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Codex CLI · verified 2026-10-14

Codex CLI starts a background daemon by default. Here's how to turn it off

Short answer: Add daemon_auto_start = false under [features] in ~/.codex/config.toml. In the Codex source the daemon_auto_start feature is marked Stable and enabled by default.

What changed

  • In the Codex source, the feature daemon_auto_start is declared with stage: Stable and default_enabled: true. openai/codex features/src/lib.rs ↗
  • It is a boolean in the features table of the config schema, so it can be set in config.toml. openai/codex config.schema.json ↗
  • A user report (issue #48195, opened 2026-09-25, still open) says that since CLI 0.157.0, opening an interactive session starts a persistent codex app-server --managed-daemon, copies about 374 MB into ~/.codex/packages/app-server-daemon/releases/<version>/, and starts an updater that checks hourly. These details come from that report, not from an OpenAI announcement. openai/codex issue #48195 ↗

Who is affected

Anyone who runs the interactive codex CLI with default features, especially people who pin Codex through a package manager, run it behind per-invocation proxies, or are short on disk space under ~/.codex.

Exact fix

~/.codex/config.toml

[features]
daemon_auto_start = false

Stop a daemon that is already running (command as given in issue #48195)

codex app-server daemon stop

Other agents

Claude Code, Cursor and Gemini CLI: we did not find an equivalent documented setting. Unknown. See the compatibility table.

Moving this setup to another agent? Paste your config into the free converter: it outputs the exact files for Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor and Gemini CLI.

FAQ

Is daemon_auto_start on by default?
Yes. The Codex source declares it Stable with default_enabled: true (checked 2026-10-14).
Where do I put the setting?
In ~/.codex/config.toml, under a [features] table: daemon_auto_start = false.

Every claim above links to an official source (vendor docs, changelog or source code), except where a user report is labelled as such. Last verified 2026-10-14. All config changes · RSS