Codex CLI's Default Persistent, Self-Updating Background Daemon Draws Backlash: It Keeps Running After Every Window Closes and Checks for Updates Hourly, and Users Want It Opt-In

GitHub issue #48195 on OpenAI's coding tool Codex CLI drew heavy discussion on Hacker News this week. The reporter says that since version 0.157.0 the CLI enables daemon_auto_start by default: it launches a detached app-server background process that keeps running after all Codex windows are closed and copies a roughly 374MB platform package into ~/.codex/packages/ to run from; a separate update loop checks 5 minutes after start and then hourly, downloading new versions and restarting the backend, which can interrupt running tasks. Users also report that the process keeps the environment variables from where it was first launched, carrying variables such as GH_TOKEN from the original directory into other ones, and that neither the official config docs nor the release notes mention this behavior. The issue asks for it to be off by default or require consent. As of October 13 the issue is still open with no reply from an OpenAI maintainer on the page; users can turn it off with codex features disable daemon_auto_start or a setting in config.toml.

What users found

A GitHub issue on OpenAI's command-line coding tool Codex CLI, #48195, filed on September 25, states its request in the title: make daemon_auto_start opt-in, because a persistent, self-updating background daemon shouldn't be the default. In the past few days it reached more than 400 points on Hacker News and caught many developers' attention again.

According to the reporter's observations of version 0.157.0 on Linux (WSL2):

  • The CLI launches a codex app-server --managed-daemon process detached from the terminal, and it keeps running after all Codex windows are closed;
  • It copies the full platform package, about 374MB, into ~/.codex/packages/app-server-daemon/ and runs from that copy;
  • A separate update loop checks 5 minutes after start and then hourly, downloads new versions and restarts the backend, which can interrupt running tasks; and daemon stop doesn't stop that update loop.

Why it's unsettling

Complaints in the thread cluster around three points. First, it happens silently: users note that daemon_auto_start doesn't appear in the official config reference, and the 0.157.0 release notes don't mention an added persistent process or updater. Second, environment leakage: one user found the background process keeps the environment variables from the directory where Codex was first launched, such as GH_TOKEN, and carries them into work in other project directories. Third, usability: some Windows users report they can't type into the CLI at all. One commenter bluntly called the behavior "a trait of malware."

As of October 13 the issue is still open, and apart from a bot adding labels, there is no reply from an OpenAI maintainer on the page.

How to turn it off now

The reporter's workaround:

codex features disable daemon_auto_start
codex app-server daemon stop
pkill -f 'app-server daemon pid-update-loop'
rm -rf ~/.codex/packages/app-server-daemon

Other users confirm that setting daemon_auto_start = false in config.toml works. If you use Codex CLI across several projects with different credentials, the environment-variable point is especially worth checking: make sure the background process isn't carrying tokens it shouldn't. For developers of agent tools it's also a reminder: persistent processes and auto-updates are best off by default, or clearly disclosed before they're turned on.

via: GitHub issue #48195