diff --git a/src/cli/index.ts b/src/cli/index.ts
index d59f9e3257..a92787c8c2 100755
--- a/src/cli/index.ts
+++ b/src/cli/index.ts
@@ -952,7 +952,7 @@ async function handleStop() {
       if (detail) console.error(`   ${detail}`);
       if (err instanceof ProxyOwnershipRefusedError) {
         ownershipBlocked = true;
-        console.error("   Skipping shared teardown (native Codex restore, Grok config): the foreign proxy is still running.");
+        console.error("   Skipping shared teardown (native Codex restore, Grok config): the refusing proxy is still running.");
       }
     }
   } else {
@@ -979,7 +979,7 @@ async function handleStop() {
         if (detail) console.error(`   ${detail}`);
         if (err instanceof ProxyOwnershipRefusedError) {
           ownershipBlocked = true;
-          console.error("   Skipping shared teardown (native Codex restore, Grok config): the foreign proxy is still running.");
+          console.error("   Skipping shared teardown (native Codex restore, Grok config): the refusing proxy is still running.");
         }
       }
     } else if (live) {
diff --git a/src/lib/process-control.ts b/src/lib/process-control.ts
index 49da43987c..6d699be8fd 100644
--- a/src/lib/process-control.ts
+++ b/src/lib/process-control.ts
@@ -80,11 +80,49 @@ export type GracefulStopResult = boolean | "refused" | "teardown-unconfirmed";
  */
 let lastRefusalMessage: string | null = null;
 
+/**
+ * The server's machine-readable reason for the most recent 409, captured alongside the
+ * message so a refusal that arrives without a body still names the right cause. Without it
+ * the fallback has to guess, and guessing "ownership" sent operators to re-check
+ * CODEX_HOME for a refusal the scheduler wrapper had issued (#4169).
+ */
+let lastRefusalCode: string | null = null;
+
 /** The server's explanation for the most recent 409, or `null` when it sent none. */
 export function lastStopRefusalMessage(): string | null {
   return lastRefusalMessage;
 }
 
+/** The server's `code` for the most recent 409, or `null` when it sent none. */
+export function lastStopRefusalCode(): string | null {
+  return lastRefusalCode;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Wording for a refusal whose body carried no message. Each branch mirrors a refusal the
+ * management API can return from `POST /api/stop`; the default stays cause-neutral because
+ * naming the wrong cause is worse than naming none — it costs the operator the time they
+ * spend acting on it.
+ */
+function refusalFallbackMessage(code: string | null): string {
+  switch (code) {
+    case "respawnable_service":
+      return "The running proxy refused to stop: a service manager that can respawn it owns "
+        + "the process. Run `ocx stop`, which verifies the respawn window.";
+    case "self_unload_service":
+      return "The running proxy refused to stop: it is the installed service itself, so "
+        + "stopping the manager from inside it would end the process before native Codex is "
+        + "restored. Run `ocx stop`.";
+    case "service_state_unknown":
+      return "The running proxy refused to stop: the service manager state could not be read, "
+        + "so it cannot tell whether a wrapper would respawn it. Run `ocx service status` to "
+        + "see the query error.";
+    default:
+      return "The running proxy refused to stop and sent no reason. Run `ocx service status` "
+        + "to inspect the service state.";
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * A proxy declined shutdown (HTTP 409). There is more than one reason it can say no — a
  * scheduler wrapper under another home, or the proxy being the installed service itself
@@ -104,9 +142,28 @@ export class ProxyOwnershipRefusedError extends Error {}
  * attest the process exit code or completion of every drain/shutdown hook.
  */
 export async function stopProxyGracefully(pid: number, io: GracefulStopIo = {}): Promise<GracefulStopResult> {
+  return (await stopProxyGracefullyDetailed(pid, io)).result;
+}
+
+/**
+ * The refusal a single stop attempt received, carried back to that attempt's caller.
+ *
+ * Module-scoped state cannot do this job: two overlapping stops race, and the first would
+ * report the second's cause. The exported accessors stay as observational state for callers
+ * that only want the last refusal, but the error text is built from this per-call value.
+ */
+type StopRefusal = { message: string | null; code: string | null };
+
+async function stopProxyGracefullyDetailed(
+  pid: number,
+  io: GracefulStopIo = {},
+): Promise<{ result: GracefulStopResult; refusal: StopRefusal }> {
+  const refusal: StopRefusal = { message: null, code: null };
+  const done = (result: GracefulStopResult): { result: GracefulStopResult; refusal: StopRefusal } =>
+    ({ result, refusal });
   const readRuntime = io.readRuntime ?? readRuntimePort;
   const runtime = io.runtimeEndpoint ?? readRuntime(pid);
-  if (!runtime?.port) return false;
+  if (!runtime?.port) return done(false);
   const env = io.env ?? process.env;
   const headers: Record<string, string> = {};
   const token = configuredAdminToken(env.OPENCODEX_HOME?.trim() || undefined, env as NodeJS.ProcessEnv);
@@ -128,20 +185,31 @@ export async function stopProxyGracefully(pid: number, io: GracefulStopIo = {}):
       // longer than a health poll so we prefer drain over taskkill /F.
       signal: AbortSignal.timeout(io.exitTimeoutMs ? Math.min(io.exitTimeoutMs, 10_000) : 10_000),
     });
-    // 409 is the proxy REFUSING to stop (a service installed under another home owns it and
-    // would respawn it anyway). That is a policy answer, not a dead endpoint — escalating to
-    // SIGTERM here would run the daemon's cleanup and strip shared config out from under the
+    // 409 is the proxy REFUSING to stop. There is more than one reason it can say no — a
+    // respawning service manager, the proxy being the installed service itself, or an
+    // unreadable scheduler state — so both the message and the code are captured rather
+    // than assumed. That is a policy answer, not a dead endpoint — escalating to SIGTERM
+    // here would run the daemon's cleanup and strip shared config out from under the
     // still-running service. Report the refusal instead of forcing.
     if (res.status === 409) {
-      lastRefusalMessage = await res.json()
+      const parsed = await res.json()
         .then(body => {
-          const message = (body as { message?: unknown } | null)?.message;
-          return typeof message === "string" && message.trim() ? message.trim() : null;
+          const record = body as { message?: unknown; code?: unknown } | null;
+          const message = record?.message;
+          const code = record?.code;
+          return {
+            message: typeof message === "string" && message.trim() ? message.trim() : null,
+            code: typeof code === "string" && code.trim() ? code.trim() : null,
+          };
         })
-        .catch(() => null);
-      return "refused";
+        .catch(() => ({ message: null, code: null }));
+      refusal.message = parsed.message;
+      refusal.code = parsed.code;
+      lastRefusalMessage = parsed.message;
+      lastRefusalCode = parsed.code;
+      return done("refused");
     }
-    if (!res.ok) return false;
+    if (!res.ok) return done(false);
     const body: unknown = await res.json().catch(() => null);
     const expectedTeardown = io.deferSharedTeardownNonce ? "deferred" : "performed";
     sharedTeardownConfirmed = body !== null
@@ -150,14 +218,14 @@ export async function stopProxyGracefully(pid: number, io: GracefulStopIo = {}):
       && "success" in body && body.success === true
       && "sharedTeardown" in body && body.sharedTeardown === expectedTeardown;
   } catch {
-    return false;
+    return done(false);
   }
   const waitExit = io.waitExit ?? waitForExit;
   // Honor the server's own drain window: /api/stop answers 200 first, then drains for
   // config.shutdownTimeoutMs. Waiting less than that hard-kills mid-drain.
   const exitTimeoutMs = io.exitTimeoutMs ?? drainDeadlineMs();
-  if (!waitExit(pid, exitTimeoutMs)) return false;
-  return sharedTeardownConfirmed ? true : "teardown-unconfirmed";
+  if (!waitExit(pid, exitTimeoutMs)) return done(false);
+  return done(sharedTeardownConfirmed ? true : "teardown-unconfirmed");
 }
 
 function drainDeadlineMs(): number {
@@ -172,14 +240,14 @@ function drainDeadlineMs(): number {
 export async function stopProxy(pid: number, io: GracefulStopIo = {}): Promise<boolean> {
   if (!isProcessAlive(pid)) return false;
   const runtime = io.runtimeEndpoint ?? readRuntimePort(pid);
-  const graceful = await stopProxyGracefully(pid, io);
+  const { result: graceful, refusal } = await stopProxyGracefullyDetailed(pid, io);
   if (graceful === "refused") {
-    // The proxy refused on purpose (foreign service owns it). Forcing would strip shared
-    // config while that service keeps the proxy alive.
+    // The proxy refused on purpose. Forcing would strip shared config while whatever owns
+    // the process keeps it alive. The server's own message is preferred; the fallback is
+    // selected from its code so an empty body still names the right cause. Both come from
+    // THIS attempt, so an overlapping stop cannot lend it the wrong reason.
     throw new ProxyOwnershipRefusedError(
-      lastRefusalMessage
-      ?? "The running proxy refused to stop: a service installed under a different "
-        + "CODEX_HOME/OPENCODEX_HOME owns it. Run the stop from that home.",
+      refusal.message ?? refusalFallbackMessage(refusal.code),
     );
   }
   if (graceful === "teardown-unconfirmed") {
diff --git a/tests/lib/process-control-graceful.test.ts b/tests/lib/process-control-graceful.test.ts
index 9fad73d38b..f4e370df48 100644
--- a/tests/lib/process-control-graceful.test.ts
+++ b/tests/lib/process-control-graceful.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, expect, test } from "bun:test";
-import { gracefulStopHost, lastStopRefusalMessage, stopProxyGracefully } from "../../src/lib/process-control";
+import { gracefulStopHost, lastStopRefusalCode, lastStopRefusalMessage, ProxyOwnershipRefusedError, stopProxy, stopProxyGracefully } from "../../src/lib/process-control";
 
 function okResponse(): Response {
   return new Response(JSON.stringify({ success: true, sharedTeardown: "performed" }), { status: 200 });
@@ -198,4 +198,107 @@ describe("409 refusal reporting", () => {
     expect(result).toBe("refused");
     expect(lastStopRefusalMessage()).toBeNull();
   });
+
+  test("the refusal code is captured alongside the message", async () => {
+    // The message alone cannot drive the fallback: a refusal that arrives with an empty or
+    // unparseable body still has to name a cause, and #4169 showed what happens when the
+    // fallback guesses one — the operator re-checks CODEX_HOME for a refusal the scheduler
+    // wrapper issued.
+    await stopProxyGracefully(7, {
+      readRuntime: () => ({ port: 10100 }),
+      fetchFn: (async () => new Response(
+        JSON.stringify({ success: false, code: "respawnable_service", message: "wrapper owns it" }),
+        { status: 409, headers: { "content-type": "application/json" } },
+      )) as typeof fetch,
+      waitExit: () => true,
+      env: {},
+    });
+    expect(lastStopRefusalCode()).toBe("respawnable_service");
+
+    await stopProxyGracefully(7, {
+      readRuntime: () => ({ port: 10100 }),
+      fetchFn: (async () => new Response("not json", { status: 409 })) as typeof fetch,
+      waitExit: () => true,
+      env: {},
+    });
+    expect(lastStopRefusalCode()).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  test("a refusal without a message falls back by code, never to an ownership claim", async () => {
+    const refusalFor = async (code: string | null): Promise<string> => {
+      const body = code === null ? "not json" : JSON.stringify({ success: false, code });
+      try {
+        await stopProxy(process.pid, {
+          readRuntime: () => ({ port: 10100 }),
+          fetchFn: (async () => new Response(body, {
+            status: 409,
+            headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
+          })) as typeof fetch,
+          waitExit: () => { throw new Error("must not wait for a refused stop"); },
+          env: {},
+        });
+      } catch (err) {
+        if (err instanceof ProxyOwnershipRefusedError) return err.message;
+        throw err;
+      }
+      throw new Error("stopProxy must throw on a refusal");
+    };
+
+    const respawnable = await refusalFor("respawnable_service");
+    expect(respawnable).toContain("respawn");
+    expect(respawnable).toContain("ocx stop");
+
+    const selfUnload = await refusalFor("self_unload_service");
+    expect(selfUnload).toContain("installed service itself");
+
+    const unknownState = await refusalFor("service_state_unknown");
+    expect(unknownState).toContain("ocx service status");
+
+    const noBody = await refusalFor(null);
+    expect(noBody).toContain("sent no reason");
+
+    // None of them may assert the cause that #4169 was filed for.
+    for (const message of [respawnable, selfUnload, unknownState, noBody]) {
+      expect(message).not.toContain("CODEX_HOME");
+      expect(message).not.toContain("OPENCODEX_HOME");
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("concurrent refusals each keep their own cause", async () => {
+    // Reading the reason from module state lets one stop publish its refusal and a second
+    // overwrite it before the first continuation consumes it. Starting both together is
+    // what actually reproduces that: verified against the pre-fix global handoff, where
+    // this schedule fails with the first call throwing the second's cause
+    // ("...it is the installed service itself..." for the respawnable_service stop).
+    // A schedule that lets one call finish entirely before resuming the other does NOT
+    // discriminate — the parked call republishes its own globals last and passes either way.
+    const refusalOf = (code: string) => async (): Promise<string> => {
+      try {
+        await stopProxy(process.pid, {
+          readRuntime: () => ({ port: 10100 }),
+          fetchFn: (async () => new Response(JSON.stringify({ success: false, code }), {
+            status: 409,
+            headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
+          })) as typeof fetch,
+          waitExit: () => { throw new Error("must not wait for a refused stop"); },
+          env: {},
+        });
+      } catch (err) {
+        if (err instanceof ProxyOwnershipRefusedError) return err.message;
+        throw err;
+      }
+      throw new Error("stopProxy must throw on a refusal");
+    };
+
+    // Repeated because the interleaving is scheduler-dependent; the pre-fix code fails on
+    // the first iteration, but a single run would be a weak guard against reintroduction.
+    for (let i = 0; i < 20; i++) {
+      const [respawnable, selfUnload] = await Promise.all([
+        refusalOf("respawnable_service")(),
+        refusalOf("self_unload_service")(),
+      ]);
+      expect(respawnable).toContain("respawn");
+      expect(selfUnload).toContain("installed service itself");
+    }
+  });
 });
diff --git a/tests/providers/xai/grok-lifecycle.test.ts b/tests/providers/xai/grok-lifecycle.test.ts
index 88212768af..ccb1f8d80f 100644
--- a/tests/providers/xai/grok-lifecycle.test.ts
+++ b/tests/providers/xai/grok-lifecycle.test.ts
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ describe("Grok fence lifecycle wiring", () => {
     // shared teardown must be skipped at both call sites, exactly like the service-manager path.
     const ownershipRefusals = stopFn.match(/err instanceof ProxyOwnershipRefusedError[\s\S]{0,200}?ownershipBlocked = true;/g);
     expect(ownershipRefusals).toHaveLength(2);
-    expect(stopFn.match(/Skipping shared teardown \(native Codex restore, Grok config\): the foreign proxy is still running\./g)).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(stopFn.match(/Skipping shared teardown \(native Codex restore, Grok config\): the refusing proxy is still running\./g)).toHaveLength(2);
     expect(PROCESS_CONTROL_SOURCE).toContain("throw new ProxyOwnershipRefusedError(");
   });
 
@@ -507,10 +507,12 @@ describe("POST /api/stop teardown", () => {
   });
 
   test("a 409 does not escalate to a forced kill", () => {
-    // Escalating would run the daemon's cleanup and strip shared config while the foreign
-    // service keeps the proxy alive — the exact hole the ownership gate exists to close.
+    // Escalating would run the daemon's cleanup and strip shared config while the refusing
+    // service keeps the proxy alive — the exact hole the refusal gate exists to close.
     // The 409 branch may capture the server's reason first (#4023 added a second refusal
-    // cause), but it must still return "refused" without falling through to !res.ok.
+    // cause, #4169 the code that names it), but it must still yield "refused" without
+    // falling through to !res.ok. Matched loosely so a wrapped return (`done("refused")`)
+    // still satisfies the invariant this guards, which is ordering, not spelling.
     const stopGracefully = sliceFn(
       PROCESS_CONTROL_SOURCE,
       "export async function stopProxyGracefully(",
@@ -518,9 +520,12 @@ describe("POST /api/stop teardown", () => {
     );
     const four09At = stopGracefully.indexOf("res.status === 409");
     expect(four09At).toBeGreaterThan(-1);
-    expect(stopGracefully.slice(four09At)).toContain('return "refused"');
-    expect(stopGracefully.indexOf('return "refused"', four09At))
-      .toBeLessThan(stopGracefully.indexOf("if (!res.ok) return false;", four09At));
+    const refusedReturn = /return (?:done\()?"refused"/;
+    const okFallthrough = /if \(!res\.ok\) return (?:done\()?false/;
+    const afterFour09 = stopGracefully.slice(four09At);
+    expect(afterFour09).toMatch(refusedReturn);
+    expect(afterFour09.search(refusedReturn))
+      .toBeLessThan(afterFour09.search(okFallthrough));
 
     const stopProxyFn = sliceFn(PROCESS_CONTROL_SOURCE, "export async function stopProxy(", "export function killProxy(");
     const refusedAt = stopProxyFn.indexOf('graceful === "refused"');