CLI Reference

`pm3 start`

Start all processes or specific ones.

pm3 start              # Start all processes
pm3 start web api      # Start specific processes
pm3 start --env prod   # Start with environment overrides

Flag	Description
`[names...]`	Optional list of process names to start
`--env <name>`	Activate environment-specific config (e.g., `production`)

If the pm3 daemon isn't running, start launches it automatically.

`pm3 stop`

Stop running processes.

pm3 stop           # Stop all processes
pm3 stop web api   # Stop specific processes

Sends the configured kill_signal (default: SIGTERM) and waits up to kill_timeout before force-killing.

`pm3 restart`

Restart running processes.

pm3 restart            # Restart all
pm3 restart web api    # Restart specific processes

Equivalent to stop + start. Restart counters are not reset.

`pm3 reload`

Zero-downtime reload (requires a health check).

pm3 reload         # Reload all
pm3 reload web     # Reload specific processes

Starts a new instance, waits for its health check to pass, then stops the old instance. Without a health check, behaves the same as restart.

`pm3 list` / `pm3 view`

Show the process status table.

pm3 list
pm3 list --json    # JSON output

┌────────┬───────┬───────┬────────┬──────┬──────┬────────┬──────────┐
│ name   │ group │ pid   │ status │ cpu  │ mem  │ uptime │ restarts │
├────────┼───────┼───────┼────────┼──────┼──────┼────────┼──────────┤
│ web    │ -     │ 42150 │ online │ 1.2% │ 5.2M │ 2m 13s │ 0        │
│ worker │ -     │ 42151 │ online │ 0.5% │ 3.1M │ 2m 10s │ 1        │
└────────┴───────┴───────┴────────┴──────┴──────┴────────┴──────────┘

`pm3 info`

Show detailed information about a specific process.

pm3 info web
pm3 info web --json

Displays PID, status, uptime, restart count, memory usage, config details, and more.

`pm3 log`

View or tail process logs.

pm3 log              # Last 15 lines of all processes
pm3 log web          # Last 15 lines of web
pm3 log web -f       # Follow (tail) web logs
pm3 log web --lines 50   # Last 50 lines

Flag	Description
`[name]`	Process name (optional — shows all if omitted)
`--lines N`	Number of lines to show (default: 15)
`-f`	Follow mode — stream new log lines in real-time

`pm3 flush`

Clear log files.

pm3 flush          # Clear all logs
pm3 flush web api  # Clear specific process logs

`pm3 signal`

Send an OS signal to a process.

pm3 signal web SIGHUP
pm3 signal worker USR1

Signal names can be specified with or without the SIG prefix.

Common signals: SIGTERM, SIGINT, SIGHUP, SIGUSR1, SIGUSR2, SIGKILL.

`pm3 save`

Persist the current process list so it can be restored later.

pm3 save

Used together with pm3 resurrect and pm3 startup for boot persistence. See the System Boot Guide.

`pm3 resurrect`

Restore previously saved processes.

pm3 resurrect

Loads the process list saved by pm3 save and starts all processes.

`pm3 startup`

Install a system service to start pm3 on boot.

pm3 startup

macOS: Creates a LaunchAgent.
Linux: Creates a systemd user service.

See the System Boot Guide for details.

`pm3 unstartup`

Remove the system boot service.

pm3 unstartup

`pm3 tui`

Launch the interactive terminal UI.

pm3 tui

See the TUI Guide for keyboard shortcuts and usage.

`pm3 init`

Interactive configuration wizard. Creates a pm3.toml by prompting for process details.

pm3 init

`pm3 kill`

Stop all processes and shut down the pm3 daemon.

pm3 kill

Global Flags

`--json`

Output in JSON format for scripting and automation.

pm3 list --json
pm3 info web --json

`--version`

Print the pm3 version.

pm3 --version

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