From 12e7761f906444e2884c822886840f8518ef1090 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: rajanpanth <rajan.pantha@samriddhicollege.edu.np>
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:02:03 +0545
Subject: [PATCH] fix: avoid kill timeout exit delays

---
 lib/flow-control/kill-others.spec.ts | 16 ++++++++++++++++
 lib/flow-control/kill-others.ts      |  2 +-
 2 files changed, 17 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/lib/flow-control/kill-others.spec.ts b/lib/flow-control/kill-others.spec.ts
index df88a18c..a46038f6 100644
--- a/lib/flow-control/kill-others.spec.ts
+++ b/lib/flow-control/kill-others.spec.ts
@@ -133,3 +133,19 @@ it('force kills misbehaving processes after a timeout', () => {
     expect(commands[1].kill).toHaveBeenCalledWith('SIGKILL');
     expect(commands[2].kill).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
 });
+
+it('does not keep the event loop alive while waiting to force kill', () => {
+    const setTimeoutSpy = vi.spyOn(globalThis, 'setTimeout');
+
+    createWithConditions(['failure'], { timeoutMs: 60_000 }).handle(commands);
+    assignProcess(commands[1]);
+    commands[0].close.next(createFakeCloseEvent({ exitCode: 1 }));
+
+    const timeout = setTimeoutSpy.mock.results.at(-1)?.value as NodeJS.Timeout;
+    try {
+        expect(timeout.hasRef()).toBe(false);
+    } finally {
+        clearTimeout(timeout);
+        setTimeoutSpy.mockRestore();
+    }
+});
diff --git a/lib/flow-control/kill-others.ts b/lib/flow-control/kill-others.ts
index 2b2786a1..5e0d6179 100644
--- a/lib/flow-control/kill-others.ts
+++ b/lib/flow-control/kill-others.ts
@@ -87,6 +87,6 @@ export class KillOthers implements FlowController {
                 );
                 killableCommands.forEach((command) => command.kill('SIGKILL'));
             }
-        }, this.timeoutMs);
+        }, this.timeoutMs).unref();
     }
 }