diff --git a/gateway/run.py b/gateway/run.py
index 659ba801369..694bbfe628f 100644
--- a/gateway/run.py
+++ b/gateway/run.py
@@ -1356,6 +1356,12 @@ class GatewayRunner:
                                     cached_agent.shutdown_memory_provider()
                             except Exception:
                                 pass
+                            # Close tool resources to prevent zombie processes
+                            try:
+                                if hasattr(cached_agent, 'close'):
+                                    cached_agent.close()
+                            except Exception:
+                                pass
                         # Mark as flushed and persist to disk so the flag
                         # survives gateway restarts.
                         with self.session_store._lock:
@@ -1536,6 +1542,14 @@ class GatewayRunner:
                     agent.shutdown_memory_provider()
             except Exception:
                 pass
+            # Close tool resources (terminal sandboxes, browser daemons,
+            # background processes, httpx clients) to prevent zombie
+            # process accumulation.
+            try:
+                if hasattr(agent, 'close'):
+                    agent.close()
+            except Exception:
+                pass
 
         for platform, adapter in list(self.adapters.items()):
             try:
@@ -1558,7 +1572,20 @@ class GatewayRunner:
         self._pending_messages.clear()
         self._pending_approvals.clear()
         self._shutdown_event.set()
-        
+
+        # Global cleanup: kill any remaining tool subprocesses not tied
+        # to a specific agent (catch-all for zombie prevention).
+        try:
+            from tools.terminal_tool import cleanup_all_environments
+            cleanup_all_environments()
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+        try:
+            from tools.browser_tool import cleanup_all_browsers
+            cleanup_all_browsers()
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
         from gateway.status import remove_pid_file, write_runtime_status
         remove_pid_file()
         try:
@@ -3335,8 +3362,21 @@ class GatewayRunner:
                 _flush_task.add_done_callback(self._background_tasks.discard)
         except Exception as e:
             logger.debug("Gateway memory flush on reset failed: %s", e)
+        # Close tool resources on the old agent (terminal sandboxes, browser
+        # daemons, background processes) before evicting from cache.
+        _lock = getattr(self, "_agent_cache_lock", None)
+        if _lock:
+            with _lock:
+                _cached = self._agent_cache.get(session_key)
+                _old_agent = _cached[0] if isinstance(_cached, tuple) else _cached if _cached else None
+            if _old_agent is not None:
+                try:
+                    if hasattr(_old_agent, "close"):
+                        _old_agent.close()
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
         self._evict_cached_agent(session_key)
-        
+
         try:
             from tools.env_passthrough import clear_env_passthrough
             clear_env_passthrough()