witr
SHA-256Trace any process, port, container, or file back to the exact chain that started it. CLI + TUI, with machine-readable JSON. A direct alternative to manual ps/lsof/systemctl correlation.
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v0.3.3 · 7.5 MB
One command traces any process, port, container, or file back to its root cause — with plain text, JSON, or a TUI.
Core Features
- Traces full causal chain from process/port/container/file to its parent service or command
- Multiple output modes: human-readable text, JSON, and an interactive TUI dashboard
- Cross-platform static binary (Linux/macOS/FreeBSD/Windows) with broad package manager coverage
- Browser-based sandbox to practice without installation
What It Can't Do
- •Some process information may require root/admin privileges; community packages might lag the latest GitHub release; in containers or sandboxes the trace chain may be incomplete; witr is best for one-off root-cause analysis, not continuous monitoring.
Use Cases
- Investigate unknown processes eating CPU or occupying a port
- Find which systemd service or container spawned a given process
Detailed Introduction
witr answers a question no traditional tool addresses: why is this running? Instead of just listing processes or ports like ps, lsof, or ss, witr traces the exact chain of causation — from the systemd service or container to the parent process and the command that spawned it. It works for processes, ports, containers, and files, and outputs a human-readable explanation, machine-readable JSON, or an interactive TUI dashboard. Available as a single static binary for Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, and Windows, with packages for Homebrew, Conda, AUR, Winget, npm, Debian, and more. Its browser-based sandbox lets you practice without installing anything. Compared to manual correlation across multiple tools, witr is faster, more direct, and purpose-built for root-cause analysis of running workloads.
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Getting Started
Download installer
Click the button above to download the installer for your system
Install the software
Double-click the downloaded installer and follow the prompts
Open a terminal (Unix) or PowerShell (Windows)
Run the install script: Unix: curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pranshuparmar/witr/main/install.sh | bash; Windows: irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pranshuparmar/witr/main/install.ps1 | iex
Or install via package manager, e.g. brew install witr or winget install -e --id PranshuParmar.witr
- Open a terminal (Unix) or PowerShell (Windows)
- Run the install script: Unix: curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pranshuparmar/witr/main/install.sh | bash; Windows: irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pranshuparmar/witr/main/install.ps1 | iex
- Or install via package manager, e.g. brew install witr or winget install -e --id PranshuParmar.witr
SHA-256 checksum verified
Checksum extracted from GitHub official Release page
SHA256 Checksum
08fc46e3f80a374476f71d0d6e6579477cd98c6df5cc59d98224adf948f5ebf5This checksum is extracted from the GitHub Release page. Verify file integrity after download.
All SHA-256 checksums on this platform are extracted from the project's official GitHub Release page, without any modification. You can independently verify them on the GitHub Releases page.
Open Source Transparency
View GitHub SourceUninstall Info
If installed via package manager, use the corresponding uninstall command (e.g. brew uninstall witr, winget uninstall PranshuParmar.witr). For script installs, remove /usr/local/bin/witr and /usr/local/share/man/man1/witr.1 on Unix, or delete %LocalAppData%\witr and remove that bin path from your User PATH on Windows.
No Extra Dependencies
Ready to use after download. No additional runtime required.
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