diff --git a/apps/daemon/internal/agent/codex/rpc.go b/apps/daemon/internal/agent/codex/rpc.go
index f3a99cf41..e94d73921 100644
--- a/apps/daemon/internal/agent/codex/rpc.go
+++ b/apps/daemon/internal/agent/codex/rpc.go
@@ -18,16 +18,10 @@ import (
 	obslog "github.com/MiniMax-AI/OpenAgentCore/internal/obs/log"
 )
 
-// rpcDefaultRequestTimeout caps a single JSON-RPC request waiting for a
-// response. 60s is the same default mini-captain uses; it must be long
-// enough for `thread/start` (which can spin up a fresh model context),
-// short enough that a dead app-server doesn't pin the prompt forever.
+// rpcDefaultRequestTimeout caps the response wait for a JSON-RPC request,
+// including initialize and thread/start, after its write completes.
 const rpcDefaultRequestTimeout = 60 * time.Second
 
-// rpcInitTimeout caps the initial JSON-RPC `initialize` handshake.
-// Shorter than per-request so misconfigured environments fail fast.
-const rpcInitTimeout = 10 * time.Second
-
 // rpcKillTimeout bounds child teardown waits.
 const rpcKillTimeout = 3 * time.Second
 
@@ -168,7 +162,7 @@ func NewJSONRPCClient(cfg JSONRPCConfig) *JSONRPCClient {
 // Three failure paths:
 //
 //   - exec.LookPath / Start failure → returns the spawn error verbatim
-//   - initialize timeout → kills the child, returns context.DeadlineExceeded
+//   - initialize timeout or cancellation → kills the child, returns the error
 //   - JSON-RPC error on initialize → kills the child, returns the error
 func (c *JSONRPCClient) Start(ctx context.Context, init InitializeParams) (InitializeResult, error) {
 	args := append([]string{}, c.cfg.ExtraArgs...)
@@ -202,9 +196,7 @@ func (c *JSONRPCClient) Start(ctx context.Context, init InitializeParams) (Initi
 	go func() { defer c.readers.Done(); c.pumpStderr() }()
 	go c.waitChild()
 
-	initCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, rpcInitTimeout)
-	defer cancel()
-	rawResult, err := c.Request(initCtx, "initialize", init)
+	rawResult, err := c.Request(ctx, "initialize", init)
 	if err != nil {
 		_ = c.Close()
 		return InitializeResult{}, fmt.Errorf("codex rpc: initialize: %w", err)
diff --git a/apps/daemon/internal/agent/codex/rpc_process_test.go b/apps/daemon/internal/agent/codex/rpc_process_test.go
index d499a8bd2..a3c2e49cf 100644
--- a/apps/daemon/internal/agent/codex/rpc_process_test.go
+++ b/apps/daemon/internal/agent/codex/rpc_process_test.go
@@ -4,8 +4,10 @@ import (
 	"bufio"
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 )
@@ -70,11 +72,78 @@ func TestJSONRPCClientResponseTimeoutStartsAfterWrite(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestJSONRPCClientInitializeUsesDefaultRequestBudget(t *testing.T) {
+	client := NewJSONRPCClient(JSONRPCConfig{
+		Binary: os.Args[0], ExtraArgs: []string{"-test.run=^TestJSONRPCClientFakeCodexProcess$", "--"},
+		Env: append(os.Environ(), "CODEX_RPC_FAKE_PROCESS=1", "CODEX_RPC_FAKE_INITIALIZE_DELAY=11s"),
+	})
+	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = client.Close() })
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(t.Context(), 30*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+	result, err := client.Start(ctx, InitializeParams{})
+	if err != nil || result.UserAgent != "fake-codex" {
+		t.Fatalf("initialize after remote metadata work: result=%+v error=%v", result, err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestJSONRPCClientInitializeFailureReapsChild(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, mode := range []string{"request-timeout", "owner-cancel", "blocked-write-cancel"} {
+		t.Run(mode, func(t *testing.T) {
+			ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(t.Context(), 5*time.Second)
+			defer cancel()
+			cfg := JSONRPCConfig{
+				Binary: os.Args[0], ExtraArgs: []string{"-test.run=^TestJSONRPCClientFakeCodexProcess$", "--"},
+				Env: append(os.Environ(), "CODEX_RPC_FAKE_PROCESS=1", "CODEX_RPC_FAKE_INITIALIZE_DELAY=1m"),
+			}
+			if mode == "request-timeout" {
+				cfg.RequestTimeout = 100 * time.Millisecond
+			}
+			init := InitializeParams{}
+			if mode == "blocked-write-cancel" {
+				cfg.Env = append(cfg.Env, "CODEX_RPC_FAKE_BLOCK_INITIALIZE=1")
+				init.ClientInfo.Name = strings.Repeat("x", 4*1024*1024)
+			}
+			client := NewJSONRPCClient(cfg)
+			t.Cleanup(func() { _ = client.Close() })
+			if mode != "request-timeout" {
+				client.OnNotification("test/initialize_waiting", func(json.RawMessage) { cancel() })
+			}
+			_, err := client.Start(ctx, init)
+			if err == nil {
+				t.Fatal("initialization unexpectedly succeeded")
+			}
+			if mode == "request-timeout" && !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "initialize timed out after 100ms") {
+				t.Fatalf("configured request budget did not end initialization: %v", err)
+			}
+			if mode != "request-timeout" && !errors.Is(ctx.Err(), context.Canceled) {
+				t.Fatal("initialization did not observe the explicit owner cancellation", ctx.Err())
+			}
+			select {
+			case <-client.Done():
+			default:
+				t.Fatal("failed initialization returned before reaping its child")
+			}
+			if _, exited := client.process.ExitCode(); !exited || client.Alive() {
+				t.Fatal("failed initialization retained a live child")
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestJSONRPCClientFakeCodexProcess(t *testing.T) {
 	if os.Getenv("CODEX_RPC_FAKE_PROCESS") != "1" {
 		return
 	}
 	reader := bufio.NewReader(os.Stdin)
+	if os.Getenv("CODEX_RPC_FAKE_BLOCK_INITIALIZE") == "1" {
+		if _, err := reader.ReadByte(); err != nil {
+			os.Exit(4)
+		}
+		fmt.Println(`{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"test/initialize_waiting"}`)
+		for {
+			time.Sleep(time.Second)
+		}
+	}
 	line, err := reader.ReadBytes('\n')
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "read initialize: %v\n", err)
@@ -87,6 +156,14 @@ func TestJSONRPCClientFakeCodexProcess(t *testing.T) {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "decode initialize: %v\n", err)
 		os.Exit(2)
 	}
+	if delay := os.Getenv("CODEX_RPC_FAKE_INITIALIZE_DELAY"); delay != "" {
+		duration, err := time.ParseDuration(delay)
+		if err != nil {
+			os.Exit(5)
+		}
+		fmt.Println(`{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"test/initialize_waiting"}`)
+		time.Sleep(duration)
+	}
 	resp := map[string]any{
 		"jsonrpc": "2.0",
 		"id":      req.ID,