Node WebUI

A local web dashboard for monitoring and managing PM2 processes on macOS.

Node WebUI provides a clean browser-based interface for viewing running services, checking system usage, managing PM2 apps, and reading logs without needing to keep a Terminal window open.

Features

• View all PM2-managed processes
• Start, stop, and restart individual processes
• Bulk start, stop, and restart actions
• View PM2 process ID, CPU usage, RAM usage, uptime, restart count, and start time
• Search and filter processes by name and status
• Sort processes by status, name, CPU, RAM, restarts, uptime, and started time
• Show or hide table columns
• Save table preferences in local storage
• Open the process folder in Finder
• View recent logs for each process
• Auto-refresh logs
• Search within logs
• Copy, clear, and download logs
• Toggle line wrapping in logs
• Differentiate stdout and stderr log lines
• View host CPU and RAM usage
• View service counts and restart totals
• React operations-console UI served locally by Express

Requirements

• macOS
• Node.js 18+
• One or more PM2-managed processes

The package includes PM2 as a runtime dependency for the dashboard. Install PM2 globally only if you want to use the pm2 command directly from your terminal:

npm install -g pm2

Installation

Install Or Update

Install the CLI globally from npm:

npm install -g @jxa13/pm2ui

Start the dashboard:

pm2ui

By default, the dashboard runs locally on:

http://127.0.0.1:3210

Upgrade to the latest published version:

npm install -g @jxa13/pm2ui@latest

Check the installed version:

npm list -g @jxa13/pm2ui --depth=0

Install A Specific Version

Install a specific version:

npm install -g @jxa13/[email protected]

Roll back to a previous version:

npm install -g @jxa13/[email protected]

View all published versions:

npm view @jxa13/pm2ui versions --json

Install From Source

Clone the repository:

git clone <repo-url>
cd Node-WebUI

Install dependencies:

npm install

This installs runtime and development dependencies so the React frontend can be rebuilt from source. Global npm installs use the prebuilt frontend bundle shipped in the package.

Start the app:

npm start

npm start builds the React frontend and starts the local Express server.

Publish A New Version

Only maintainers with npm publish access can release new versions.

Run the checks:

npm run react:build
npm run react:smoke
npm pack --dry-run

The package metadata includes public npm access. Publish from a supported CI environment with npm publish --provenance when you want npm provenance attached to the release.

Bump the package version:

npm version patch

Use minor for backward-compatible feature releases and major for breaking changes:

npm version minor
npm version major

Publish the release:

npm publish

After publishing, users can upgrade with:

npm install -g @jxa13/pm2ui@latest

PM2 Setup

Start a sample process:

pm2 start app.js --name my-app

View PM2 processes:

pm2 list

Save PM2 process state:

pm2 save

Enable PM2 to start automatically after reboot:

pm2 startup

Available Actions

Per Process

• Start
• Stop
• Restart
• Open logs
• Open folder in Finder

Bulk Actions

• Start all stopped processes
• Stop all running processes
• Restart all running processes

Logs Viewer

The logs viewer supports:

• stdout and stderr lines
• Auto refresh
• Search within logs
• Copy logs
• Clear logs
• Download logs
• Toggle line wrapping

Recent log history is read from the selected PM2 process log files. Live updates use PM2's Node API event bus instead of shelling out to pm2 logs.

Security

This app is designed for local use only.

Recommended:

• Keep it bound to localhost
• Do not expose it directly to the internet
• If remote access is needed, place it behind authentication and a reverse proxy

Unsafe local API methods such as process actions, PM2 save, log clearing, create, delete, and Finder reveal require a same-origin browser session token. This helps block drive-by POST or DELETE requests from unrelated websites, but it is not a substitute for authentication if the app is exposed beyond localhost.

Future Ideas

Potential future improvements:

• Authentication for LAN access
• Automated backend route coverage
• Split backend routes and frontend modules
• Import/export for operator preference profiles
• Process grouping and tags

License

MIT