diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index bc07fc47077..c4bc3e2aeae 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -163,6 +163,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 ### Fixes
 
 - Gateway/watch: leave `OPENCLAW_TRACE_SYNC_IO` disabled by default in `pnpm gateway:watch:raw` so watch mode avoids noisy Node sync-I/O stack traces unless explicitly requested.
+- CLI/Codex: dispose registered agent harnesses during short-lived CLI shutdown so successful Codex-backed `agent --local` runs do not leave app-server child processes alive.
 - Agents/Codex: auto-enable the Codex harness plugin for one-shot OpenAI model overrides so `openclaw agent --local --model openai/...` does not fail with an unregistered `codex` harness.
 - Gateway/live tests: avoid full model-registry enumeration for explicit provider-qualified live model filters, preventing `.profile` OpenAI gateway profile runs from hanging before provider dispatch.
 - Providers: preserve non-OK `text/event-stream` response bodies so provider HTTP errors keep their JSON detail instead of collapsing to generic streaming failures. Fixes #78180.
diff --git a/src/cli/run-main.exit.test.ts b/src/cli/run-main.exit.test.ts
index fe064b3f997..371d098b816 100644
--- a/src/cli/run-main.exit.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/run-main.exit.test.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ const ensurePathMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn());
 const assertRuntimeMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn());
 const closeActiveMemorySearchManagersMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn(async () => {}));
 const hasMemoryRuntimeMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn(() => false));
+const listAgentHarnessIdsMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn((): string[] => []));
+const disposeRegisteredAgentHarnessesMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn(async () => {}));
 const ensureTaskRegistryReadyMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn());
 const startTaskRegistryMaintenanceMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn());
 const outputRootHelpMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn());
@@ -120,6 +122,11 @@ vi.mock("../plugins/memory-state.js", () => ({
   hasMemoryRuntime: hasMemoryRuntimeMock,
 }));
 
+vi.mock("../agents/harness/registry.js", () => ({
+  listAgentHarnessIds: listAgentHarnessIdsMock,
+  disposeRegisteredAgentHarnesses: disposeRegisteredAgentHarnessesMock,
+}));
+
 vi.mock("../tasks/task-registry.js", () => ({
   ensureTaskRegistryReady: ensureTaskRegistryReadyMock,
 }));
@@ -216,6 +223,7 @@ describe("runCli exit behavior", () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     vi.clearAllMocks();
     hasMemoryRuntimeMock.mockReturnValue(false);
+    listAgentHarnessIdsMock.mockReturnValue([]);
     outputPrecomputedBrowserHelpTextMock.mockReturnValue(false);
     outputPrecomputedRootHelpTextMock.mockReturnValue(false);
     hasEnvHttpProxyAgentConfiguredMock.mockReturnValue(false);
@@ -242,12 +250,28 @@ describe("runCli exit behavior", () => {
     expect(maybeRunCliInContainerMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(["node", "openclaw", "status"]);
     expect(tryRouteCliMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(["node", "openclaw", "status"]);
     expect(closeActiveMemorySearchManagersMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(disposeRegisteredAgentHarnessesMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(ensureTaskRegistryReadyMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(startTaskRegistryMaintenanceMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(exitSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     exitSpy.mockRestore();
   });
 
+  it("disposes registered harnesses after full CLI command completion", async () => {
+    listAgentHarnessIdsMock.mockReturnValueOnce(["codex"]);
+    tryRouteCliMock.mockResolvedValueOnce(false);
+    const parseAsync = vi.fn().mockResolvedValueOnce(undefined);
+    buildProgramMock.mockReturnValueOnce({
+      commands: [{ name: () => "agent", aliases: () => [] }],
+      parseAsync,
+    });
+
+    await runCli(["node", "openclaw", "agent", "--local"]);
+
+    expect(parseAsync).toHaveBeenCalledWith(["node", "openclaw", "agent", "--local"]);
+    expect(disposeRegisteredAgentHarnessesMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
   it("pauses non-tty stdin after full CLI command completion", async () => {
     tryRouteCliMock.mockResolvedValueOnce(false);
     const parseAsync = vi.fn().mockResolvedValueOnce(undefined);
diff --git a/src/cli/run-main.ts b/src/cli/run-main.ts
index e4ee17de5b9..7d533f0cbac 100644
--- a/src/cli/run-main.ts
+++ b/src/cli/run-main.ts
@@ -207,6 +207,20 @@ async function closeCliMemoryManagers(): Promise<void> {
   }
 }
 
+async function disposeCliAgentHarnesses(): Promise<void> {
+  try {
+    const { listAgentHarnessIds, disposeRegisteredAgentHarnesses } =
+      await import("../agents/harness/registry.js");
+    if (listAgentHarnessIds().length === 0) {
+      return;
+    }
+    await disposeRegisteredAgentHarnesses();
+  } catch {
+    // Best-effort teardown for short-lived CLI commands. Harness plugins may
+    // own subprocesses, but cleanup must not hide the command's real outcome.
+  }
+}
+
 function pauseNonTtyStdinForCliExit(): void {
   const stdin = process.stdin;
   if (stdin.isTTY) {
@@ -691,6 +705,7 @@ export async function runCli(argv: string[] = process.argv) {
       process.off("exit", onExit);
     }
     await stopStartedProxy();
+    await disposeCliAgentHarnesses();
     await closeCliMemoryManagers();
     pauseNonTtyStdinForCliExit();
   }