diff --git a/codex-rs/codex-api/src/endpoint/responses_websocket.rs b/codex-rs/codex-api/src/endpoint/responses_websocket.rs
index b4871153df9..175507f27c4 100644
--- a/codex-rs/codex-api/src/endpoint/responses_websocket.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/codex-api/src/endpoint/responses_websocket.rs
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ use std::time::Duration;
 use tokio::net::TcpStream;
 use tokio::sync::Mutex;
 use tokio::sync::mpsc;
+use tokio::sync::oneshot;
 use tokio::time::Instant;
 use tokio_tungstenite::MaybeTlsStream;
 use tokio_tungstenite::WebSocketStream;
@@ -41,7 +42,124 @@ use tungstenite::extensions::compression::deflate::DeflateConfig;
 use tungstenite::protocol::WebSocketConfig;
 use url::Url;
 
-type WsStream = WebSocketStream<MaybeTlsStream<TcpStream>>;
+struct WsStream {
+    tx_command: mpsc::Sender<WsCommand>,
+    rx_message: mpsc::UnboundedReceiver<Result<Message, WsError>>,
+    pump_task: tokio::task::JoinHandle<()>,
+}
+
+enum WsCommand {
+    Send {
+        message: Message,
+        tx_result: oneshot::Sender<Result<(), WsError>>,
+    },
+    Close {
+        tx_result: oneshot::Sender<Result<(), WsError>>,
+    },
+}
+
+impl WsStream {
+    fn new(inner: WebSocketStream<MaybeTlsStream<TcpStream>>) -> Self {
+        let (tx_command, mut rx_command) = mpsc::channel::<WsCommand>(32);
+        let (tx_message, rx_message) = mpsc::unbounded_channel::<Result<Message, WsError>>();
+
+        let pump_task = tokio::spawn(async move {
+            let mut inner = inner;
+            loop {
+                tokio::select! {
+                    command = rx_command.recv() => {
+                        let Some(command) = command else {
+                            break;
+                        };
+                        match command {
+                            WsCommand::Send { message, tx_result } => {
+                                let result = inner.send(message).await;
+                                let should_break = result.is_err();
+                                let _ = tx_result.send(result);
+                                if should_break {
+                                    break;
+                                }
+                            }
+                            WsCommand::Close { tx_result } => {
+                                let result = inner.close(None).await;
+                                let _ = tx_result.send(result);
+                                break;
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                    message = inner.next() => {
+                        let Some(message) = message else {
+                            break;
+                        };
+                        match message {
+                            Ok(Message::Ping(payload)) => {
+                                if let Err(err) = inner.send(Message::Pong(payload)).await {
+                                    let _ = tx_message.send(Err(err));
+                                    break;
+                                }
+                            }
+                            Ok(Message::Pong(_)) => {}
+                            Ok(message @ (Message::Text(_)
+                            | Message::Binary(_)
+                            | Message::Close(_)
+                            | Message::Frame(_))) => {
+                                let is_close = matches!(message, Message::Close(_));
+                                if tx_message.send(Ok(message)).is_err() {
+                                    break;
+                                }
+                                if is_close {
+                                    break;
+                                }
+                            }
+                            Err(err) => {
+                                let _ = tx_message.send(Err(err));
+                                break;
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        });
+
+        Self {
+            tx_command,
+            rx_message,
+            pump_task,
+        }
+    }
+
+    async fn request(
+        &self,
+        make_command: impl FnOnce(oneshot::Sender<Result<(), WsError>>) -> WsCommand,
+    ) -> Result<(), WsError> {
+        let (tx_result, rx_result) = oneshot::channel();
+        if self.tx_command.send(make_command(tx_result)).await.is_err() {
+            return Err(WsError::ConnectionClosed);
+        }
+        rx_result.await.unwrap_or(Err(WsError::ConnectionClosed))
+    }
+
+    async fn send(&self, message: Message) -> Result<(), WsError> {
+        self.request(|tx_result| WsCommand::Send { message, tx_result })
+            .await
+    }
+
+    async fn close(&self) -> Result<(), WsError> {
+        self.request(|tx_result| WsCommand::Close { tx_result })
+            .await
+    }
+
+    async fn next(&mut self) -> Option<Result<Message, WsError>> {
+        self.rx_message.recv().await
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for WsStream {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        self.pump_task.abort();
+    }
+}
+
 const X_CODEX_TURN_STATE_HEADER: &str = "x-codex-turn-state";
 const X_MODELS_ETAG_HEADER: &str = "x-models-etag";
 const X_REASONING_INCLUDED_HEADER: &str = "x-reasoning-included";
@@ -119,7 +237,7 @@ impl ResponsesWebsocketConnection {
             )
             .await
             {
-                let _ = ws_stream.close(None).await;
+                let _ = ws_stream.close().await;
                 *guard = None;
                 let _ = tx_event.send(Err(err)).await;
             }
@@ -215,7 +333,7 @@ async fn connect_websocket(
     {
         let _ = turn_state.set(header_value.to_string());
     }
-    Ok((stream, reasoning_included, models_etag))
+    Ok((WsStream::new(stream), reasoning_included, models_etag))
 }
 
 fn websocket_config() -> WebSocketConfig {
@@ -419,18 +537,13 @@ async fn run_websocket_response_stream(
             Message::Binary(_) => {
                 return Err(ApiError::Stream("unexpected binary websocket event".into()));
             }
-            Message::Ping(payload) => {
-                if ws_stream.send(Message::Pong(payload)).await.is_err() {
-                    return Err(ApiError::Stream("websocket ping failed".into()));
-                }
-            }
-            Message::Pong(_) => {}
             Message::Close(_) => {
                 return Err(ApiError::Stream(
                     "websocket closed by server before response.completed".into(),
                 ));
             }
-            _ => {}
+            Message::Frame(_) => {}
+            Message::Ping(_) | Message::Pong(_) => {}
         }
     }