diff --git a/src/main/daemon/daemon-server.test.ts b/src/main/daemon/daemon-server.test.ts
index 45736e2ec0c..40270a7597a 100644
--- a/src/main/daemon/daemon-server.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/daemon/daemon-server.test.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 import { connect, type Server, type Socket } from 'node:net'
 import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
 import { join } from 'node:path'
-import { mkdtempSync, rmSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { existsSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs'
 import { DaemonServer } from './daemon-server'
 import { DaemonClient } from './client'
 import { encodeNdjson } from './ndjson'
@@ -626,5 +626,27 @@ describe('DaemonServer', () => {
       const c = new DaemonClient({ socketPath, tokenPath })
       await expect(c.ensureConnected()).rejects.toThrow()
     })
+
+    it('still terminates via the shutdown RPC when disposal cannot prove physical exit', async () => {
+      await startServer()
+      const daemon = server as unknown as DaemonServerPrivate & {
+        host: { dispose: () => Promise<void> }
+      }
+      // Why: an unreapable child rejects dispose after its exit deadline; the
+      // daemon must exit anyway or its replacement flow strands it as an orphan.
+      daemon.host.dispose = vi.fn(() =>
+        Promise.reject(new Error('Timed out waiting for physical PTY exit'))
+      )
+
+      const c = await connectClient()
+      // The daemon may self-terminate before the reply flushes; callers treat
+      // that as success, so only the observable teardown below is asserted.
+      await c.request('shutdown', { killSessions: true }).catch(() => {})
+
+      await waitFor(() => daemon.server === null)
+      await waitFor(() => !existsSync(socketPath))
+      const late = new DaemonClient({ socketPath, tokenPath })
+      await expect(late.ensureConnected()).rejects.toThrow()
+    })
   })
 })
diff --git a/src/main/daemon/daemon-server.ts b/src/main/daemon/daemon-server.ts
index 1b1128816e5..3396493e0fd 100644
--- a/src/main/daemon/daemon-server.ts
+++ b/src/main/daemon/daemon-server.ts
@@ -149,7 +149,15 @@ export class DaemonServer {
   async shutdown(): Promise<void> {
     this.stopStreamBacklogProbe()
     this.transientFactRelay.dispose()
-    await this.host.dispose()
+    try {
+      await this.host.dispose()
+    } catch (err) {
+      // Why: an unreapable child must not block daemon exit — after exit it
+      // reparents to init, while a blocked daemon would orphan alongside it.
+      this.log.log('shutdown-dispose-failed', {
+        error: err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)
+      })
+    }
     this.streamDataBatcher.clear()
 
     for (const [, client] of this.clients) {
@@ -580,7 +588,16 @@ export class DaemonServer {
           killSessions: request.payload.killSessions === true
         })
         if (request.payload.killSessions) {
-          await this.host.dispose()
+          try {
+            await this.host.dispose()
+          } catch (err) {
+            // Why: the shutdown RPC contract is that the daemon always
+            // self-terminates; dispose keeps failed owners retryable, and the
+            // follow-up shutdown() below retries them once more before exit.
+            this.log.log('shutdown-dispose-failed', {
+              error: err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)
+            })
+          }
         }
         process.nextTick(() => this.shutdown())
         return {}