A macOS process diagnostics and cleanup CLI tool that detects and removes zombie terminal sessions and duplicate processes left behind by IDEs (Kiro, Cursor, VS Code, etc.) in a single command.
- Detects zombie terminal sessions abandoned by IDE processes
- Identifies duplicate processes running beyond baseline thresholds
- Safe cleanup with optional
--fixflag for review before action - Fast, lightweight scanning
- Supports multiple IDEs and development tools
Download the latest binary from GitHub Releases:
curl -L https://github.com/minislively/ghostkill/releases/latest/download/ghostkill \
-o /opt/homebrew/bin/ghostkill && chmod +x /opt/homebrew/bin/ghostkillgit clone https://github.com/minislively/ghostkill
cd ghostkill
swift build -c release
cp .build/release/ghostkill /usr/local/bin/ghostkillScans the current environment and reports detected issues without making changes.
ghostkill --fixAutomatically terminates problematic processes identified during the scan.
ghostkill --helpghostkill --version🔍 Scanning...
⚠ Kiro CLI zombie terminal sessions: 15 detected
⚠ claude instances: 21 running (baseline: 5)
→ To clean up: ghostkill --fix
After running with --fix:
🔍 Scanning...
⚠ Kiro CLI zombie terminal sessions: 15 detected
⚠ claude instances: 21 running (baseline: 5)
→ 18 processes cleaned up
| Issue | Description |
|---|---|
| Zombie terminal sessions | zsh sessions left behind after IDE process termination |
| Duplicate processes | Development tools running above expected baseline count |
- Kiro CLI
- Cursor
- VS Code
- Windsurf
- Claude
We welcome pull requests and issue reports! Please feel free to:
- Report bugs and suggest features via GitHub Issues
- Submit pull requests with improvements
- Share feedback and use cases
# Build for testing
swift build
# Run tests
swift test
# Build release binary
swift build -c releaseThis project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.