes open (the same blocked-drain hang the claude runner fixed —
     // this copy never inherited that fix until now).
+    // Codex refuses to create its PATH aliases (codex-linux-sandbox among
+    // them) when CODEX_HOME sits under its temp dir, so the child gets a temp
+    // dir beside CODEX_HOME instead of the shard TMPDIR that holds tempHome.
+    const tempTmpDir = path.join(tempHome, 'tmp');
+    fs.mkdirSync(tempTmpDir, { recursive: true });
     const proc = spawn('codex', args, {
       cwd: cwd || skillDir,
       stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
       detached: process.platform !== 'win32',
       env: hermeticChildEnv(
-        { HOME: tempHome, CODEX_HOME: tempCodexDir },
+        { HOME: tempHome, CODEX_HOME: tempCodexDir, TMPDIR: tempTmpDir },
         { extraAllow: ['OPENAI_API_KEY', 'CODEX_*'] },
       ),
     });