Serial Killer (VS Code Extension)

Kill processes that are using local ports directly from VS Code.

Supports:

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

Features

• View active ports in a sidebar view (Serial Killer)
• See process metadata:
  • Project/app name (best effort)
  • Process type (Node.js, Python, Java, etc.)
  • PID
  • Protocol (TCP/UDP)
  • Start time and uptime
  • Command line (when available)
• Kill process from context menu in the tree
• Kill by port number from command palette
• Search and filter the active ports tree

Commands

• Serial Killer: List & Kill Port
• Serial Killer: Kill by Port Number
• Serial Killer: Refresh

How It Works

• Windows:

  • Reads ports with netstat -ano
  • Enriches process details with PowerShell (Get-Process + Win32_Process)
  • Kills process with taskkill /PID <pid> /F

• macOS/Linux:

  • Reads ports with lsof
  • Enriches details with ps
  • Kills process with kill -9 <pid>

Development

npm install
npm run compile

Run extension locally in VS Code:

1. Open this folder in VS Code.
2. Press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host.
3. Open command palette and run Serial Killer: Refresh.

Package

npm run package

Notes

• Some process details may be unavailable depending on OS permissions.
• Project/app name is inferred from command line and may not always be exact.