diff --git a/crates/codex-plus-core/src/watcher.rs b/crates/codex-plus-core/src/watcher.rs
index 8a9965ba..ef6f68ad 100644
--- a/crates/codex-plus-core/src/watcher.rs
+++ b/crates/codex-plus-core/src/watcher.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@ use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::process::{Command, Stdio};
 use std::time::Duration;
 
+#[cfg(windows)]
+pub use crate::windows_integration::WindowsProcessInfo;
+
+
 pub const WATCHER_INTERVAL_SECONDS: f64 = 3.0;
 pub const CDP_PROBE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS: f64 = 0.5;
 pub const TAKEOVER_FAILURE_BACKOFF_SECONDS: f64 = 30.0;
@@ -170,10 +174,22 @@ pub fn uninstall_watcher() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
 
 #[cfg(windows)]
 pub fn find_codex_processes() -> Vec<u32> {
-    codex_process_ids(
-        crate::windows_integration::enumerate_processes()
-            .into_iter()
-            .filter(|process| process.exe_file.eq_ignore_ascii_case("codex.exe"))
+    let processes: Vec<_> = crate::windows_integration::enumerate_processes()
+        .into_iter()
+        .filter(|process| process.exe_file.eq_ignore_ascii_case("codex.exe"))
+        .collect();
+    find_codex_processes_from_snapshot(&processes)
+}
+
+/// Filter the list of already enumerated Windows processes for Codex processes.
+/// Exposed so the Windows-specific logic can be unit-tested without scanning the live system.
+#[cfg(windows)]
+pub fn find_codex_processes_from_snapshot(
+    processes: &[crate::windows_integration::WindowsProcessInfo],
+) -> Vec<u32> {
+    let mut ids = codex_process_ids(
+        processes
+            .iter()
             .filter_map(|process| {
                 process
                     .executable_path
@@ -183,7 +199,19 @@ pub fn find_codex_processes() -> Vec<u32> {
             .collect::<Vec<_>>()
             .iter()
             .map(|(pid, path)| (*pid, path.as_str())),
-    )
+    );
+
+    // Local/portable installs use "Codex.exe" (capital C) as the Electron main process.
+    // Keep the launcher alive while that process is still running.
+    for process in processes {
+        if process.exe_file.eq_ignore_ascii_case("Codex.exe") {
+            ids.push(process.process_id);
+        }
+    }
+
+    ids.sort_unstable();
+    ids.dedup();
+    ids
 }
 
 #[cfg(not(windows))]
diff --git a/crates/codex-plus-core/tests/watcher.rs b/crates/codex-plus-core/tests/watcher.rs
index 81f80e3b..e89e0427 100644
--- a/crates/codex-plus-core/tests/watcher.rs
+++ b/crates/codex-plus-core/tests/watcher.rs
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ use codex_plus_core::watcher::{
     process_ids_still_running, should_recover_stale_launcher, watcher_disabled_flag,
 };
 
+#[cfg(windows)]
+use codex_plus_core::watcher::{find_codex_processes_from_snapshot, WindowsProcessInfo};
+
+
 #[test]
 fn cdp_listening_returns_true_for_bound_loopback_port() {
     let listener = std::net::TcpListener::bind(("127.0.0.1", 0)).unwrap();
@@ -111,3 +115,82 @@ fn stop_wait_tracks_only_expected_process_ids() {
         vec![20, 30]
     );
 }
+
+#[cfg(windows)]
+#[test]
+fn find_codex_processes_finds_local_install_with_capitial_c() {
+    let processes = [WindowsProcessInfo {
+        process_id: 42,
+        parent_process_id: 0,
+        exe_file: "Codex.exe".to_string(),
+        executable_path: Some(std::path::PathBuf::from(
+            r"D:\360Downloads\codexapp\app\Codex.exe",
+        )),
+    }];
+
+    assert_eq!(find_codex_processes_from_snapshot(&processes), vec![42]);
+}
+
+#[cfg(windows)]
+#[test]
+fn find_codex_processes_finds_local_install_case_insensitively() {
+    let processes = [WindowsProcessInfo {
+        process_id: 43,
+        parent_process_id: 0,
+        exe_file: "codex.exe".to_string(),
+        executable_path: Some(std::path::PathBuf::from(
+            r"D:\360Downloads\codexapp\app\codex.exe",
+        )),
+    }];
+
+    assert_eq!(find_codex_processes_from_snapshot(&processes), vec![43]);
+}
+
+#[cfg(windows)]
+#[test]
+fn find_codex_processes_combines_store_and_local_installs() {
+    let processes = [
+        WindowsProcessInfo {
+            process_id: 11,
+            parent_process_id: 0,
+            exe_file: "Codex.exe".to_string(),
+            executable_path: Some(std::path::PathBuf::from(
+                r"C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\OpenAI.Codex_1.0.0.0_x64__abc\app\Codex.exe",
+            )),
+        },
+        WindowsProcessInfo {
+            process_id: 42,
+            parent_process_id: 0,
+            exe_file: "Codex.exe".to_string(),
+            executable_path: Some(std::path::PathBuf::from(
+                r"D:\360Downloads\codexapp\app\Codex.exe",
+            )),
+        },
+    ];
+
+    assert_eq!(find_codex_processes_from_snapshot(&processes), vec![11, 42]);
+}
+
+#[cfg(windows)]
+#[test]
+fn find_codex_processes_ignores_unrelated_processes() {
+    let processes = [
+        WindowsProcessInfo {
+            process_id: 10,
+            parent_process_id: 0,
+            exe_file: "notepad.exe".to_string(),
+            executable_path: Some(std::path::PathBuf::from(r"C:\Windows\notepad.exe")),
+        },
+        WindowsProcessInfo {
+            process_id: 20,
+            parent_process_id: 0,
+            exe_file: "codex-plus-plus.exe".to_string(),
+            executable_path: Some(std::path::PathBuf::from(
+                r"D:\Programs\Codex++\codex-plus-plus.exe",
+            )),
+        },
+    ];
+
+    assert!(find_codex_processes_from_snapshot(&processes).is_empty());
+}
+