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localhost-mcp

localhost-mcp

by HasanJahidul

localhost-mcp

localhost-mcp MCP server CI npm version License: MIT

MCP server that inspects, manages, and kills local dev servers. Stop guessing what's on :3000.

demo

Pairs with terminal-history-mcp — together they give your AI agent full memory of your dev environment: what you ran, what's running.

Why

Every dev hits these daily:

  • Error: listen EADDRINUSE :::3000 — what's holding the port?

  • 5 forgotten node / vite / next PIDs from last week eating RAM

  • Switching projects → no idea which dev servers still running

  • lsof -i :3000, kill -9 <pid>, repeat

localhost-mcp makes it one tool call.

Related MCP server: Git Insight MCP

Install

npm install -g localhost-mcp

Wire into Claude Code:

claude mcp add --scope user localhost -- localhost-mcp

Or any MCP-compatible client. The command runs as a stdio MCP server.

Tools

Tool

Purpose

list_dev_servers

All listening dev servers w/ port, pid, framework, project, uptime, mem, cpu

port_info

Inspect single port — who holds it

kill_server

Kill by pid or port. Dry-run by default; pass confirm=true to execute

find_zombies

Detect long-running, idle, memory-heavy dev servers

port_conflict

Why is port X busy + 5 free alternatives nearby

Sample output

{
  "port": 3000,
  "pid": 48211,
  "process": "node",
  "cmdline": "next dev",
  "cwd": "/Users/me/code/myapp",
  "project_name": "myapp",
  "framework": "next.js",
  "uptime_seconds": 14523,
  "memory_mb": 412,
  "cpu_pct": 0.3,
  "user": "me"
}

Safety

  • kill_server defaults to dry-run. Must pass confirm=true.

  • Refuses to kill PIDs < 1000 (system processes).

  • Refuses processes outside the dev whitelist (node, python, ruby, go, deno, bun, php, java, rails, vite, next, etc).

  • SIGTERM first, escalates to SIGKILL after 5s timeout.

Frameworks detected

next.js, vite, nuxt, remix, astro, webpack-dev-server, esbuild, create-react-app, express, fastify, koa, hono, rails, django, flask, fastapi, uvicorn, gunicorn, deno, bun, php-builtin, jekyll, hugo.

Falls back to package.json sniffing when the cmdline is generic (node server.js).

Platform support

  • macOS — full support (uses lsof)

  • Linux — full support (uses lsof + /proc)

  • Windows — basic port scan only (uses netstat); cwd / framework detection limited

CLI usage

localhost-mcp list      # JSON list of all dev servers
localhost-mcp zombies   # JSON list of zombie candidates
localhost-mcp           # Start MCP stdio server

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/hasanjahidul/localhost-mcp.git
cd localhost-mcp
npm install
npm run build
node dist/cli.js list

License

MIT

Available Tools

5 tools
find_zombiesA
Read-onlyIdempotent

Read-only. Flags dev servers that look abandoned — all three of: uptime > 6h AND CPU < 1% AND memory > 100MB. By default it excludes known always-on noise (VS Code server, language servers, other MCP servers, postgres/redis, sidekiq, etc.); set include_excluded: true to also list those. Each candidate comes with the reasons it matched. This tool never kills anything — pass results to kill_server. Returns { count, candidates[] }.

Inputs: include_excluded. Returns: count, candidates

kill_serverA
Destructive

Terminates a local dev server by pid or port. DESTRUCTIVE. Safe by default: with no confirm, this is a DRY RUN — it reports what it would kill and changes nothing. Pass confirm: true to actually terminate: sends SIGTERM, waits up to 5s, then escalates to SIGKILL (or SIGKILL immediately if force: true). Refuses PIDs below 1000 and processes that don't look like dev servers. Provide exactly one of pid or port. Returns what was (or would be) killed and the signal used.

Inputs: pid, port, force, confirm. Returns: pid, port, killed, signal, +3 more

list_dev_serversA
Read-onlyIdempotent

Read-only. Lists every local development server (next, vite, nuxt, remix, astro, rails, django, flask, express, deno, bun, etc.) currently LISTENING on a TCP port. For each: port, pid, process name, command line, working directory, project name, detected framework, uptime, memory (MB), CPU %, and owning user. Uses lsof on macOS/Linux and netstat on Windows; on Windows the cwd/framework fields are limited. Takes no arguments. Returns { count, servers[] }.

Inputs: no named parameters. Returns: count, servers

port_conflictA
Read-onlyIdempotent

Read-only. Diagnoses an EADDRINUSE situation: given a port, returns the dev server currently blocking it plus 5 free alternative ports nearby. Use it when a listen EADDRINUSE error fires and you want both the culprit and a port to switch to.

Inputs: port (required). Returns: port, blocked_by, alternatives

port_infoA
Read-onlyIdempotent

Read-only. Inspects a single TCP port and reports the dev server holding it (same fields as list_dev_servers). If nothing is listening, or the listener is not a recognised dev process, returns { port, status: "free" }. Useful for answering "what's on :3000?" before starting or killing something.

Inputs: port (required). Returns: Either a dev-server record (see list_dev_servers) or `{ port, status: "free" }`.

Tool Schema Changelog

Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Loading tool schema changelog…

    TDQS

    A4.4/5.0

    Scored across 5 tools

    Disambiguation5/5

    Each tool has a clearly distinct purpose: listing servers, inspecting a single port, finding zombies, killing servers, and diagnosing port conflicts. There is no functional overlap.

    Naming Consistency4/5

    Tool names use snake_case, and most follow a verb_noun pattern (find_zombies, kill_server, list_dev_servers). However, port_conflict and port_info are noun-first, which is a minor inconsistency.

    Tool Count5/5

    With 5 tools, the set is well-scoped for managing local dev servers: query, inspect, cleanup, and conflict resolution. No tool feels superfluous or missing.

    Completeness4/5

    The tools cover listing, inspecting, zombie identification, killing, and conflict diagnosis. There is a minor gap in that bulk operations (e.g., kill all zombies) are not directly supported, but the intended workflow is clear.

    Maintenance

    ActivityInactive
    ResponsivenessOutdated data

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