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witr

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Trace any process, port, container, or file back to its origin and understand why it's running.

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Tracked since2026
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The Bottom Line

Entry price

Free plan available, paid tiers above

Biggest pro

Provides explicit causality, unlike traditional tools

Biggest con

Community packages might lag behind GitHub releases

TL;DR - witr

  • Traces processes, ports, containers, or files to their origin.
  • Provides causality chain for running system components.
  • Offers both CLI output and an interactive TUI dashboard.
Pricing: Free plan available
Best for: Growing teams

What is witr?

Editorial review
witr (Why is this running?) is a command-line interface (CLI) and Text-based User Interface (TUI) tool designed to answer the fundamental question of why something is running on a system. Unlike traditional tools like `ps`, `top`, or `lsof` that only show the current state and metadata, witr explicitly reveals the causality chain. It traces processes, services, ports, containers, or files back to their exact origin, detailing how they were started and which systems are responsible for their current existence. This tool is invaluable for developers, system administrators, and anyone troubleshooting system behavior. It provides a single, human-readable output or an interactive TUI dashboard that makes complex system interactions transparent. witr helps users quickly understand the often indirect and multi-layered causes behind running components, whether they originate from supervisors, containers, services, or shells, thereby streamlining debugging and system analysis.
how we evaluateSourcegithub.com ↗

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Provides explicit causality, unlike traditional tools
  • Simplifies troubleshooting complex system interactions
  • Available as a single static binary for easy installation
  • Supports multiple operating systems (Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, Windows)
  • Offers both CLI and interactive TUI for different use cases

Cons

  • Community packages might lag behind GitHub releases
  • Requires command-line familiarity for full utilization

Key Features

Trace processes to their originTrace ports to their originating processTrace containers to their startup commandTrace files to their associated processInteractive Text-based User Interface (TUI)Machine-readable JSON outputStatic binary distribution for multiple platformsGuided tutorial and free-play sandbox in browser

Pricing Plans

Free Trial

Pricing checked Aug 10, 2026

Free

$0 USD per month

  • Unlimited public/private repositories
  • Dependabot security and version updates
  • 2,000 CI/CD minutes/month (Free for public repositories)
  • 500MB of Packages storage (Free for public repositories)
  • Issues & Projects
  • Community support

Team

$4 USD per user/month

  • Everything included in Free
  • Access to GitHub Codespaces
  • Repository rules
  • Multiple reviewers in pull requests
  • Draft pull requests
  • Code owners
  • Required reviewers
  • Pages and Wikis

Enterprise

Starting at $21 USD per user/month

  • Everything included in Team
  • Data residency
  • Enterprise Managed Users
  • User provisioning through SCIM
  • Enterprise Account to centrally manage multiple organizations
  • Environment protection rules
  • Repository rules
  • Audit Log API
Calculate your costView full pricing

Is witr worth the price?

85/100

GitHub's pricing is generally fair and competitive, especially with its generous Free tier offering unlimited public/private repositories.

The Team tier at $4 per user/month provides excellent value for growing teams needing advanced collaboration features. The Enterprise tier starting at $21 per user/month is on the higher end but justified for large organizations requiring extensive security and compliance.

This structure is best for developers and teams of all sizes, from individual open-source contributors to large enterprises.

Hidden Costs & Gotchas

CI/CD minutes overages

Package storage overages

Potential for user minimums

Advanced security features extra

GitHub Codespaces usage fees

How witr Compares to Competitors

Compared to GitLab, which offers a Free tier and then Premium at $29 per user/month and Ultimate at $59 per user/month, GitHub's Team tier at $4 per user/month is significantly more affordable for core team features. Bitbucket's pricing is also competitive, with a Free tier for up to 5 users and Standard at $3 per user/month, making GitHub's Team tier slightly higher but offering more integrated features.

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witr FAQ

What specific types of system components can witr trace?

witr can trace various system components including processes, services, network ports, containers, and files, linking them back to the exact chain of events or commands that initiated them.

How does witr differ from standard Linux/Unix commands like `ps` or `lsof`?

While ps and lsof show what is currently running and their metadata, witr goes a step further by explicitly showing why something is running. It reveals the complete causality chain, including indirect causes across supervisors, containers, and services, which traditional tools require manual correlation to uncover.

Can witr be used to analyze containerized applications?

Yes, witr is designed to trace components within containerized environments, allowing users to understand the origin and startup chain of processes and services running inside containers.

What are the advantages of using the interactive TUI over the CLI output?

The interactive TUI provides a dashboard-like view that allows for dynamic exploration and visualization of the causality chains, which can be more intuitive for complex scenarios compared to parsing machine-readable JSON or standard CLI output.

Is there a way to try witr without installing it on my local machine?

Yes, you can try witr in your browser through a simulated Linux box, which offers a guided tutorial and a free-play sandbox without requiring any local installation.

Source: github.com

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