kill-port

What is kill-port?

The kill-port npm package is a utility that allows you to kill processes running on specific ports. This can be particularly useful for developers who need to free up ports that are being used by other applications or processes.

What are kill-port's main functionalities?

Kill a specific port

This feature allows you to kill a process running on a specific port. In this example, the process running on port 3000 is terminated.

const kill = require('kill-port');

kill(3000)
  .then(() => {
    console.log('Port 3000 killed');
  })
  .catch((err) => {
    console.error('Error killing port 3000:', err);
  });

Kill a port with a specific protocol

This feature allows you to specify the protocol (TCP or UDP) when killing a port. In this example, the TCP process running on port 3000 is terminated.

const kill = require('kill-port');

kill(3000, 'tcp')
  .then(() => {
    console.log('TCP process on port 3000 killed');
  })
  .catch((err) => {
    console.error('Error killing TCP process on port 3000:', err);
  });

Kill multiple ports

This feature allows you to kill multiple ports simultaneously. In this example, the processes running on ports 3000 and 4000 are terminated.

const kill = require('kill-port');

Promise.all([kill(3000), kill(4000)])
  .then(() => {
    console.log('Ports 3000 and 4000 killed');
  })
  .catch((err) => {
    console.error('Error killing ports:', err);
  });

Other packages similar to kill-port

fkill

fkill is a package that allows you to kill processes by port, name, or PID. It provides a more versatile approach compared to kill-port, which is focused solely on killing ports.

kill-process-by-port

kill-process-by-port is another package that specifically targets processes running on a given port. It is similar to kill-port but may have different implementation details and options.

port-killer

port-killer is a utility for killing processes running on specific ports. It offers similar functionality to kill-port but may have different command-line options and usage patterns.

README

kill-port

Kill process running on given port

Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
• Install
• Usage
• API
• CLI
• Contributing
• License

Install

With npm:

npm install --save kill-port

With yarn:

yarn add kill-port

With pnpm:

pnpm add kill-port

Usage

const kill = require('kill-port')
const http = require('http')
const port = 8080

const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
  res.writeHead(200, {
    'Content-Type': 'text/plain'
  })

  res.end('Hi!')
})

server.listen(port, () => {
  setTimeout(() => {
    
    // Currently you can kill ports running on TCP or UDP protocols
    kill(port, 'tcp')
      .then(console.log)
      .catch(console.log)
  }, 1000)
})

API

The module exports a single function that takes a port number as argument. It returns a promise.

CLI

You can use kill-port as a global package.

Install the package globally:

$ npm install --global kill-port
# OR
$ yarn global add kill-port

Then:

$ kill-port --port 8080
# OR
$ kill-port 9000
# OR you can use UDP
$ kill-port 9000 --method udp

You can also kill multiple ports:

$ kill-port --port 8080,5000,3000
# OR
$ kill-port 9000 3000 5000

You can also use npx to kill-port without installing:

# Kill a single port
$ npx kill-port --port 8080
$ npx kill-port 8080
# Use UDP
$ npx kill-port 9000 --method udp
# Kill multiple ports
$ npx kill-port --port 8080,5000,3000
$ npx kill-port 9000 3000 5000

Contributing

Got an idea for a new feature? Found a bug? Contributions are welcome! Please open up an issue or make a pull request.

License

MIT © Tiaan du Plessis