Killing tasks does not actually kill them

[johuhype]

Type: Bug

When I kill a task in the terminal tab, it gets removed from the lists of running tasks, however starting in one of the recent code versions (probably 1.98.0?), the task does not get killed and is still runing in the background and can also still be found in the windows task manager.

Example: vite dev/hot server. Everytime I kill a server task, it keeps on running. The next time I start it, the used port number will increase due to the previous one still being in use.

VS Code version: Code 1.98.0 (6609ac3, 2025-03-04T21:06:18.612Z)
OS version: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26100
Modes:

System Info

Item	Value
CPUs	Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8700 CPU @ 3.20GHz (12 x 3192)
GPU Status	2d_canvas: enabled canvas_oop_rasterization: enabled_on direct_rendering_display_compositor: disabled_off_ok gpu_compositing: enabled multiple_raster_threads: enabled_on opengl: enabled_on rasterization: enabled raw_draw: disabled_off_ok skia_graphite: disabled_off video_decode: enabled video_encode: enabled vulkan: disabled_off webgl: enabled webgl2: enabled webgpu: enabled webnn: disabled_off
Load (avg)	undefined
Memory (System)	47.81GB (33.72GB free)
Process Argv
Screen Reader	no
VM	0%

Extensions (14)

Extension	Author (truncated)	Version
project-manager	ale	12.8.0
npm-scripts-advanced	dae	0.0.8
vscode-eslint	dba	3.0.10
githistory	don	0.6.20
gitlens	eam	16.3.2
EditorConfig	Edi	0.17.1
prettier-vscode	esb	11.0.0
i18n-ally	lok	2.13.1
materialdesignicons-intellisense	luk	4.1.0
git-graph	mhu	1.30.0
atom-keybindings	ms-	3.3.0
errorlens	use	3.24.0
volar	Vue	2.2.8
material-theme	zhu	3.19.0

[Sup2point0]

Facing this issue too =(

I can get around it with Ctrl+C in the terminal, but if I forget then the port's left hanging and I'll have to pull out netstat and taskkill...

Edit: Found a faster way to close hanging ports, just run npx kill-port <PORT>. If you have multiple hanging, you can use a wildcard like npx kill-port 808*

[meganrogge]

@deepak1556 or @Tyriar nothing has changed with tasks in recent iterations that could explain this. Are you aware of any node pty changes or other that could?

[deepak1556]

Yeah very likely related to #242942 (comment), will check.

[deepak1556]

Can users share a sample task configuration that repros this issue, tested with the following

{
	"version": "2.0.0",
	"tasks": [
		{
			"type": "shell",
			"isBackground": true,
			"command": ".\\node_modules\\.bin\\vite.cmd dev",
			"problemMatcher": [],
			"label": "vite dev",
			"detail": "run vite task"
		}
	]
}

Killing the terminal kills the task without issues.

[jibbers42]

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "npm: dev",
      "type": "npm",
      "script": "dev",
      // "isBackground": true,
      "presentation": {
        "panel": "dedicated",
        "reveal": "silent"
      },
      "runOptions": {
        "runOn": "folderOpen"
      },
      "problemMatcher": []
    }
  ]
}

I removed isBackground to see if that was the issue, but the node process continues running either way. I think I had type shell first and then tried the npm way, but I think it was just npm run dev so maybe not all that different from type npm.

[alikil]

Not sure if it related to VSCode directly. But facing this issue from last week. So annoying.
All "npm run dev" commands not killing port by clicking ctrl+c
On "ExpressJS" (nodemon) and "NestJS" frameworks with hot reload functionality.

[meganrogge]

We're having trouble reproducing the issue. To help us narrow down what change caused the issue, please run the following command to find the build. It will start previous releases of VS Code insiders to see where the regression was introduced:

• npx --yes @vscode/vscode-bisect@latest
• follow the instructions until you found the offending build
• report back the commit range in this issue

Thanks!

[deepak1556]

Can users check if the issue is fixed in latest insiders https://code.visualstudio.com/insiders with "terminal.integrated.windowsUseConptyDll": false setting ?

[alikil]

Version: 1.99.0-insider (user setup) | Version: 1.98.1 (user setup)

Commit: c1fb4c3
Date: 2025-03-12T08:28:07.410Z
Electron: 34.3.2
ElectronBuildId: 11161073
Chromium: 132.0.6834.210
Node.js: 20.18.3
V8: 13.2.152.41-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26100

Not fixed.

Steps to reproduce (in my case):
npx kill-port 3000
npx kill-port 3001
Run both apps
Click kill button. (for both)
Run again -> (issue with port)

Tested with and without terminal.integrated.windowsUseConptyDll toggle:
Enabled toggle make ctrl+c faster. But not effect this issue. Problem only with "kill button"
Insider and usual version have same behaviour.

!!! New important info:
Ctrl+C working.
But button kill - not. This one on screenshot.

Temporary workaround: "Do not click kill button, use ctrl+c"

Results:
App cannot launch again using same port.
netstat -an | find "3001"
TCP 0.0.0.0:3001 0.0.0.0:0 LISTENING
TCP [::]:3001 [::]:0 LISTENING
npx kill-port 3001 -> resolve issue and allow next start
Error in logs:
result.txt

[deepak1556]

@alikil thanks for checking, this was with "terminal.integrated.windowsUseConptyDll": false right ?

Can you provide the results of #242891 (comment), it would help us narrow down the regression.

[capc0]

Same behaviour for me when tasks are killed via command palette task: terminate task -> all running tasks. Tasks are not actually killed.

[meganrogge]

@capc0 Can you provide the results of #242891 (comment)?

[capc0]

I cant reproduce the behaviour within the npx --yes @vscode/vscode-bisect@latest opened versions of vscode.

[alikil]

Link to github after full test. (npx --yes @vscode/vscode-bisect@latest)
1ba0fac...105d4af

vscode-bisect-logs.txt

[capc0]

For me the issue seems fixed in the insiders version. Cant reproduce the bug there at all.

In the normal version it is reproduceable everytime.

Same settings.json, same workspace, same extensions (but different extension verions maybe).

{
    "terminal.external.windowsExec": "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\git-bash.exe",
    "terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.windows": "Git Bash"
}