diff --git a/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget/agent.rs b/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget/agent.rs
index c902e5c63..d905f884f 100644
--- a/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget/agent.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/tui/src/chatwidget/agent.rs
@@ -62,7 +62,13 @@ pub(crate) fn spawn_agent(
         });
 
         while let Ok(event) = thread.next_event().await {
+            let is_shutdown_complete = matches!(event.msg, EventMsg::ShutdownComplete);
             app_event_tx_clone.send(AppEvent::CodexEvent(event));
+            if is_shutdown_complete {
+                // ShutdownComplete is terminal for a thread; drop this receiver task so
+                // the Arc<CodexThread> can be released and thread resources can clean up.
+                break;
+            }
         }
     });
 
@@ -99,7 +105,13 @@ pub(crate) fn spawn_agent_from_existing(
         });
 
         while let Ok(event) = thread.next_event().await {
+            let is_shutdown_complete = matches!(event.msg, EventMsg::ShutdownComplete);
             app_event_tx_clone.send(AppEvent::CodexEvent(event));
+            if is_shutdown_complete {
+                // ShutdownComplete is terminal for a thread; drop this receiver task so
+                // the Arc<CodexThread> can be released and thread resources can clean up.
+                break;
+            }
         }
     });