process-tree

name	process-tree
description	View the system process hierarchy as a tree with resource usage. Use when exploring parent-child process relationships, finding what process owns a port, monitoring CPU/memory, or sending signals. Triggers include "process tree", "ptree", "what is running", "process on port", "pstree", "who owns port", "kill process".

process-tree

CLI tool for visualizing the system process hierarchy with resource usage.

Quick Start

# Full process tree
ptree

# Find what is running on port 3000
ptree --port 3000

# Find all node processes
ptree --name node

# Detailed info for a process
ptree info 8421

# Watch mode (refreshes every 2 seconds)
ptree watch

Tree View

ptree                    # full process tree
ptree --root 8421        # subtree from specific PID
ptree --compact          # collapse identical-name siblings
ptree --sort cpu         # sort by CPU usage
ptree --sort mem         # sort by memory usage

Filter

ptree --name node        # processes named "node"
ptree --port 3000        # process on port 3000
ptree --user deploy      # processes owned by user
ptree --min-cpu 5        # processes using more than 5% CPU
ptree --min-mem 200      # processes using more than 200MB

Find (flat table)

ptree find node          # all matching processes in table
ptree find --port 5432   # find by port
ptree find --user www    # find by user

Process Info

ptree info 8421          # all details including subtree aggregates

Kill

ptree kill 8421              # send SIGTERM (with confirmation)
ptree kill 8421 --yes        # skip confirmation
ptree kill 8421 --signal SIGKILL   # force kill
ptree kill 8421 --subtree    # kill process and all children

Watch Mode

ptree watch                  # refresh every 2 seconds
ptree watch --interval 5     # refresh every 5 seconds
ptree watch --name node      # filter in real time

Press q or Ctrl-C to exit watch mode.

CLI Reference

Command/Flag	Description
(default)	Show full process tree
find <name>	Flat table of matching processes
info <pid>	Detailed info for one process
kill <pid>	Send SIGTERM to process
watch	Continuously refresh tree
--name <text>	Filter by process name
--port <N>	Filter by listening port
--user <name>	Filter by user
--root <pid>	Show subtree from PID
--min-cpu <N>	Minimum CPU % threshold
--min-mem <N>	Minimum memory MB threshold
--sort cpu|mem	Sort children by resource
--compact	Collapse same-name siblings
--interval <N>	Watch refresh interval (seconds)
--subtree	Apply kill to whole subtree
--signal <name>	Signal to send (SIGTERM or SIGKILL)
--yes	Skip confirmation prompts
--no-color	Disable ANSI color

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
PTREE_NO_COLOR	0	Disable ANSI color (1 to disable)
PTREE_INTERVAL	2	Watch mode refresh interval (seconds)
PTREE_DEBUG	0	Enable debug logging (1 to enable)

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	No processes matched
2	Permission denied
3	Runtime error

Platform Support

Supported: macOS, Linux. Not supported: Windows (exits with clear error message).