Windows Store Codex Desktop does not terminate after selecting Exit from the tray icon
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
26.519.5221.0 (Microsoft Store)
What subscription do you have?
ChatGPT Plus
What platform is your computer?
Windows 10 Pro x64
What issue are you seeing?
Selecting "Exit" from the Codex system tray does not completely terminate the application.
The main window closes, but the application continues running in the background.
Using PowerShell, I confirmed that:
- The parent Codex.exe process remains alive.
- Multiple child Codex.exe processes remain attached to it.
- All remaining processes belong to the Microsoft Store desktop application.
- They are not related to the VS Code extension or the Codex CLI.
I also inspected the local application configuration:
- Preferences
- Local State
- AppData\Roaming\Codex
No user configuration related to tray behavior, background execution or shutdown was found.
The only reliable workaround is manually terminating every Codex.exe process using Task Manager or PowerShell.
This behavior appears reproducible every time.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
- Launch Codex Desktop.
- Wait until it finishes loading.
- Right-click the Codex tray icon.
- Select "Exit".
Result:
- The UI closes.
- Codex.exe continues running.
- Multiple child processes remain active.
- The application stays resident in memory.
What is the expected behavior?
Selecting "Exit" should completely terminate the application.
Expected behavior:
- Close every window.
- Remove the tray icon.
- Terminate the parent process.
- Terminate every child process.
- Release resources and exit cleanly.
Additional information
Additional investigation performed:
• Verified executable paths.
• Verified process tree using PowerShell.
• Confirmed all remaining processes belong to the Microsoft Store application.
• Inspected Preferences and Local State.
• Inspected AppData directory structure.
• No configuration controlling this behavior was found.
Environment:
Windows 10 Pro x64
Codex Desktop 26.519.5221.0
Installed from Microsoft Store
I have attached a PDF containing the complete investigation and supporting evidence.
If helpful, I can also provide Task Manager screenshots, PowerShell output and additional logs collected during the investigation.