Codex App leaks Node/MCP child processes when switching tasks on Windows

Feedback ID

01a00148-cf38-7e00-9592-ccbf935b0543

What happened?

After the latest Codex App update, switching between tasks repeatedly spawns additional Node/MCP child processes that do not get cleaned up.

During one session, Task Manager showed 81 Node-related processes:

• node.exe processes running MCP servers, including repeated npx -y vp0-mcp process trees
• OpenAI-signed node_repl.exe processes
• All observed process chains traced back to codex.exe under ChatGPT.exe

The number of processes increases as I switch tasks. After enough accumulation, the laptop becomes noticeably choppy. Fully restarting Codex immediately removes the accumulated processes and restores normal performance.

I disabled the vp0 MCP server afterward as a mitigation, but that only removes one noisy process chain; it does not address the apparent task/process lifecycle cleanup issue.

Steps to reproduce

1. Start Codex App on Windows.
2. Note the current number of node.exe and node_repl.exe processes in Task Manager.
3. Switch repeatedly between several Codex tasks.
4. Observe that additional Node/MCP process trees appear.
5. Wait and continue switching tasks.
6. Observe that the older process trees remain alive and the process count keeps increasing.
7. Restart Codex and observe that the accumulated processes disappear.

Expected behavior

Node/MCP processes that are no longer required should be reused or terminated when their task/runtime is closed or replaced. Switching tasks should not cause the number of child processes to grow continuously.

Actual behavior

New Node/MCP child processes are created during task switching, while older processes remain alive. Resource usage and UI responsiveness progressively degrade until Codex is restarted.

Environment

• Codex App version: 26.810.4967.0
• Operating system: Windows
• First noticed: August 14, 2026, after the latest Store-delivered Codex App update
• Restarting Codex reliably clears the accumulated processes

Additional notes

The timing with the update is a strong correlation, not proof of the precise regression source. The process ancestry and restart behavior do confirm that the accumulated Node processes are associated with the Codex/ChatGPT process tree rather than unrelated software.

Reproduce the leak on Windows by switching repeatedly between Codex tasks, then monitor node.exe and node_repl.exe in Task Manager and trace their process trees back to Codex. Investigate task and runtime cleanup around the Codex/ChatGPT process tree; done means obsolete Node/MCP processes are reused or terminated and repeated task switching no longer increases the process count.