diff --git a/plugins/codex/scripts/codex-companion.mjs b/plugins/codex/scripts/codex-companion.mjs
index 35222fd5..93d72be2 100644
--- a/plugins/codex/scripts/codex-companion.mjs
+++ b/plugins/codex/scripts/codex-companion.mjs
@@ -66,6 +66,16 @@ const ROOT_DIR = path.resolve(fileURLToPath(new URL("..", import.meta.url)));
 const REVIEW_SCHEMA = path.join(ROOT_DIR, "schemas", "review-output.schema.json");
 const DEFAULT_STATUS_WAIT_TIMEOUT_MS = 240000;
 const DEFAULT_STATUS_POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 2000;
+// Full per-turn budget for background/detached jobs (no external Bash ceiling
+// to collide with). codex.mjs reads CODEX_TURN_TIMEOUT_MS; this is the value we
+// thread down for background runs when the user hasn't overridden it.
+const DEFAULT_TURN_TIMEOUT_MS = 600000;
+// Foreground runs are invoked by Claude Code's Bash tool, which SIGKILLs node
+// at its own timeout (default 120000ms) and returns nothing. Set the runtime
+// turn budget just below that so the foreground turn fails fast with a
+// structured "turn timed out — re-run with --background" message that carries
+// any partial output, instead of being killed with an empty result.
+const FOREGROUND_TURN_TIMEOUT_MS = 110000;
 const VALID_REASONING_EFFORTS = new Set(["none", "minimal", "low", "medium", "high", "xhigh"]);
 const MODEL_ALIASES = new Map([["spark", "gpt-5.3-codex-spark"]]);
 const STOP_REVIEW_TASK_MARKER = "Run a stop-gate review of the previous Claude turn.";
@@ -679,9 +689,25 @@ function enqueueBackgroundTask(cwd, job, request) {
   };
 }
 
+// Set the per-turn budget for a FOREGROUND command (codex.mjs reads
+// CODEX_TURN_TIMEOUT_MS at call time). Precedence: explicit --turn-timeout-ms
+// flag > a pre-set CODEX_TURN_TIMEOUT_MS env (e.g. settings.json) > the
+// foreground default just under the host Bash ceiling, so a stalled turn
+// returns a structured timeout instead of being SIGKILLed with no output.
+// Only call this on a foreground path: a detached background worker inherits
+// the parent env, so capping it here would shrink the background budget too.
+function applyForegroundTurnBudget(options) {
+  const explicit = Number(options["turn-timeout-ms"]);
+  if (Number.isFinite(explicit) && explicit > 0) {
+    process.env.CODEX_TURN_TIMEOUT_MS = String(explicit);
+  } else if (!process.env.CODEX_TURN_TIMEOUT_MS) {
+    process.env.CODEX_TURN_TIMEOUT_MS = String(FOREGROUND_TURN_TIMEOUT_MS);
+  }
+}
+
 async function handleReviewCommand(argv, config) {
   const { options, positionals } = parseCommandInput(argv, {
-    valueOptions: ["base", "scope", "model", "cwd"],
+    valueOptions: ["base", "scope", "model", "cwd", "turn-timeout-ms"],
     booleanOptions: ["json", "background", "wait"],
     aliasMap: {
       m: "model"
@@ -706,6 +732,12 @@ async function handleReviewCommand(argv, config) {
     jobClass: "review",
     summary: metadata.summary
   });
+  // Review turns run foreground (--wait) through the same path as tasks; give
+  // them the same foreground budget so a stall returns a structured timeout
+  // instead of hitting the host Bash ceiling with an empty result.
+  if (!options.background) {
+    applyForegroundTurnBudget(options);
+  }
   await runForegroundCommand(
     job,
     (progress) =>
@@ -731,7 +763,7 @@ async function handleReview(argv) {
 
 async function handleTask(argv) {
   const { options, positionals } = parseCommandInput(argv, {
-    valueOptions: ["model", "effort", "cwd", "prompt-file"],
+    valueOptions: ["model", "effort", "cwd", "prompt-file", "turn-timeout-ms"],
     booleanOptions: ["json", "write", "resume-last", "resume", "fresh", "background"],
     aliasMap: {
       m: "model"
@@ -774,6 +806,11 @@ async function handleTask(argv) {
     return;
   }
 
+  // Foreground turn budget (see applyForegroundTurnBudget). Runs only on the
+  // foreground path; the background branch returned above and its detached
+  // worker inherits the parent env unchanged (full default budget).
+  applyForegroundTurnBudget(options);
+
   const job = buildTaskJob(workspaceRoot, taskMetadata, write);
   await runForegroundCommand(
     job,
diff --git a/plugins/codex/scripts/lib/codex.mjs b/plugins/codex/scripts/lib/codex.mjs
index f2fe88bd..d57b6cb5 100644
--- a/plugins/codex/scripts/lib/codex.mjs
+++ b/plugins/codex/scripts/lib/codex.mjs
@@ -43,6 +43,29 @@ const SERVICE_NAME = "claude_code_codex_plugin";
 const TASK_THREAD_PREFIX = "Codex Companion Task";
 const DEFAULT_CONTINUE_PROMPT =
   "Continue from the current thread state. Pick the next highest-value step and follow through until the task is resolved.";
+// Hard upper bound on a single Codex turn. Without this, the completion await
+// at the end of captureTurn is unbounded: it is resolved ONLY by completeTurn()
+// and is never rejected on a stalled/dead process (rejectCompletion was dead
+// code). The foreground budget is set below the external Bash ceiling by the
+// companion so timeouts surface as structured errors instead of a SIGKILL.
+const DEFAULT_TURN_TIMEOUT_MS = 600000;
+
+// Resolve the per-turn budget at CALL time, not import time. The companion sets
+// CODEX_TURN_TIMEOUT_MS (e.g. the foreground budget, below the Bash ceiling)
+// AFTER this module is imported; reading it at import froze the value at the
+// default and made --turn-timeout-ms / the foreground budget inert. Reading it
+// when the turn actually starts lets the option/env override take effect.
+function resolveTurnTimeoutMs(options = {}) {
+  const fromOptions = Number(options.turnTimeoutMs);
+  if (Number.isFinite(fromOptions) && fromOptions > 0) {
+    return fromOptions;
+  }
+  const fromEnv = Number(process.env.CODEX_TURN_TIMEOUT_MS);
+  if (Number.isFinite(fromEnv) && fromEnv > 0) {
+    return fromEnv;
+  }
+  return DEFAULT_TURN_TIMEOUT_MS;
+}
 
 function cleanCodexStderr(stderr) {
   return stderr
@@ -597,7 +620,43 @@ async function captureTurn(client, threadId, startRequest, options = {}) {
       completeTurn(state, response.turn);
     }
 
-    return await state.completion;
+    // Bound the await so it can never outlast a dead process or a runaway turn:
+    //   1. state.completion — resolves on turn/completed (or inferred). Wire the
+    //      previously-dead rejectCompletion to the client exit so an app-server
+    //      death AFTER startRequest resolved rejects the await immediately
+    //      instead of hanging until the deadline. Registered HERE rather than
+    //      before startRequest: if startRequest itself rejects (e.g. broker-busy
+    //      from turn/start, or the app-server exiting while that request is
+    //      pending), it propagates directly and state.completion is never
+    //      observed — wiring the exit earlier would reject an unobserved promise
+    //      and surface as an unhandled rejection.
+    //   2. deadline — hard per-turn budget (resolveTurnTimeoutMs: option >
+    //      CODEX_TURN_TIMEOUT_MS env > default, resolved at call time).
+    let exitRaceSettled = false;
+    client.exitPromise.then(() => {
+      if (exitRaceSettled || state.completed) {
+        return;
+      }
+      exitRaceSettled = true;
+      state.rejectCompletion(
+        client.exitError ?? new Error("codex app-server exited before the turn completed.")
+      );
+    });
+    const turnTimeoutMs = resolveTurnTimeoutMs(options);
+    let deadlineTimer = null;
+    const deadline = new Promise((_resolve, reject) => {
+      deadlineTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+        reject(new Error(`codex turn exceeded the ${turnTimeoutMs}ms turn budget.`));
+      }, turnTimeoutMs);
+      deadlineTimer.unref?.();
+    });
+    try {
+      return await Promise.race([state.completion, deadline]);
+    } finally {
+      if (deadlineTimer) {
+        clearTimeout(deadlineTimer);
+      }
+    }
   } finally {
     clearCompletionTimer(state);
     client.setNotificationHandler(previousHandler ?? null);