parallel-sh

Run multiple shell commands in parallel with pretty, Docker-like output. No third-party dependencies required.

Features

• Run multiple commands in parallel
• Colorful, prefixed output for each command
• Supports config file or direct command-line input
• Graceful shutdown on Ctrl+C
• No third-party dependencies

Installation

You can run directly with npx (no install needed):

npx parallel-sh --commands 'cd frontend && npm run dev; cd backend && npm run dev'

Or install globally:

npm install -g parallel-sh
parallel-sh --commands 'cd frontend && npm run dev; cd backend && npm run dev'

Or locally in your project:

npm install parallel-sh --save-dev
npx parallel-sh --commands 'cd frontend && npm run dev; cd backend && npm run dev'

Usage

Command-line Options

• --commands <cmds>: Pass semicolon-separated shell commands to run in parallel.
• --config <file>: Use a JSON configuration file specifying commands to run.
• --minLength <number>: Minimum width for the service name column (default: 4).
• --maxLength <number>: Maximum width for the service name column (default: 12).
• --help: Show help message and usage examples.

Examples

Run commands directly

npx parallel-sh --commands 'cd frontend && npm run dev; cd backend && npm run start:dev'

Using a config file

Create a file (e.g., commands.json):

{
  "minLength": 6,
  "maxLength": 16,
  "commands": [
    {
      "name": "frontend",
      "command": "npm run dev",
      "cwd": "./frontend"
    },
    {
      "name": "backend",
      "command": "npm run start:dev",
      "cwd": "./backend"
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

npx parallel-sh --config commands.json

Show help

npx parallel-sh --help

minLength and maxLength

You can control the minimum and maximum width of the service name column in the output using --minLength and --maxLength (CLI) or minLength and maxLength (config file).

• minLength: Minimum width for the service name column (default: 4)
• maxLength: Maximum width for the service name column (default: 12)

Example:

npx parallel-sh --commands 'echo frontend; echo backend' --minLength 8 --maxLength 20

Or in your config file:

{
  "minLength": 8,
  "maxLength": 20,
  "commands": [ ... ]
}

License

MIT