witr

Ever wondered which process started something running on your machine? Witr traces processes, ports, containers, and files back to the chain that launched them.

Witr is a tool to trace any process, port, container, or file back to what started it. The README sets up the idea carefully. When something is running on a system, there is always a cause, and that cause is often indirect, non obvious, or spread across layers like supervisors, containers, services, or shells. The job of the tool is to surface that hidden chain instead of leaving it buried.

Existing tools like ps, top, lsof, ss, systemctl, and docker ps expose state and metadata. They show what is running, but they leave the user to infer why by manually correlating outputs across several tools. Witr instead explains where a running thing came from and how it was started, in a single output or through an interactive TUI. The contrast with the status quo is the whole reason to reach for it.

Installation is covered through several routes. An install script detects the operating system and architecture, downloads the latest binary, and installs it. Package managers like Homebrew, Conda, and Winget work as alternatives. Native packages for Linux distributions are available as deb, rpm, or apk files. The README notes that community packages may lag GitHub releases, which is a fair heads up for anyone on the bleeding edge.

The README offers a browser based simulation of a Linux box with a guided tutorial and a free play sandbox. No install required. It is a low cost way to see whether the tool fits your workflow before you bother setting up a package manager. For a CLI whose value is hard to convey in a screenshot, an interactive demo is a smart move.

Witr fills a real gap: the tools that show you what is running rarely tell you why it started. Tracing the full chain in one output is the fix, and the browser sandbox lowers the barrier to trying it.

• Source 1 · Project repository
• Source 2 · README