idea

otio is a single-purpose CLI tool that elegantly terminates processes after inactivity is detected.

inactivity

The main factor that deterimines inactivity is the chosen directory. After the directory has not been modified for a given amount of time, the processes are gracefully terminated.

Both the directory and the timeout duration are customizable.

use cases

This tool is most useful for running development servers. Forgetting about them happens often, consuming resources on your system without you knowing. otio was made to solve this problem.

otio can be used for any process that is not an ongoing server, but it was not made for such purposes. Do not expect a stable experience if you decide to use it for other purposes.

usage

otio "npm run dev"

Runs npm run dev inside otio with default settings.

custom timeout

otio "npm run dev" --timeout 300

Runs npm run dev with a timeout of 300 seconds (5 minutes).

custom directory

otio "npm run dev" --dir /foo/bar/baz

Runs npm run dev, watching for changes in /foo/bar/baz.

custom timeout and directory

otio "npm run dev" --timeout 120 --dir /foo/bar/baz

Runs npm run dev, watching for changes in /foo/bar/baz with a timeout of 120 seconds (2 minutes).

installation

npm i -D otio

Installs otio as a dev dependency in the current node project. Ideal for running it via npm run dev.

npx otio

Runs otio without installing.

npm i -g otio

Installs otio globally. Ideal for running it everywhere.

example

package.json

{
  "devDependencies": {
    "otio": "1.0.0"
  },
  "name": "my-project",
  "scripts": {
    "dev:watch": "tsc --watch",
    "dev": "otio \"npm run dev:watch\" --dir \"./src\" --timeout 120"
  },
  "type": "module",
  "version": "0.0.0"
}

Doing npm run dev will run npm run dev:watch inside otio, watching for changes in the ./src directory with a timeout of 120 seconds (2 minutes).

license

MIT License © 2025 Jamie Jacobs