diff --git a/changelog.md b/changelog.md
index 14f6d1f..5456967 100644
--- a/changelog.md
+++ b/changelog.md
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 2026-04-30 - 4.2.2 - fix(smartpdf)
+clean up SmartNetwork instances during port selection and shutdown
+
+- stores the temporary SmartNetwork instance used for port discovery so it can be stopped reliably
+- wraps port availability checks and free-port lookup in a finally block to ensure cleanup on success or failure
+- extends shutdown logic to stop any remaining SmartNetwork instance alongside the SmartServe server
+
 ## 2026-04-30 - 4.2.1 - fix(smartpdf)
 harden browser lifecycle, port handling, and PDF result metadata
 
diff --git a/ts/00_commitinfo_data.ts b/ts/00_commitinfo_data.ts
index 991eff1..a5cb3e8 100644
--- a/ts/00_commitinfo_data.ts
+++ b/ts/00_commitinfo_data.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,6 @@
  */
 export const commitinfo = {
   name: '@push.rocks/smartpdf',
-  version: '4.2.1',
+  version: '4.2.2',
   description: 'A library for creating PDFs dynamically from HTML or websites with additional features like merging PDFs.'
 }
diff --git a/ts/smartpdf.classes.smartpdf.ts b/ts/smartpdf.classes.smartpdf.ts
index 22832dc..b742279 100644
--- a/ts/smartpdf.classes.smartpdf.ts
+++ b/ts/smartpdf.classes.smartpdf.ts
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ export class SmartPdf {
 
   // INSTANCE
   private smartserveInstance: plugins.smartserve.SmartServe | null = null;
+  private smartnetworkInstance: plugins.smartnetwork.SmartNetwork | null = null;
   serverPort: number = 0;
   headlessBrowser: plugins.smartpuppeteer.puppeteer.Browser | null = null;
   externalBrowserBool: boolean = false;
@@ -71,35 +72,43 @@ export class SmartPdf {
 
     // Find an available port BEFORE creating server
     const smartnetworkInstance = new plugins.smartnetwork.SmartNetwork();
+    this.smartnetworkInstance = smartnetworkInstance;
 
-    if (this._options.port) {
-      // If a specific port is requested, check if it's available
-      const isPortAvailable = await smartnetworkInstance.isLocalPortUnused(this._options.port);
-      if (isPortAvailable) {
-        this.serverPort = this._options.port;
+    try {
+      if (this._options.port) {
+        // If a specific port is requested, check if it's available
+        const isPortAvailable = await smartnetworkInstance.isLocalPortUnused(this._options.port);
+        if (isPortAvailable) {
+          this.serverPort = this._options.port;
+        } else {
+          // Clean up browser if we created one
+          if (!this.externalBrowserBool && this.headlessBrowser) {
+            await this.headlessBrowser.close();
+            this.headlessBrowser = null;
+          }
+          throw new Error(`Requested port ${this._options.port} is already in use`);
+        }
       } else {
-        // Clean up browser if we created one
-        if (!this.externalBrowserBool && this.headlessBrowser) {
-          await this.headlessBrowser.close();
-          this.headlessBrowser = null;
+        // Find a free port in the specified range
+        const freePort = await smartnetworkInstance.findFreePort(
+          this._options.portRangeStart,
+          this._options.portRangeEnd
+        );
+        if (!freePort) {
+          // Clean up browser if we created one
+          if (!this.externalBrowserBool && this.headlessBrowser) {
+            await this.headlessBrowser.close();
+            this.headlessBrowser = null;
+          }
+          throw new Error(`No free ports available in range ${this._options.portRangeStart}-${this._options.portRangeEnd}`);
         }
-        throw new Error(`Requested port ${this._options.port} is already in use`);
+        this.serverPort = freePort;
       }
-    } else {
-      // Find a free port in the specified range
-      const freePort = await smartnetworkInstance.findFreePort(
-        this._options.portRangeStart,
-        this._options.portRangeEnd
-      );
-      if (!freePort) {
-        // Clean up browser if we created one
-        if (!this.externalBrowserBool && this.headlessBrowser) {
-          await this.headlessBrowser.close();
-          this.headlessBrowser = null;
-        }
-        throw new Error(`No free ports available in range ${this._options.portRangeStart}-${this._options.portRangeEnd}`);
+    } finally {
+      await smartnetworkInstance.stop();
+      if (this.smartnetworkInstance === smartnetworkInstance) {
+        this.smartnetworkInstance = null;
       }
-      this.serverPort = freePort;
     }
 
     // Now setup server using smartserve
@@ -150,6 +159,11 @@ export class SmartPdf {
       this.smartserveInstance = null;
     }
 
+    if (this.smartnetworkInstance) {
+      await this.smartnetworkInstance.stop();
+      this.smartnetworkInstance = null;
+    }
+
     // Clear any remaining candidates
     this._candidates = {};
   }