diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index ee7f9d69c335..222da78383d1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -854,6 +854,11 @@ jobs:
             echo "CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_DIR=$CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_DIR" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
             echo "CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_TOKEN=$CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_TOKEN" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
 
+            # Now that we hold the lock, reap any leaked display helper so a
+            # CGVirtualDisplay orphaned by a crashed/cancelled job cannot block
+            # this create on persistent self-hosted runners.
+            scripts/ci/virtual-display-lock.sh reap-strays || true
+
             "$HELPER_PATH" \
               --ready-path "$VDISPLAY_READY" \
               --display-id-path "$VDISPLAY_ID_PATH" \
@@ -1399,6 +1404,11 @@ jobs:
 
             acquire_display_lock
 
+            # Reap any leaked display helper now that we hold the lock, so a
+            # CGVirtualDisplay orphaned by a crashed/cancelled job cannot block
+            # this create on persistent self-hosted runners.
+            scripts/ci/virtual-display-lock.sh reap-strays || true
+
             # Launch display helper from shell (non-sandboxed).
             # Use --start-delay-ms instead of --start-path because the XCTest
             # runner is sandboxed and can't write to /tmp/ for the start signal.
@@ -1563,6 +1573,11 @@ jobs:
           VDISPLAY_LOG="$RUNNER_TEMP/cmux-vdisplay-persistent.log"
           rm -f "$VDISPLAY_READY" "$VDISPLAY_ID_PATH" "$VDISPLAY_LOG"
 
+          # Now that we hold the lock, reap any leaked display helper so a
+          # CGVirtualDisplay orphaned by a crashed/cancelled job cannot block
+          # this create on persistent self-hosted runners.
+          scripts/ci/virtual-display-lock.sh reap-strays || true
+
           "$HELPER_PATH" \
             --modes "1920x1080" \
             --ready-path "$VDISPLAY_READY" \
diff --git a/scripts/ci/virtual-display-lock.sh b/scripts/ci/virtual-display-lock.sh
index 1b8f88a1ea0c..5a1d10ee88d8 100755
--- a/scripts/ci/virtual-display-lock.sh
+++ b/scripts/ci/virtual-display-lock.sh
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ LOCK_POLL_SECONDS="${CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_POLL_SECONDS:-2}"
 
 usage() {
   cat >&2 <<'EOF'
-usage: virtual-display-lock.sh acquire|set-owner <pid>|release
+usage: virtual-display-lock.sh acquire|set-owner <pid>|reap-strays|release
 
 Coordinates host-global CGVirtualDisplay use between concurrent self-hosted
 macOS jobs. acquire prints CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_DIR and
@@ -204,6 +204,54 @@ release() {
   rm -rf "$LOCK_DIR"
 }
 
+# List PIDs of running compiled create-virtual-display helper binaries, excluding
+# the clang compile of the .m source and this script itself. Used to reap leaked
+# helpers from crashed/cancelled jobs.
+stray_helper_pids() {
+  # Match running compiled create-virtual-display helpers by full command line.
+  # Use `ps -o command=` (not `pgrep -fl`, whose output is the full argv on BSD
+  # but only the process name on Linux, which breaks the clang/.m exclusion) so
+  # the filter is identical on macOS runners and the Linux guard host. Exclude
+  # the clang compile of the .m source and this script itself. Tolerate no-match
+  # at every stage so an empty result is exit 0, not a pipefail that would abort
+  # reap_strays under `set -e`.
+  { ps -axww -o pid=,command= 2>/dev/null || true; } \
+    | { grep 'create-virtual-display' || true; } \
+    | { grep -v -e 'clang' -e 'create-virtual-display[.]m' -e 'virtual-display-lock' || true; } \
+    | awk -v self="$$" '$1 != self { print $1 }'
+}
+
+# Kill orphaned create-virtual-display helpers. Must be called while holding the
+# lock: lock ownership makes CGVirtualDisplay access exclusive, so any live
+# helper is a leak from a job that died without releasing. On persistent
+# self-hosted runners (the minis) these orphans keep their CGVirtualDisplay
+# alive and block every subsequent create, because only one CI virtual display
+# identity is allowed at a time. Warp VMs never hit this since each job gets a
+# fresh VM.
+reap_strays() {
+  require_token_match || exit 0
+  local pids
+  pids="$(stray_helper_pids)"
+  if [ -z "$pids" ]; then
+    echo "No stray virtual-display helpers to reap" >&2
+    return 0
+  fi
+  # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+  echo "Reaping stray virtual-display helpers: $(echo $pids | tr '\n' ' ')" >&2
+  # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+  kill $pids 2>/dev/null || true
+  local _
+  for _ in $(seq 1 50); do
+    pids="$(stray_helper_pids)"
+    [ -n "$pids" ] || return 0
+    sleep 0.1
+  done
+  # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+  echo "Force-killing remaining virtual-display helpers: $(echo $pids | tr '\n' ' ')" >&2
+  # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+  kill -9 $pids 2>/dev/null || true
+}
+
 case "$COMMAND" in
   acquire)
     acquire
@@ -211,6 +259,9 @@ case "$COMMAND" in
   set-owner)
     set_owner "${1:-}"
     ;;
+  reap-strays)
+    reap_strays
+    ;;
   release)
     release
     ;;
diff --git a/tests/test_ci_virtual_display_lock.sh b/tests/test_ci_virtual_display_lock.sh
index 4f77e4ccdc4b..0217459fe75b 100755
--- a/tests/test_ci_virtual_display_lock.sh
+++ b/tests/test_ci_virtual_display_lock.sh
@@ -130,4 +130,52 @@ if [ -d "$CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_DIR" ]; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
-echo "PASS: virtual display lock serializes acquisition, preserves live-owner locks, reclaims ownerless and dead-owner locks, and releases only matching tokens"
+# reap-strays kills leaked display helpers while the lock is held, leaves the
+# clang compile of the source alone, and refuses to act without the lock token.
+REAP_LOCK_DIR="$TMP_DIR/cmux-test-reap.lock"
+REAP_ENV="$(
+  RUNNER_TEMP="$TMP_DIR" \
+  CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_DIR="$REAP_LOCK_DIR" \
+  "$SCRIPT" acquire
+)"
+eval "$REAP_ENV"
+
+( exec -a "$TMP_DIR/create-virtual-display --ready-path /tmp/x" sleep 30 ) &
+STRAY_PID=$!
+( exec -a "clang -framework CoreGraphics -o $TMP_DIR/create-virtual-display scripts/create-virtual-display.m" sleep 30 ) &
+COMPILE_PID=$!
+sleep 0.3
+
+# Without the token, reap-strays must refuse (non-zero) and kill nothing.
+if RUNNER_TEMP="$TMP_DIR" CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_DIR="$CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_DIR" \
+  "$SCRIPT" reap-strays >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "FAIL: reap-strays succeeded without the lock token" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+if ! kill -0 "$STRAY_PID" 2>/dev/null; then
+  echo "FAIL: reap-strays killed a helper without the lock token" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+RUNNER_TEMP="$TMP_DIR" \
+CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_DIR="$CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_DIR" \
+CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_TOKEN="$CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_TOKEN" \
+  "$SCRIPT" reap-strays >/dev/null 2>&1
+sleep 0.3
+if kill -0 "$STRAY_PID" 2>/dev/null; then
+  echo "FAIL: reap-strays did not kill the leaked display helper" >&2
+  kill "$STRAY_PID" "$COMPILE_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
+  exit 1
+fi
+if ! kill -0 "$COMPILE_PID" 2>/dev/null; then
+  echo "FAIL: reap-strays killed the clang compile of the helper source" >&2
+  kill "$COMPILE_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
+  exit 1
+fi
+kill "$COMPILE_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
+RUNNER_TEMP="$TMP_DIR" \
+CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_DIR="$CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_DIR" \
+CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_TOKEN="$CMUX_VDISPLAY_LOCK_TOKEN" \
+  "$SCRIPT" release
+
+echo "PASS: virtual display lock serializes acquisition, preserves live-owner locks, reclaims ownerless and dead-owner locks, releases only matching tokens, and reap-strays kills leaked helpers (token-gated, compile-safe)"