Codex CLI still running after you quit? Disable daemon_auto_start

#What changed

Since Codex CLI 0.157.0 (Sep 25), opening an interactive codex session starts a persistent managed app-server daemon by default (features.daemon_auto_start). It keeps running after every Codex window is closed, copies the platform package under ~/.codex/packages/app-server-daemon, and runs a detached updater that checks for releases about 5 minutes after start and then hourly. The GitHub issue asking to make this opt-in (openai/codex#48195) is open and hit #1 on Hacker News on Oct 12.

#Who is affected

Codex CLI users on 0.157.0 and later who expect the process to die with the terminal — especially installs via npm, Homebrew, or other package managers. People using Remote Control / desktop shared-server workflows may still want the daemon.

#What to do now

1. Turn the default off: codex features disable daemon_auto_start (writes daemon_auto_start = false under [features] in ~/.codex/config.toml).
2. Stop a running daemon: codex app-server daemon stop.
3. Check for a leftover updater — daemon stop can leave app-server daemon pid-update-loop alive; kill that process if it is still there.
4. Optional cleanup: remove ~/.codex/packages/app-server-daemon if you do not want the managed copy.
5. For a one-off launch without the shared daemon: codex --no-daemon.

#What is not confirmed

We have not reproduced the daemon on this machine. OpenAI has not posted a product note changing the default in response to the HN thread; the issue is still open asking for opt-in. Treat the disable steps as the workaround reported in the issue, not an official migration guide.