npm-killer

Interactive CLI tool to find and kill Node.js processes running on ports — Built for developers who run multiple services and need a visual, interactive way to manage port conflicts.

Why npm-killer?

Most port killers (fuser, lsof, kill-port) require you to know the exact PID or port upfront. npm-killer is different:

• 🎯 Interactive by default — Visual checkbox selection, no memorization needed
• 🔍 Smart detection — Finds Node.js, npm, yarn, pnpm, bun, Next.js processes automatically
• 📋 Clean table output — See all processes with ports at a glance
• ⚡ Flexible modes — Interactive, list, single-port, or kill-all
• 🛡️ Safe by default — Confirmation prompts prevent accidental kills
• 🎨 Developer-friendly — Color-coded, readable output

Installation

# Global install (recommended)
npm install -g npm-killer

# Or use without installing
npx npm-killer

Requirements: Node.js 18+, macOS / Linux / Windows (WSL)

Quick Start

# Interactive mode — select processes with spacebar, press Enter to kill
npm-killer

# List all Node.js processes with ports
npm-killer -l

# Kill process on specific port (with confirmation)
npm-killer -p 3000

# Force kill on port (no confirmation)
npm-killer -p 3000 -f

# Kill all Node.js processes (with confirmation)
npm-killer -a

# Force kill all
npm-killer -a -f

Commands Reference

| Command | Alias | Description | |---------|-------|-------------| | npm-killer | | Interactive mode (default) | | npm-killer --list | -l | List all Node.js processes with ports in a table | | npm-killer --port <port> | -p <port> | Kill process on specific port | | npm-killer --all | -a | Kill all detected Node.js processes | | npm-killer --force | -f | Skip confirmation prompts | | npm-killer --version | -V | Show version | | npm-killer --help | -h | Show help |

Output Examples

Interactive Mode (Default)

$ npm-killer

  Select processes to kill:

  ✓ 1. node                    32724  3001   node /path/to/server.ts
  ✓ 2. next-server (v14.2.35)  48706  3000   next-server (v14.2.35)
  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  ◯ Kill ALL Node.js processes
  ◯ Exit without killing

  Kill 2 process(es)? (y/N) y

  ✓ Killed node (PID: 32724)
  ✓ Killed next-server (v14.2.35) (PID: 48706)

List Mode (-l)

$ npm-killer -l

  Node.js Processes with Open Ports:

  #   Name                      PID  Ports  Command
  ─── ──────────────────────  ─────  ─────  ───────
  1   Code Helper (Plugin)    30509  62481  /Applications/VS Code/...
  2   node                    32724  3001   node /project/server.ts
  3   next-server (v14.2.35)  48706  3000   next-server (v14.2.35)
  4   next-server (v16.1.1)   33053  3002   next-server (v16.1.1)

Detected Process Types

npm-killer automatically detects and lists:

• Node.js — node, node.js
• Package managers — npm, yarn, pnpm, bun
• Frameworks — next-server (Next.js), nuxt, vite, webpack-dev-server
• TypeScript runners — ts-node, tsx, nodemon

Use Cases

• Microservices development — Multiple services on different ports
• Frontend + backend — Next.js (3000), API (3001), WebSocket (3002)
• CI/CD pipelines — Clean up stray processes before deployments
• Port conflicts — Quickly identify and resolve EADDRINUSE errors
• Team onboarding — New developers can see running services instantly

How It Works

1. Uses ps-list to enumerate all running processes
2. Filters for Node.js-related processes by name and command
3. Uses lsof to detect listening TCP ports per PID
4. Presents an interactive UI via inquirer or formatted table output
5. Sends SIGTERM → SIGKILL for graceful then forced termination

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read our contributing guidelines first.

# Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/afzalbuilds/npm-killer.git
cd npm-killer
npm install

# Run tests
npm test

# Build / test locally
npm pack
npm install -g ./npm-killer-*.tgz

Author

Muhammad Afzal — Full-stack Developer & Open Source Enthusiast

• 🐦 X (Twitter): @AfzalBuilds
• 🐙 GitHub: afzalbuilds
• 💼 LinkedIn: afzalbuilds
• 📺 YouTube: @AfzalBuilds
• 📘 Facebook: AfzalBuilds

License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.

Made with ❤️ for developers who hate port conflicts.

Star this repo if it saved you time! ⭐