🔪 Port Killer — VS Code Extension

Kill any running port directly from the VS Code status bar. Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux — automatically detects your OS and uses the right command.

Features

• Status bar button — always visible at the bottom right of VS Code
• OS-aware — uses lsof + kill -9 on Mac/Linux, netstat + taskkill on Windows
• Smart flow: enter a port → if in use, shows PID and confirms before killing → if free, tells you immediately
• Check Port command — check if a port is in use without killing (with quick-kill option)

How to Use

Option 1 — Status Bar

Click the Kill Port button in the bottom-right status bar.

Option 2 — Command Palette

Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and run:

• Port Killer: Kill a Port
• Port Killer: Check Port Status

Flow

Click Status Bar
      ↓
Enter port number (e.g. 5173)
      ↓
Port in use?
  ├── YES → Shows PID → Confirm → Kill ✅
  └── NO  → "Port is not in use" ℹ️

Installation (Development)

# 1. Clone / copy the extension folder
cd port-killer

# 2. Install dependencies
npm install

# 3. Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# 4. Open in VS Code
code .

# 5. Press F5 to launch Extension Development Host

OS-specific commands used

Windows note: If you get permission errors, try running VS Code as Administrator.

Publishing to the VS Code Marketplace

Follow these steps to make your extension available to everyone:

1. Create a Publisher

If you haven't yet, create a publisher on the Visual Studio Marketplace. Your publisher ID must match the one in package.json (rahul-bhatt43).

2. Get a Personal Access Token (PAT)

• Go to Azure DevOps.
• Click the user icon in the top right → Personal Access Tokens.
• Create a new token with All accessible organizations and Marketplace (Publish) scope.

3. Log in via CLI

npx @vscode/vsce login rahul-bhatt43
# (Paste your PAT when prompted)

4. Publish

npx @vscode/vsce publish

Your extension will be visible to everyone after a short verification period.