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nodepm-ui

npm version License: ISC

A beautiful terminal UI for managing and monitoring Node.js processes. Find and kill rogue processes, analyze resource usage, and get AI-powered insights.

Features

  • Interactive Process List - View all running Node.js processes with CPU, memory, and command details
  • Smart Filtering - Automatically detects and displays only Node processes (or use --all to show all processes)
  • Fuzzy Search - Press Ctrl+F to filter processes in real-time with fuzzy matching
  • Sortable Columns - Sort by CPU usage, memory consumption, or process name with 's' key (arrows shown in column headers)
  • Clipboard Support - Copy process information to clipboard with Ctrl+C (Mac) / Ctrl+Shift+C (Windows/Linux)
  • Process Management - Kill processes with confirmation prompts
  • AI Integration - Get explanations and insights about processes using OpenAI
  • Beautiful Terminal UI - Clean, colorful interface with keyboard and mouse support

Installation

Run directly without installation using your preferred package manager:

# Using pnpm
pnpx nodepm-ui

# Using npm
npx nodepm-ui

# Using bun
bunx nodepm-ui

Or install globally:

# Using pnpm
pnpm add -g nodepm-ui

# Using npm
npm install -g nodepm-ui

# Using bun
bun add -g nodepm-ui

# Then run
nodepm-ui

Usage

nodepm-ui [options]

Options

  • --all - Show all processes (not just Node.js processes)
  • --help, -h - Show help message

By default, nodepm-ui only displays Node.js processes. Use the --all flag to view all running processes on your system.

Examples

# Show only Node.js processes (default)
nodepm-ui

# Show all processes
nodepm-ui --all

# Show help
nodepm-ui --help

Keyboard Shortcuts

This section provides a comprehensive reference for all keyboard shortcuts in nodepm-ui.

Running the Key Bindings Checker

To check for key conflicts and view the full mapping:

pnpm check-keys

Key Modifier Legend

  • C- : Ctrl key (works on all platforms)
  • M- : Meta/Alt key (Alt/Option on all platforms including Mac)
  • [no modal] : Only works when no modal window is open
  • [not filtering] : Only works when not in filter mode

Complete Key Bindings Map

Exit/Quit

Key(s) Action Description Constraints
Ctrl+D exit Force quit the application -
Ctrl+C exit Exit the application (Windows/Linux only) -
q, Esc quit Quit the application [no modal]

Platform Notes:

  • macOS: Use Ctrl+D or q to exit. On Mac, Ctrl+C is used for clipboard copy instead of exit.
  • Windows/Linux: Use Ctrl+C, Ctrl+D, or q to exit. Ctrl+Shift+C is used for clipboard copy.

Navigation

Key(s) Action Description Constraints
↑ navigate_up Navigate up in process list [no modal]
↓ navigate_down Navigate down in process list [no modal]
j navigate_down Navigate down (vim-style) [no modal]

You can also click with your mouse to select a process.

Process Management

Key(s) Action Description Constraints
Enter menu Show process menu with actions (AI Description, Kill, Copy, Cancel) [no modal]
x, k kill Kill selected process directly (with confirmation) [no modal]
Ctrl+C (Mac) / Ctrl+Shift+C (Win/Linux) copy Copy process info to clipboard (PID, Name, Command) [no modal]
Process Menu

When you press Enter on a selected process, a menu appears with the following options:

  • AI Description - Get an AI-powered explanation of what the process does
  • Kill Process - Kill the selected process (with confirmation)
  • Copy Process Info - Copy process details to clipboard
  • Cancel - Close the menu

Navigate the menu with arrow keys or mouse, press Enter to select, or Esc/Q to cancel.

Refresh & Filter

Key(s) Action Description Constraints
Ctrl+R (all platforms) refresh Refresh the process list [no modal, not filtering]
Ctrl+F (all platforms) filter Enter filter mode (fuzzy search) [no modal, not filtering]
Filter Mode Details

When in filter mode:

  • Type - Filter processes by PID, name, or command
  • Backspace - Delete last character from filter
  • ESC - Exit filter mode and show all processes again

Filter mode uses smart matching with three levels:

  1. Exact substring - "node" matches "node", "nodejs", "node-server"
  2. Word boundaries - "tsx" matches "tsx", "tsx-server" (starts with query)
  3. Tight fuzzy - Characters must be within 3 positions of each other

Sorting

Key(s) Action Description Constraints
s sort_cycle Cycle through sort modes (CPU↓, CPU↑, Mem↓, Mem↑, Name↑, Name↓, None) [no modal]
c sort_cpu Quick sort by CPU usage (toggle asc/desc) [no modal]
m sort_memory Quick sort by Memory usage (toggle asc/desc) [no modal]
Sort Cycle Sequence

When pressing s, the sort mode cycles through these states:

  1. CPU (descending) - Highest CPU usage first
  2. CPU (ascending) - Lowest CPU usage first
  3. Memory (descending) - Highest memory usage first
  4. Memory (ascending) - Lowest memory usage first
  5. Name (ascending) - Alphabetically A-Z
  6. Name (descending) - Alphabetically Z-A
  7. None - Default order (as returned by system)

The current sort mode is displayed in two places:

  • Status bar at the bottom of the screen shows the sort column and direction (e.g., "Sort: CPU↓")
  • Table header shows an arrow indicator (↑ or ↓) next to the sorted column name

AI Features

Key(s) Action Description Constraints
? ai_explain Explain selected process with AI [no modal]
/ ai_ask Ask AI a custom question about processes [no modal]

Help

Key(s) Action Description Constraints
h help Show help modal [no modal]

Clipboard Format

When you copy a process to the clipboard using Ctrl+C (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+C (Windows/Linux), the text is formatted as:

PID: <process_id> | Name: <process_name> | Command: <command>

A temporary notification "✓ Copied to clipboard" appears in the status bar for 2 seconds.

Implementation Details

All key bindings are defined in src/key-bindings.ts, which provides:

  • Centralized configuration - All keys defined in one place
  • Conflict detection - Automatic checking for duplicate key mappings
  • Easy remapping - Change keys in one location
  • Type safety - TypeScript types for all bindings

To modify key bindings:

  1. Edit src/key-bindings.ts
  2. Run pnpm check-keys to verify no conflicts
  3. Rebuild: pnpm build

Platform Differences

macOS

  • Use Ctrl+C for copy (not Cmd+C)
  • Use Ctrl+R for refresh
  • Use Ctrl+F for filter
  • Use Ctrl+D or q to exit (Ctrl+C is used for copy, not exit)

Windows/Linux

  • Use Ctrl+Shift+C for copy
  • Use Ctrl+R for refresh
  • Use Ctrl+F for filter
  • Use Ctrl+C, Ctrl+D, or q to exit

Important Note for Mac Users: Terminal applications cannot capture Cmd (⌘) key combinations - these are handled by the terminal emulator itself. On macOS, we use Ctrl+C for copying instead of exiting, which is why you need to use Ctrl+D or q to exit the app.

The key bindings are designed to work consistently across all platforms using Ctrl keys, which are universally available.

Notes

  • Multiple keys can map to the same action (e.g., x and k both kill processes directly)
  • Some keys have contextual behavior (only work when no modal is open, etc.)
  • The k key is used for kill, not for vim-style "up" navigation
  • Filter mode intercepts most keypresses for typing the filter query
  • Modal windows (help, AI responses, confirmations) block normal key bindings

AI Features

Node Process Manager includes optional AI-powered features using OpenAI:

Process Explanations

Press ? on any process to get an AI explanation of what it does and whether it's normal.

Custom Questions

Press / to ask AI questions like:

  • "Which process is using the most memory?"
  • "I've been using Vitest, which processes are related?"
  • "Are any of these processes unusual?"

API Key Setup

On first use of AI features, you'll be prompted to enter your OpenAI API key. The key is saved in your user config directory:

  • Linux/Mac: ~/.config/nodepm-ui/config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\nodepm-ui\config.json

You can also set the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable, which takes priority over the config file:

export OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key_here

Requirements

  • Node.js 18.0.0 or higher
  • Terminal with ANSI color support

Use Cases

  • Find Memory Leaks - Quickly identify Node processes consuming excessive memory
  • Kill Orphaned Processes - Clean up leftover development servers and build tools
  • Monitor Resource Usage - Track CPU and memory usage of your Node applications
  • Debug Port Conflicts - Find which process is using a specific port
  • Team Debugging - Understand what processes are running during development

Tips

  • The process marked as (This Process) is the Node Process Manager itself
  • CPU percentages can exceed 100% on multi-core systems (represents total across all cores)
  • Use the s key to cycle through sort modes, or c/m for quick CPU/Memory sorting
  • Press Ctrl+R (all platforms) to refresh process information
  • Use Ctrl+F (all platforms) for quick filtering
  • Press Enter on a process to open the action menu, or x/k to kill directly

License

ISC

Author

Bob Bass

Contributing

Issues and pull requests welcome at github.com/robertjbass/nodepm-ui

Outstanding TODOs

For contributors looking to help improve nodepm-ui, check out TODO.md for a list of planned features and improvements, including:

  • UI improvements (themes, chat interface, settings menu)
  • Feature additions (key remapping, checkboxes, API customization)
  • AI enhancements (support for other models, improved context)

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A terminal based node process manager

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