Windows: Claude Desktop hangs on exit with orphaned Node.js processes (regression in v0.1.32+)

[m-stadt]

Description
After updating to mcp-remote v0.1.32 or later, Claude Desktop on Windows hangs when attempting to exit. The tray icon remains visible and Node.js processes spawned by mcp-remote don't terminate, requiring manual process termination.

Environment

• OS: Windows 11
• Client: Claude Desktop
• mcp-remote version: 0.1.37 (latest), issue started with 0.1.32+
• Last working version: 0.1.31 (Nov 18)
• Node.js: v20.x (via npx)

Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-server": {
      "command": "cmd",
      "args": [
        "/c",
        "npx",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://example.com/mcp",
        "--transport", "http-first",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer xxx"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Steps to Reproduce

• Configure mcp-remote in Claude Desktop on Windows (using stdio transport)
• Start Claude Desktop - MCP servers connect successfully
• Close Claude Desktop via system tray → "Quit"
• Observe: tray icon remains, process doesn't fully terminate

Expected Behavior
Claude Desktop exits cleanly and all child processes (mcp-remote/Node.js) terminate.

Actual Behavior
Claude Desktop hangs. Node.js processes spawned by mcp-remote remain running as orphaned processes.

Workarounds Attempted

• Using cmd /c wrapper - no effect
• Adding --transport http-first flag - no effect
• Manual taskkill /f /im node.exe required to clean up

Timeline

• Working: v0.1.31 (released Nov 18)
• Broken: v0.1.32+ (released Dec 16-17)

The issue appeared after the Dec 16-17 release batch (v0.1.32-0.1.37).