diff --git a/bin/cloakserve b/bin/cloakserve
index 0e545b2..27ea917 100755
--- a/bin/cloakserve
+++ b/bin/cloakserve
@@ -407,6 +407,8 @@ class ChromePool:
                 self._default = cp
 
             logger.info("Chrome ready (seed=%s, port=%d, pid=%d)", actual_seed, port, process.pid)
+            if self._connections.get(seed_key, 0) == 0:
+                self._schedule_idle_cleanup(seed_key)
             return cp
 
     async def _cleanup_process(self, key: str) -> None:
diff --git a/tests/test_cloakserve.py b/tests/test_cloakserve.py
index 268b120..7be64cb 100644
--- a/tests/test_cloakserve.py
+++ b/tests/test_cloakserve.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import json
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 from types import SimpleNamespace
-from unittest.mock import patch
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -585,6 +585,25 @@ class TestConnectionTracking:
 
         asyncio.run(run())
 
+    @patch("subprocess.Popen")
+    def test_launch_without_connections_schedules_idle_cleanup(self, mock_popen):
+        async def run():
+            mock_proc = MagicMock()
+            mock_proc.pid = 12345
+            mock_proc.poll.return_value = None
+            mock_popen.return_value = mock_proc
+
+            pool = self._make_pool(idle_timeout=1.0)
+            with patch.object(pool, "_wait_for_cdp", return_value=True):
+                await pool.get_or_launch("seed1")
+
+            assert "seed1" in pool._idle_tasks
+            pool._cancel_idle_cleanup("seed1")
+            await asyncio.sleep(0)
+            assert "seed1" not in pool._idle_tasks
+
+        asyncio.run(run())
+
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Seed validation (CVE fix — path traversal via fingerprint param)