Cross-platform
Built for macOS, Linux, and Windows developer workflows.
Rust-native clarity for crowded dev machines
Know exactly what owns every port before it wastes your time.
PortForge gives developers a fast, project-aware view of local ports with process ownership, framework detection, Git context, Docker metadata, health probes, and safe cleanup workflows.
- <50mscold start
- 20+language detectors
- 40+framework heuristics
Command preview
Terminal-first
Why it feels different
Port inspection with engineering context, not just a PID list.
PortForge is designed for the real work behind local development: tracing ownership, understanding health, spotting container mappings, and cleaning up drift without guessing.
Project detection
Maps ports back to frameworks and repositories so you can tell a Next.js dev server from a FastAPI worker instantly.
Git and Docker awareness
Surfaces branch state, dirty repos, and container mappings so the right environment is obvious before you kill anything.
Health probes
Checks whether a port is truly serving, not merely listening, with framework-aware defaults and per-port overrides.
Resource visibility
See memory, CPU, and uptime to catch runaway processes and duplicate app instances before they snowball.
Safe cleanup workflows
Dry-run cleanup and process inspection help you remove orphans and zombies with less risk to active work.
Export-ready output
Use the TUI for speed, then switch to JSON, CSV, or table output for automation, reports, and debugging trails.
Workflow surfaces
Built for terminal-heavy teams, without trapping you in the terminal.
The core experience is a polished Ratatui interface with fast inspection paths and keyboard-driven navigation. When you want a browser view, the optional dashboard exposes the same operational context in a cleaner visual surface.
- Interactive TUI with discoverable keybindings
- Optional Axum-powered dashboard behind a feature flag
- Clean handoff between interactive use and scripted output
Install
Ship it to your machine in under a minute.
Use Cargo for the simplest path, download binaries from releases, or build from source with the optional web dashboard enabled.
Install via Cargo
cargo install portforge
Download the latest release
OS=$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
[ "$OS" = "darwin" ] && OS="macos"
ARCH=$(uname -m)
[ "$ARCH" = "arm64" ] && ARCH="aarch64"
curl -L "https://github.com/kabudu/portforge/releases/latest/download/portforge-${OS}-${ARCH}.tar.gz" | tar xz
sudo mv portforge /usr/local/bin/
Build from source
git clone https://github.com/kabudu/portforge.git cd portforge cargo build --release # optional web dashboard cargo build --release --features web
Release artifacts are available for platform-specific installs.
The optional dashboard is enabled with the
web feature flag.
FAQ
The questions developers usually ask before adopting a tool like this.
What makes PortForge different from a standard port scanner?
It adds developer context: project detection, framework heuristics, Git branch state, Docker mappings, health probes, resource usage, and safer cleanup paths.
Can I use it without the web dashboard?
Yes. The default experience is the terminal UI and CLI. The web
dashboard is optional and enabled only when you build with the
web feature.
Does PortForge help with stale or orphaned processes?
Yes. It includes cleanup workflows and dry-run support so you can review likely orphans before terminating them.
Is it suitable for automation as well as interactive use?
Yes. You can inspect interactively in the TUI and export structured output as JSON or CSV for scripts and operational tooling.