Skip to content
All comparisons
lpm vs PM2

A PM2 alternative built for the local development loop.

PM2 is a production-first process supervisor with local watch and development modes. lpm specializes in the interactive Mac workflow around your services: live panes, project switching, and isolated copies for parallel agents.

Download for macOS (Apple Silicon)Intel Mac? Get the x86-64 build
Developer ID signed · Notarized by AppleSafety, checksums & removal
View on GitHub

Facts checked July 26, 2026 against PM2 development docs and PM2 process-management docs.

How it compares

PM2 and lpm, feature by feature

PM2 has mature process supervision, monitoring, and a local watch mode. lpm adds a project-aware Mac workspace with service panes and parallel-agent copies.

  • Starts multiple processes with one command
    lpm
    Yes
    PM2
    Yes
  • Primary focus
    lpm
    local dev workflow
    PM2
    production-first
  • Local file-watch restart mode
    lpm
    via service command
    PM2
    pm2-dev / --watch
  • Per-service live output pane
    lpm
    Yes
    PM2
    logs / attach
  • Native macOS desktop app
    lpm
    Yes
    PM2
    No
  • Visual multi-project switcher
    lpm
    Yes
    PM2
    No
  • Generates project config from your repo
    lpm
    Yes
    PM2
    No
  • Runs Node, Python, shell commands, and binaries
    lpm
    Yes
    PM2
    Yes
  • Duplicate a project for a second AI agent
    lpm
    Yes
    PM2
    No
  • Designed for Claude Code / Codex in parallel
    lpm
    Yes
    PM2
    No
  • Cluster mode across CPU cores
    lpm
    No
    PM2
    Yes
  • Auto-restart on crash with backoff
    lpm
    No
    PM2
    Yes
  • Runs at server boot (pm2 startup / save)
    lpm
    No
    PM2
    Yes
  • Zero-downtime reload on deploy
    lpm
    No
    PM2
    Yes
  • Log rotation and centralized log files
    lpm
    live dev panes
    PM2
    log files; rotation add-on
  • CPU / memory monitoring dashboard
    lpm
    no resource dashboard
    PM2
    pm2 monit + Plus
  • Config format
    lpm
    name + command per service
    PM2
    ecosystem.config.js
  • Open source, free
    lpm
    Yes
    PM2
    Yes
Honest take

When each one is the right tool

Both run multiple processes. PM2 is strongest as a supervisor and also offers local watch mode; lpm specializes in an interactive multi-project Mac workspace.

Pick lpm

You're in the dev loop — multiple projects, mixed stacks, or AI agents running in parallel.

  • You switch between several local projects a day and want a visual switcher instead of terminal tabs.
  • Your stack is Rails, Next.js, Go, Django, Flask, or Docker Compose — not just Node — and you want first-class framework detection.
  • You want each service in its own live pane in a native macOS app, not one interleaved log stream.
  • You run Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or aider in parallel and need each agent's output visible at once.
  • You want to duplicate a project so a second agent can work on its own copy of the stack without conflicts.
Pick PM2

You need deployment supervision or already rely on PM2's local watch workflow.

  • You deploy Node to production or staging and need cluster mode across CPU cores with load balancing.
  • You need auto-restart on crash with exponential backoff, memory limits, and graceful reloads.
  • You need pm2 startup + pm2 save so the app comes back after a reboot.
  • You need log rotation, centralized log files, and integrations like PM2 Plus / Keymetrics for monitoring.
  • You want pm2-dev or --watch to restart a local application when its files change.
See it in action

Projects, terminals, agents, a built-in browser — one click each

A recording of lpm booting a project and handing it to Claude Code — lpm is a macOS app, so the clickable demo runs on desktop.

lpm is a macOS app with a multi-pane terminal workspace. Open this page on your computer to try the interactive demo.

Get lpm for MacOr check your Macs from your iPhone
FAQ

lpm vs PM2 — the honest FAQ

  • Can I use lpm in production instead of PM2?
    No, and that is not the pitch. lpm is a local dev-workflow tool. PM2 is production-first, with cluster mode, crash recovery, boot persistence, and zero-downtime reloads; it also provides pm2-dev and watch mode for local development. If you are deploying an app to a server, use PM2. If you want a visual workspace around local services and agents, use lpm.
  • Does lpm cluster Node processes across cores like PM2?
    No. Cluster mode is a production concern — PM2 forks your Node app across CPU cores and load-balances between workers so a single box serves more traffic. lpm doesn't do that. In dev you usually want one instance of each service so logs and debugger breakpoints map to a single process. If you need clustering, that is a signal you want PM2 in front of your app, not lpm.
  • I run non-Node projects — Rails, Django, Go. Does lpm help more than PM2 there?
    PM2 can start Python applications, shell commands, and binaries as well as Node apps. lpm's difference is the local workspace around those processes: repo detection, generated service config, one pane per service, project switching, and isolated copies for parallel agents. If you need a server supervisor, choose PM2; if you need that interactive Mac workflow, choose lpm.
  • How do I migrate from ecosystem.config.js to lpm?
    You don't fully migrate — you'd keep ecosystem.config.js for production and add an lpm config for dev. lpm uses a small per-project config file you can read, edit, and commit, where each service is just a name and a command — which maps cleanly to the apps array in ecosystem.config.js: take each entry's name and script/args, drop it into the lpm config, and you're running. Env vars, cwd, and ports are handled in the lpm config separately. Or let lpm read the repo and generate the config for you.
  • Can I keep PM2 for production and use lpm locally?
    Yes. Keep ecosystem.config.js and PM2 in your deployment workflow, then add an lpm config for the local commands you actively develop against. That avoids nesting two process supervisors while preserving PM2's production behavior and giving local development lpm's service panes, project switcher, and parallel-agent copies.
  • PM2 vs tmux — which one for local development?
    They do different jobs. PM2 is a restart-on-crash process daemon: it keeps processes alive in the background and brings them back when they die. tmux is persistent interactive sessions and panes: terminals you can watch, scroll, and type into. Neither covers the whole local-dev job alone, and some people run both — tmux for the interactive session, PM2 for supervision. lpm covers that overlap in one Mac app: a live pane per service you can read and interact with, plus start/stop lifecycle per project.

Keep reading

Mac terminal for developers

Run your whole stack — services, logs, and agents — in one native Mac app.

lpm vs Docker Compose

Native dev versus containers for the local stack you edit every day.

Keep PM2 for supervision. Add lpm for the workspace.

Use the tool that matches the job: PM2 for mature runtime supervision, lpm for per-service panes, multi-project switching, and parallel AI-agent workflows.

Download for macOS (Apple Silicon)Intel Mac? Get the x86-64 build
Developer ID signed · Notarized by AppleSafety, checksums & removal
View on GitHub