convert is keeping a subprocess or thread running after returning results

[patw]

Bug

I wrapped docling in a fastapi service, and noticed that after running any of the endpoints that include convert that the cpu would spin up to convert doc, but something continues to run in the background (single core, 100% cpu -- no idea what it is).
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Steps to reproduce

Run the convert function on a PDF doc then just pause execution. Run top command and you should see something lingering on the same process ID consuming a cpu core.

Can be seen running this: https://github.com/patw/docinator
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Docling version

docling 2.18.0
docling-core 2.17.2
docling-ibm-models 3.3.1
docling-parse 3.1.0
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Python version

3.10.12 running under Ubuntu 22.04
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[dolfim-ibm]

We usually support only the docling-serve REST API for Docling, we are trying to centralize all the work there. If you see that your use case is not covered or planned, we are happy to know about it.

I suggest you reopen the issue if you notice the same behavior in docling-serve.