diff --git a/core/src/commonMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/DefaultBrowser.kt b/core/src/commonMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/DefaultBrowser.kt
index 0dfe5ca3a..e211166e2 100644
--- a/core/src/commonMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/DefaultBrowser.kt
+++ b/core/src/commonMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/DefaultBrowser.kt
@@ -362,7 +362,13 @@ open class DefaultBrowser(
         logger.debug("Closing browser gracefully...")
         withTimeoutOrNull(5.seconds) { connection?.browser?.close() }
         logger.debug("Killing browser process...")
-        process?.destroy()
+        // Wait for it to actually be gone, don't just ask. destroy() returns immediately and does not
+        // reach the browser's child processes, which keep open handles on the profile directory —
+        // a browser started on the same --user-data-dir right after would hang before opening its
+        // debug port, and the start would time out for no visible reason.
+        process?.let {
+            if (!it.destroyAndAwaitExit()) logger.warn("Browser process ${it.pid()} still alive after kill")
+        }
         process = null
         logger.debug("Closing connection...")
         connection?.close()
diff --git a/core/src/commonMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/ProcessExit.kt b/core/src/commonMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/ProcessExit.kt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8101d3dce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/commonMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/ProcessExit.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+package dev.kdriver.core.browser
+
+import kotlinx.coroutines.delay
+
+/**
+ * Forcibly kills the process and, where the platform supports it, its whole tree.
+ *
+ * [Process.destroy] only asks politely (SIGTERM / TerminateProcess on the top-level process). On
+ * Windows in particular, a browser's renderer and GPU children survive it.
+ */
+expect fun Process.killTree()
+
+/**
+ * Terminates the process, then waits until it has actually gone.
+ *
+ * [Process.destroy] only *requests* termination: it returns immediately, and it does not reach the
+ * browser's child processes. Those children keep open handles on the profile directory, so a browser
+ * started on the same `--user-data-dir` shortly afterwards cannot take ownership of it: it hangs
+ * before opening its debug port, and the start times out with no visible cause. Callers therefore
+ * need to know the browser is really gone, not merely that it was asked to leave.
+ *
+ * Grace-waits for [gracePeriodMillis], then escalates to [killTree] and waits up to
+ * [killTimeoutMillis] more. The same shape as zendriver's `Browser.stop`.
+ *
+ * @return true if the process exited, false if it was still alive when the timeouts elapsed.
+ */
+suspend fun Process.destroyAndAwaitExit(
+    gracePeriodMillis: Long = 3_000,
+    killTimeoutMillis: Long = 5_000,
+): Boolean {
+    if (!isAlive()) return true
+
+    destroy()
+    return awaitExit(gracePeriodMillis) || run {
+        killTree()
+        awaitExit(killTimeoutMillis)
+    }
+}
+
+private suspend fun Process.awaitExit(timeoutMillis: Long): Boolean {
+    var waited = 0L
+    while (waited < timeoutMillis) {
+        if (!isAlive()) return true
+        delay(EXIT_POLL_INTERVAL_MILLIS)
+        waited += EXIT_POLL_INTERVAL_MILLIS
+    }
+    return !isAlive()
+}
+
+private const val EXIT_POLL_INTERVAL_MILLIS = 100L
diff --git a/core/src/jsMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.js.kt b/core/src/jsMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.js.kt
index cca0ef77c..af1e2b93c 100644
--- a/core/src/jsMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.js.kt
+++ b/core/src/jsMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.js.kt
@@ -18,6 +18,10 @@ actual suspend fun Process.readStderrSnapshot(maxBytes: Int, timeoutMillis: Long
     throw UnsupportedOperationException()
 }
 
+actual fun Process.killTree() {
+    throw UnsupportedOperationException()
+}
+
 actual suspend fun startProcess(
     exe: Path,
     params: List<String>,
diff --git a/core/src/jvmMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.jvm.kt b/core/src/jvmMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.jvm.kt
index d88df4231..ff6dda8c7 100644
--- a/core/src/jvmMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.jvm.kt
+++ b/core/src/jvmMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.jvm.kt
@@ -92,6 +92,19 @@ actual suspend fun Process.readStderrSnapshot(maxBytes: Int, timeoutMillis: Long
         }
     }
 
+/**
+ * Kills this process and every descendant.
+ *
+ * `Process.destroyForcibly()` on its own only reaches the top-level process; on Windows the browser's
+ * renderer and GPU children outlive it and keep holding the profile's files. Descendants are snapshot
+ * first, because killing the parent detaches them and they can no longer be enumerated.
+ */
+actual fun Process.killTree() {
+    val descendants = runCatching { toHandle().descendants().toList() }.getOrDefault(emptyList())
+    destroyForcibly()
+    descendants.forEach { runCatching { it.destroyForcibly() } }
+}
+
 actual fun freePort(): Int? {
     ServerSocket(0, 5, InetAddress.getByName("127.0.0.1")).use { socket ->
         return socket.localPort
diff --git a/core/src/mingwMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.mingw.kt b/core/src/mingwMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.mingw.kt
index f340d642d..3c86da365 100644
--- a/core/src/mingwMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.mingw.kt
+++ b/core/src/mingwMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.mingw.kt
@@ -53,6 +53,19 @@ private class WindowsProcess(
  */
 actual suspend fun Process.readStderrSnapshot(maxBytes: Int, timeoutMillis: Long): String? = null
 
+/**
+ * Kills this process.
+ *
+ * `TerminateProcess` already ends it outright, so there is nothing gentler to escalate from here.
+ * Note that it does **not** reach the process's children: enumerating them on Windows means walking
+ * a `CreateToolhelp32Snapshot` by parent id, which this target does not do — the JVM target, which is
+ * the one running browsers in production, uses `ProcessHandle.descendants()` for that.
+ */
+@OptIn(ExperimentalForeignApi::class)
+actual fun Process.killTree() {
+    processHandle?.let { if (isAlive()) TerminateProcess(it, 1u) }
+}
+
 @OptIn(ExperimentalForeignApi::class)
 actual suspend fun startProcess(
     exe: Path,
diff --git a/core/src/posixMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.posix.kt b/core/src/posixMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.posix.kt
index 0aa3fba46..9834ec3c0 100644
--- a/core/src/posixMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.posix.kt
+++ b/core/src/posixMain/kotlin/dev/kdriver/core/browser/Process.posix.kt
@@ -22,6 +22,17 @@ actual abstract class Process {
 
 actual suspend fun Process.readStderrSnapshot(maxBytes: Int, timeoutMillis: Long): String? = null
 
+/**
+ * Kills this process with SIGKILL.
+ *
+ * POSIX has no cheap, portable way to enumerate descendants, so only the process itself is signalled.
+ * That is enough here: on Linux and macOS the browser's children terminate with their parent, unlike
+ * on Windows.
+ */
+actual fun Process.killTree() {
+    if (isAlive()) kill(processIdentifier, SIGKILL)
+}
+
 actual fun addShutdownHook(hook: suspend () -> Unit) {
     // POSIX doesn't have a direct equivalent to Java shutdown hooks
     // Could use atexit() but it doesn't support suspend functions