Skipping MCP during codex CLI startup

What version of Codex CLI is running?

0.118.0

What subscription do you have?

Enterprise

Which model were you using?

gpt-5.4

What platform is your computer?

Mac OS

What terminal emulator and version are you using (if applicable)?

iTerm2

What issue are you seeing?

When Codex started with a slow or unreachable optional MCP server, pressing Esc in the TUI still flowed through the turn interrupt path. During startup there is no active turn, so the request was effectively a no-op and the app stayed blocked waiting for MCP initialization.

That made the bootstrap experience brittle for cases like VPN-gated internal MCPs: users could see startup continue to hang, but had no ergonomic way to skip the server for the current session.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

During codex startup have a slow/unreachable MCP. Pressing Esc keys does not skip the MCP initialization.

What is the expected behavior?

Skip the MCP initialization

Additional information

_No response_