keep-running

A terminal session manager. Like dtach, but with names you can remember and a CLI that doesn't fight you.

Start something, walk away, come back, it's still running.

keep-running run -- npm run dev
# detach with Ctrl+a d, close your terminal, go to lunch...
keep-running                       # later: list what's running
keep-running fuzzy-penguin         # attach by name

Install

From crates.io:

cargo install keep-running

From source:

git clone https://github.com/jimmyhmiller/keep-running
cd keep-running
cargo install --path .

Unix only (Linux, macOS). Uses Unix domain sockets.

Use

keep-running run -- npm run dev              # start a session running a command
keep-running run --name dev -- npm run dev   # ...with a name you pick
keep-running shell                           # start one with your default shell
keep-running list                            # see what's running (alias: ls)
keep-running attach fuzzy-penguin            # attach to a session
keep-running kill fuzzy-penguin              # stop one

Shortcuts at the top level:

keep-running                # bare: list sessions
keep-running fuzzy-penguin  # bare name: attach (prefix match works, e.g. `fuzzy`)

Inside an attached session:

Ctrl+a d        detach (leave it running)
Ctrl+a k        kill it
Ctrl+a Ctrl+a   send a literal Ctrl+a

If you don't name a session, it gets a random one like fuzzy-penguin or quiet-otter. Any unique prefix attaches it.

Shell completions

keep-running completions bash > /usr/local/etc/bash_completion.d/keep-running
keep-running completions zsh  > "${fpath[1]}/_keep-running"
keep-running completions fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/keep-running.fish

Also supports elvish and powershell.

Where state lives

• Session metadata (<name>.json): $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/keep-running/sessions/ (typically ~/.config/keep-running/sessions/ on Linux, ~/Library/Application Support/keep-running/sessions/ on macOS).
• Sockets: $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/keep-running/, or /tmp/keep-running-<uid>/ if unset.

Override either with KEEP_RUNNING_SESSION_DIR / KEEP_RUNNING_SOCKET_DIR.

If a daemon crashes, leftover socket files are cleaned up on the next run/start for that name; stale .json files clear when list notices the pid is gone.

Compared to…

• dtach — same idea, but sessions have names instead of socket paths you have to remember, plus list/kill built in.
• tmux/screen — those are multiplexers. keep-running does one thing: keep a process running detached. No windows, panes, or config language.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.