port-kill

Find and kill whatever process is holding a port. Cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux), zero dependencies.

No more memorizing this:

# Mac/Linux
lsof -ti:3000 | xargs kill -9

# Windows
netstat -ano | findstr :3000
taskkill /PID <pid> /F

Just:

port-kill 3000

Install

npm install -g port-kill

Or without installing:

npx port-kill 3000

Usage

port-kill 3000              # Kill whatever is on port 3000
port-kill 3000 8080         # Multiple ports
port-kill 3000,8080,5432    # Comma-separated
port-kill 3000-3010         # Range
port-kill :3000             # Leading colon is fine
port-kill 3000 --list       # Show the process, don't kill
port-kill 8080 --force      # Force-kill (SIGKILL / taskkill /F)
port-kill 3000 --yes        # Skip the confirmation prompt

Example Output

port-kill  checking port(s): 3000

  :3000  →  node  pid 24180

  kill 1 process(es)? [y/N] y

  ✓ Killed node pid 24180 on :3000

  1 killed

With --list (dry run):

port-kill  checking port(s): 3000, 8080

  :3000  →  node     pid 24180
  :8080  →  python   pid 9921

How It Works

| Platform | Find process | Kill | |---|---|---| | Windows | netstat -ano | taskkill /PID /T | | macOS / Linux | lsof → fuser → ss (first available) | SIGTERM / SIGKILL |

By default it sends a graceful termination (SIGTERM / taskkill without /F) and waits briefly to confirm the process exited. If the process is still alive after the grace period, it automatically escalates to a forced kill (SIGKILL / taskkill /F) — because you asked to free the port. Output marks these as (forced).

Use --force to skip straight to a forced kill (useful on Windows, where console processes can't be stopped gracefully anyway).

vs. Alternatives

| Tool | Runtime | Windows | Zero-dep | |---|---|---|---| | lsof \| xargs kill | shell | ❌ | ✓ | | kill-port (npm) | Node | ✓ | ❌ | | fkill (npm) | Node | ✓ | ❌ | | port-kill | Node | ✓ | ✓ |

Exit Codes

• 0 — all matched processes killed (or nothing was listening)
• 1 — one or more processes could not be killed (try --force or elevated privileges)

License

MIT

Keywords

kill port · kill process on port · free port · kill-port alternative · fkill alternative · lsof kill · release port · eaddrinuse · cross-platform · zero dependencies

Built to solve, shared to help — Rushabh Shah 🛠️✨

One of 40+ zero-dependency developer CLI tools — no node_modules, ever.