Issue Station
Sign In
Tools hereToolbox

codex - 💡(How to fix) Fix Codex remains running after window close on Windows and cannot reopen UI until process is killed [2 comments, 3 participants]

Official PRs (…)
ON THIS PAGE

Recommended Tools

×6

Utilities matched from this issue’s tags and category — try them while you read without losing context.

GitHub issue graph ai analysis

Paste a GitHub issue URL. We fetch that issue, discover linked issues from bodies/comments/timeline, collect linked pull requests, and produce a structured English report.

The report is written in English Markdown for sharing and archival.

Helpful · Quick feedback

Loading…
GitHub stats
openai/codex#17770•Fetched 2026-04-15 06:28:41
View on GitHub
Comments
2
Participants
3
Timeline
9
Reactions
2
Author
MauGalMauGal
Participants
github-actions[bot]github-actions[bot]JayCroghanJayCroghanMauGalMauGal
Timeline (top)
labeled ×4commented ×2cross-referenced ×1marked_as_duplicate ×1

Fix Action

Fix / Workaround

  • The MCP processes for digitaliso do terminate correctly after disabling that MCP.
  • This makes it look less like an issue in the custom MCP itself, and more like a Codex app lifecycle issue after MCP changes.
  • I also have the Playwright MCP enabled, so this may involve interaction with multiple MCP servers rather than a single custom server.
  • On this machine, the issue is reproducible enough that the workaround is to manually kill the remaining Codex process every time.
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

26.409.20454

What subscription do you have?

Plus

What platform is your computer?

Windows 11

What issue are you seeing?

When I disable an MCP server and then close Codex, the app window disappears but the Codex process remains alive in Task Manager. If I try to launch Codex again from the Windows Start menu, no UI appears. The only way to reopen Codex is to manually terminate the remaining Codex process in Task Manager and then start it again.

This looks like a shutdown / single-instance / window restore problem in the Codex app.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

  1. Start Codex on Windows.
  2. Have multiple MCP servers configured. In my case, digitaliso and playwright are active.
  3. Open MCP settings.
  4. Disable the digitaliso MCP.
  5. Click the restart/reload button in MCP settings.
  6. Check Task Manager:
    • before disabling, there are multiple mcp_digitaliso processes
    • after disabling/restart, all mcp_digitaliso processes disappear correctly
  7. Close Codex normally.
  8. Observe that the Codex window disappears, but the Codex process remains active in Task Manager.
  9. Try launching Codex again from the Start menu.
  10. No UI appears.
  11. Manually terminate the remaining Codex process in Task Manager.
  12. Launch Codex again: the UI appears normally.

What is the expected behavior?

Codex should fully exit when closed, or reopen its existing window correctly on the next launch.

Additional information

  • The MCP processes for digitaliso do terminate correctly after disabling that MCP.
  • This makes it look less like an issue in the custom MCP itself, and more like a Codex app lifecycle issue after MCP changes.
  • I also have the Playwright MCP enabled, so this may involve interaction with multiple MCP servers rather than a single custom server.
  • On this machine, the issue is reproducible enough that the workaround is to manually kill the remaining Codex process every time.

extent analysis

TL;DR

The issue can be worked around by manually terminating the remaining Codex process in Task Manager after closing the app, allowing it to launch correctly again.

Guidance

  • Verify that the issue is specific to the described steps and MCP server configuration to rule out other potential causes.
  • Check if the problem persists when disabling a different MCP server or with a different set of active MCP servers to isolate the issue.
  • Consider testing an older version of the Codex App to see if this is a regression or a long-standing issue.
  • Look into the Codex app's single-instance mechanism and window restoration logic for potential flaws or areas for improvement.

Example

No specific code snippet can be provided without more information on the Codex App's internal workings.

Notes

The provided information suggests a potential issue with the Codex app's lifecycle management, particularly after changes to MCP server configurations. However, without access to the app's source code or more detailed logs, it's challenging to provide a definitive fix.

Recommendation

Apply workaround: Manually terminate the remaining Codex process in Task Manager after closing the app, as this allows the app to launch correctly again. This is chosen because it provides a reliable, albeit temporary, solution to the problem until a more permanent fix can be identified and implemented.

Vote matrix · Quick signals

Works
Did the solution work? Tap to confirm.
Easy Fix
Was it a quick fix?
Time Saver
Did it save you time?
Blocking
Was it severely blocking?
Common Issue
Are others likely hitting this too?
Flaky / Intermittent
Is it intermittent?
Verified / Reproducible
Can you reproduce it reliably?
Loading…
#request error#file not found#serialization error#model compatibility#GPU setup

Still need to ship something?

×6

Another batch ranked right after the header list — different links, same matching logic.

Back to top recommendations

TRENDING