ps-list

What is ps-list?

The ps-list npm package is a tool for listing running processes on the system. It provides a simple and cross-platform way to retrieve information about the processes running on a machine, including their PID (Process ID), name, and other details. This can be particularly useful for monitoring system health, debugging applications, or managing system resources programmatically.

What are ps-list's main functionalities?

Fetching a list of running processes

This feature allows you to fetch a list of all running processes on the system. The returned list includes details such as the process ID (pid), name, and other process-related information. This can be useful for monitoring which processes are currently active.

const psList = require('ps-list');

(async () => {
  const processes = await psList();
  console.log(processes);
})();

Fetching running processes with detailed information

By setting the 'all' option to true, you can fetch a more detailed list of running processes. This includes additional information such as the process's CPU and memory usage, which can be crucial for more in-depth system monitoring and analysis.

const psList = require('ps-list');

(async () => {
  const processes = await psList({all: true});
  console.log(processes);
})();

Other packages similar to ps-list

pidusage

The pidusage package provides statistics about running processes, such as CPU and memory usage, similar to what ps-list offers with its detailed information feature. However, pidusage focuses more on the resource usage aspect of processes rather than just listing them.

process-list

Similar to ps-list, process-list is designed to retrieve information about the system's running processes. It offers detailed insights, including memory and CPU usage, and has a slightly different API. The choice between process-list and ps-list might come down to specific API preferences or additional minor features one or the other might offer.

README

ps-list

Get running processes

Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Install

$ npm install ps-list

Usage

const psList = require('ps-list');

(async () => {
	console.log(await psList());
	//=> [{pid: 3213, name: 'node', cmd: 'node test.js', ppid: 1, uid: 501, cpu: 0.1, memory: 1.5}, …]
})();

The cmd, cpu, memory, and uid properties are not supported on Windows.

API

psList(options?)

Returns a Promise<Array> with the running processes.

options

Type: object

all

Type: boolean
Default: true

Include other users' processes as well as your own.

On Windows this has no effect and will always be the users' own processes.

Related

• fastlist - The binary used in this module to list the running processes on Windows