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Using any MCP with Codex CLI leaves many orphaned Node processes that peg CPU #6201
Description
What version of Codex is running?
0.53.0
What subscription do you have?
Pro
Which model were you using?
gpt-5-high
What platform is your computer?
Darwin 25.1.0 arm64 arm
What issue are you seeing?
After invoking any MCP server from Codex CLI, multiple background node processes are spawned (watchers/helpers). When I quit/close Codex, these node processes keep running and consume significant CPU. CPU usage returns to normal only after I manually kill those node processes in Activity Monitor or via the terminal.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
- Start Codex CLI with few MCP servers enabled.
- Use any MCP tool (e.g., run a simple request).
- Open Activity Monitor (or run ps/pgrep) and observe many “node” processes still running with high %CPU.
What is the expected behavior?
When Codex disconnects from MCP, all child MCP server processes (and their workers) should be terminated cleanly. No lingering node processes and no ongoing CPU usage.
Actual behavior
Dozens of node processes remain alive after Codex exits, often with PPID=1 (re-parented to launchd). They continue consuming CPU until they are manually killed. Once killed, overall CPU usage immediately returns to normal
Additional information
No response
Activity
davidbenhaim commentedon Nov 9, 2025
I noticed this too. had to restart vscode for them to die.
spleenteo commentedon Nov 10, 2025
Yay, I can relate. My battery drains in just two hours because of this. Codex launches dozens of “npm run dev” processes in the background (for testing porpouses, it's ok), which remain active.
etraut-openai commentedon Jan 17, 2026
Closing out old bugs.