Port Whisperer CLI

---
name: port-whisperer-cli
description: CLI tool for visualizing and managing processes running on network ports with framework detection and Docker support
triggers:
  - "what's running on my ports"
  - "install port-whisperer"
  - "check which process is using port"
  - "kill process on port"
  - "show dev server ports"
  - "port whisperer commands"
  - "find what's listening on a port"
  - "manage ports from terminal"
---

# Port Whisperer CLI

> Skill by [ara.so](https://ara.so) — Daily 2026 Skills collection.

`port-whisperer` is a beautiful CLI tool that shows every process listening on your network ports — with color-coded status, framework detection (Next.js, Vite, Django, etc.), Docker container identification, and interactive process management. Runs in ~0.2s via three shell calls.

## Install

```bash
# Global install (recommended — gives you `ports` and `whoisonport` commands)
npm install -g port-whisperer

# Run without installing
npx port-whisperer

Requires macOS. Linux support is planned; Windows is not supported.

Core Commands

List active dev ports

ports

Shows dev servers, Docker containers, and databases. Filters out system apps (Spotify, Raycast, etc.) by default.

Show all listening ports (including system)

ports --all

Inspect a specific port

ports 3000
# or
whoisonport 3000

Outputs full process tree, repository path, git branch, memory usage, and an interactive kill prompt.

Kill processes

ports kill 3000               # kill by port number
ports kill 3000 5173 8080     # kill multiple ports at once
ports kill 42872              # kill by PID
ports kill -f 3000            # force kill (SIGKILL) for stubborn processes

Show all dev processes (not just port-bound)

ports ps           # dev processes only
ports ps --all     # every running process

Displays PID, CPU%, memory, project name, detected framework, uptime, and a description column. Docker processes are collapsed into a single summary row.

Clean up orphaned/zombie processes

ports clean

Finds and kills orphaned or zombie dev server processes. Only targets dev runtimes (node, python, ruby, etc.) — safe for desktop apps.

Watch for real-time port changes

ports watch

Notifies whenever a port starts or stops listening.

What the Output Looks Like

┌───────┬─────────┬───────┬──────────────────────┬────────────┬────────┬───────────┐
│ PORT  │ PROCESS │ PID   │ PROJECT              │ FRAMEWORK  │ UPTIME │ STATUS    │
├───────┼─────────┼───────┼──────────────────────┼────────────┼────────┼───────────┤
│ :3000 │ node    │ 42872 │ frontend             │ Next.js    │ 1d 9h  │ ● healthy │
│ :5432 │ docker  │ 58351 │ backend-postgres-1   │ PostgreSQL │ 10d 3h │ ● healthy │
│ :6379 │ docker  │ 58351 │ backend-redis-1      │ Redis      │ 10d 3h │ ● healthy │
└───────┴─────────┴───────┴──────────────────────┴────────────┴────────┴───────────┘

Status colors:

• 🟢 Green = healthy
• 🟡 Yellow = orphaned (parent process gone)
• 🔴 Red = zombie

Framework Detection

Port Whisperer auto-detects frameworks by reading package.json dependencies and inspecting process command lines:

How It Works Internally

Three shell calls, batched for performance:

1. lsof -iTCP -sTCP:LISTEN       → all TCP listeners
2. ps (batched)                   → command, uptime, memory, PPID, status per PID
3. lsof -d cwd (batched)         → working directory → project/framework detection
4. docker ps                      → maps host ports to container names/images

Common Workflows

Free up port 3000 before starting a dev server

# Check what's there
ports 3000

# Kill it
ports kill 3000

# Or force kill if it won't die
ports kill -f 3000

Kill everything before a clean restart

ports kill 3000 5173 8080 4000

Check Docker service ports

ports --all
# or just:
ports
# Docker containers appear automatically with container name and image detected

Find and clean up leftover processes after a crash

ports clean

Monitor ports during development

ports watch
# Streams notifications as ports open/close

Scripting: check if a port is in use

# Exit code 0 if port is active, non-zero if free
ports 3000 && echo "port in use" || echo "port free"

Troubleshooting

ports command not found after install

# Check npm global bin is in PATH
npm bin -g
# Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:
export PATH="$(npm bin -g):$PATH"

Permission denied when killing a process

# Use force kill flag
ports kill -f 3000
# Or use sudo if process is owned by another user
sudo ports kill 3000

Docker containers not showing up

• Ensure Docker Desktop is running
• Verify docker ps works in your terminal (Docker CLI must be accessible)

Port shows as orphaned (yellow)

• The parent process has exited but the child is still holding the port
• Run ports clean to sweep these up, or ports kill <port> to target directly

Process won't die with graceful kill

ports kill -f 3000   # sends SIGKILL instead of SIGTERM

Only macOS is supported

• Linux support is planned but not yet available
• Windows is not planned — use WSL as a workaround