haselkern

haselkern / portwitch

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"Which process is blocking this port?!" Ask portwitch.

67
3
100% credibility
Found Feb 18, 2026 at 56 stars -- GitGems finds repos before they trend. Get early access to the next one.
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AI Analysis
Rust
AI Summary

Portwitch is a terminal-based tool that lists processes listening on network ports, allows filtering and selection, and terminates selected processes to free up ports.

How It Works

1
😩 Port Blocked

You're trying to start your web app or service, but it says the port is already in use by something else.

2
🔍 Find Portwitch

You hear about portwitch, a simple helper that shows what's hogging ports and lets you free them up.

3
📥 Get Portwitch Ready

You download and set up portwitch on your computer so it's ready to use.

4
🚀 Launch Portwitch

You open portwitch, optionally typing the port number you're interested in, and it displays a clear list of programs using ports.

5
🔎 Spot the Culprit

You filter the list by port or name, then use arrow keys to highlight the exact program blocking your port.

6
💥 Stop the Blocker

With one quick key press, you safely end the blocking program and refresh the list.

✅ Port Freed Up

Your port is now free, your app starts smoothly, and you feel relieved knowing exactly what happened.

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Star Growth

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AI-Generated Review

What is portwitch?

Portwitch is a Rust CLI tool that scans for processes listening on TCP ports, letting you filter by port number like 8080, command, or PID via a terminal UI. It solves the daily dev headache of "which process is blocking this port?" by listing PID, command, and ports in a navigable table, with options to kill selected ones instantly. Built with ratatui for the interface, it runs `portwitch 8080` out of the box after cargo install.

Why is it gaining traction?

Its vim-inspired keys (j/k to navigate, / to filter, x to kill) make port hunting interactive and fast, beating raw lsof or netstat outputs that dump everything unfiltered. Real-time updates and initial arg filtering hook devs who restart services constantly, turning a chore into a 5-second task. At 45 stars, word spreads among Rust fans tired of verbose alternatives.

Who should use this?

Backend devs binding APIs to common ports like 3000 or 8080 during local dev. Full-stack engineers juggling Docker containers or Node servers with port conflicts. Ops folks on Unix-like systems debugging production-like setups without sudo every time.

Verdict

Grab it via cargo if port conflicts slow your workflow – v1.0.0 tag shows promise despite 45 stars and 1.0% credibility score signaling early maturity and no pre-built binaries. Solid for daily use, but watch for wider platform support.

(178 words)

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