Orphaned CEF Processes on macOS ARM

Curtis Chau

Updated: July 3, 2026

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On macOS ARM, IronPDF 2026.4.1 can leave its Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) subprocess running after your application crashes. The process appears to hang and never exits.

IronSoftwareDeploymentConfigurationMissingException: QPdf*.deployment.json

IronSoftwareDeploymentConfigurationMissingException: QPdf*.deployment.json

The affected setup is IronPdf.MacOs.ARM 2026.4.1 (native interop 2026.4.0.1) on macOS ARM64 with .NET 10. On this build, the CEF subprocess is not torn down when the host application exits abnormally, so IronCefSubprocess and its Chrome gpu-process children stay alive. Updating to 2026.5.2 resolves the behavior.

Solution

1. Update the IronPDF packages

Move IronPdf.MacOs.ARM to 2026.5.2 or later. With the .NET CLI:

dotnet add package IronPdf.MacOs.ARM --version 2026.5.2

dotnet add package IronPdf.MacOs.ARM --version 2026.5.2

Or from the Visual Studio Package Manager Console:

Update-Package IronPdf.MacOs.ARM

Update-Package IronPdf.MacOs.ARM

2. Rebuild and run

Rebuild the project and run your application again to load the updated native interop.

3. Confirm no processes remain

After the application exits or crashes, check for leftover renderer processes:

ps aux | grep -iE "ironpdf|ironcef|chrome"

ps aux | grep -iE "ironpdf|ironcef|chrome"

You should see no leftover IronPDF, IronCefSubprocess, or Chrome gpu-process entries.

Debug Tips

On the affected version, the following did not clear the orphaned process:

• Setting Installation.TempFolderPath: no effect on the hang.
• Calling IronPdf.IronPdfEngine.Shutdown(): the IronPdfEngine type is not part of the IronPdf.MacOs.ARM package, so this call does not compile against it.
• The IronSoftwareDeploymentConfigurationMissingException warning about QPdf*.deployment.json: non-blocking. qpdf still deploys and loads, and the warning is unrelated to the hanging process.

Curtis Chau

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Technical Writer

Curtis Chau holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (Carleton University) and specializes in front-end development with expertise in Node.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, and React. Passionate about crafting intuitive and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces, Curtis enjoys working with modern frameworks and creating well-structured, visually appealing manuals.

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