betterprocs

Run all your project's servers and scripts in one terminal. A better alternative to mprocs.

What it does

• Run multiple commands side by side in a split-pane terminal UI
• See which processes are running, stopped, or crashed at a glance
• Start, stop, and restart individual processes with a keypress
• Find and kill processes hogging your ports (built-in port killer)
• Select and copy text from process output
• Scroll through output history
• Auto-detects existing mprocs.yaml configs — drop-in replacement

Install

Homebrew (macOS)

brew install uzairayed/tap/betterprocs

From source

Requires Rust.

git clone https://github.com/uzairayed/betterprocs.git
cd betterprocs
cargo install --path .

Usage

Run commands directly

betterprocs "npm run dev" "npm run api" "docker compose up db"

Use a config file

Create betterprocs.yaml in your project:

procs:
  frontend:
    shell: npm run dev
    cwd: ./frontend
    port: 3000
  backend:
    shell: npm run server
    cwd: ./backend
    port: 8080
    env:
      NODE_ENV: development
  database:
    shell: docker compose up postgres
    autostart: false

Then just run:

betterprocs

Load from package.json

betterprocs --npm

This reads all scripts from your package.json.

Works with mprocs configs

If your project already has an mprocs.yaml, betterprocs picks it up automatically. No changes needed.

Keyboard shortcuts

Process list

Key	Action
j / k or arrow keys	Navigate processes
s	Start process
x	Stop process
X	Force kill process
r	Restart process
Tab	Focus terminal output
z	Zoom output fullscreen
`	Switch to Port Killer
q	Quit

Terminal output

Key	Action
Tab	Back to process list
`	Switch to Port Killer
q	Quit
Scroll wheel	Scroll output history
Click + drag	Select text (auto-copies)

Port Killer

Key	Action
Type numbers	Filter by port (e.g. 3000,8080)
Arrow keys	Navigate
x	Kill process (SIGTERM)
X	Force kill (SIGKILL)
Backspace	Delete last character
Delete	Clear filter
`	Back to Processes

Mouse

• Click a process to select it
• Click the output pane to focus it
• Click [Processes] or [Port Killer] in the top bar to switch tabs
• Drag in the output pane to select and copy text (green flash = copied)
• Scroll wheel to scroll output

Why not mprocs?

betterprocs fixes several mprocs issues:

• Proper signal handling — sends SIGTERM to the entire process group, not just the shell. Child processes actually get killed.
• Port conflict detection — on startup, detects if ports are already in use and offers to kill the conflicting processes.
• Built-in port killer — find and kill anything running on a port without leaving the app.
• Better mouse support — click to select processes, drag to copy text.
• Running processes sort first — active processes always appear at the top of the list.

CLI options

betterprocs [OPTIONS] [COMMANDS]...

Arguments:
  [COMMANDS]...            Commands to run

Options:
  -c, --config <CONFIG>    Path to config file
      --npm                Load scripts from package.json
      --auto-exit          Quit when all processes stop
      --cwd <CWD>          Working directory
      --names <NAMES>      Process names (comma-separated)
  -h, --help               Print help

License

MIT