Witr – Explain why a process is running on your Linux system

Hacker News

Hi HN, I built a small Linux CLI tool called witr (Why Is This Running?). The idea came from a situation most of us have hit: you log into a machine, see a process or port running, and immediately wonder why it exists, who started it, and what is keeping it alive right now. witr traces a process, service, or port back to its origin and responsibility chain and explains it in a way that’s quick to read, especially when you’re debugging under pressure. This is v0.1.0. It’s intentionally small and focused. Feedback, criticism, and edge cases are very welcome. Repo: https://github.com/pranshuparmar/witr

Visit product View on Hacker NewsDec 26, 2025

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