procfile-run

Start all your dev services with one command. Reads a standard Procfile and runs every process in parallel with color-coded, labeled output. Zero dependencies.

Works on Windows, Mac, and Linux — unlike foreman (Ruby), goreman/overmind (Go binaries), or shell scripts.

Install

npm install -g procfile-run

Or without installing:

npx procfile-run

Quick Start

Create a Procfile:

web:     node server.js
worker:  node worker.js
redis:   redis-server --port 6379

Then run:

procfile-run

Example Output

procfile-run  Procfile
  Starting 3 process(es)...

         │ web     started  (pid 12345)  node server.js
         │ worker  started  (pid 12346)  node worker.js
         │ redis   started  (pid 12347)  redis-server --port 6379
         │ Press Ctrl+C to stop all processes

web    │ Listening on port 3000
redis  │ Ready to accept connections
worker │ Worker started, waiting for jobs...
worker │ Processing job #1
web    │ GET /api/jobs 200 12ms

Usage

procfile-run                     # Run ./Procfile
procfile-run Procfile.dev        # Use a different Procfile
procfile-run --only web,worker   # Run specific processes
procfile-run --restart           # Auto-restart crashed processes
procfile-run --timestamp         # Prefix lines with time
procfile-run --env .env.local    # Load a specific env file
procfile-run --no-env            # Don't load any .env file

Procfile Format

# This is a comment
web:    node server.js
worker: node --env-file=.env worker.js
db:     pg_ctl start -D /usr/local/var/postgresql@14

Standard Heroku Procfile format — fully compatible with foreman, goreman, etc.

Environment Variables

By default, procfile-run loads .env from the same directory as the Procfile and merges it into each process's environment.

procfile-run --env .env.staging   # Load a specific env file
procfile-run --no-env             # Skip .env loading

Behavior on Exit

• If any process exits (success or crash), all other processes are stopped — unless --restart is active.
• Ctrl+C sends SIGTERM to all child processes cleanly.
• --restart will restart only crashed processes (non-zero exit), not ones that exited cleanly.

vs. Alternatives

| Tool | Runtime needed | Windows | Zero-dep | |---|---|---|---| | foreman | Ruby gem | ❌ | ❌ | | goreman | Go binary | ❌ | ❌ | | overmind | Go binary | ❌ | ❌ | | concurrently | npm (has deps) | ✓ | ❌ | | procfile-run | Node.js | ✓ | ✓ |

License

MIT

Keywords

procfile · foreman alternative · overmind alternative · goreman alternative · process manager · run multiple processes · dev servers · concurrently alternative · cross-platform · zero dependencies

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

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