---
layout: page
title: proc why
description: "trace why a port is busy or show process ancestry."
permalink: /commands/why
---
explain why a port is in use or trace the ancestry of a process. read-only — no confirmation needed.
```bash
proc why :3000 # trace why port 3000 is busy
proc why node # show ancestry of node processes
proc why 1234 # show ancestry of PID 1234
```
## options
| `--json` | `-j` | output as JSON |
| `--verbose` | `-v` | show extra details |
## examples
```bash
# find out why port 3000 is busy
proc why :3000
# trace ancestry of node processes
proc why node
# trace ancestry of a specific PID
proc why 1234
# output as JSON for scripting
proc why :3000 --json
```
## see also
[on](on) for port/process lookup, [tree](tree) with `--ancestors` for full process tree.