What is PM2 used for?

PM2 is a production process manager for Node.js and Bun apps with a built-in load balancer, automatic restarts and zero-downtime reloads, working on Linux, macOS and Windows. It is a good fit for running Node.js services on a VPS, zero-downtime deploys without containers and monitoring process health from the CLI.

Yes. PM2 is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at Unitech/pm2 and is written mainly in JavaScript.

Yes. PM2 is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence. Paid plans are also available, starting at $39 per month.

What are some alternatives to PM2?

Similar open-source tools in the CI/CD & DevOps category include Spug, Act and Kamal. SaaS products in the same category include AWS CodePipeline, Buddy and Octopus Deploy.

Is PM2 actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to PM2 was on 4 September 2026, and the latest release is v7.0.4, published on 24 August 2026. The project has 43k stars on GitHub.

PM2: open-source CI/CD & DevOps

About PM2

PM2 is a process manager for running Node.js and Bun applications in production, with load balancing built in. Its job is to keep your apps running: it daemonizes a process, restarts it if it crashes, lets you reload it without downtime and takes care of routine sysadmin chores around running services.

Starting an application takes a single command, and PM2 can manage more than JavaScript. The README notes it can start Python, Ruby and binaries found in your PATH as well. Once apps are running, you can list them, monitor them and manage them from the command line. PM2 works on Linux, macOS and Windows and supports Node.js 18 and newer and Bun 1 and newer, with notes on symlinking node to bun when Node.js is not installed.

Topics also mention deploy tooling and monitoring, and the project is tested with a comprehensive test suite. The license is listed as 'Other' on GitHub, so review the terms for commercial use. It is a lightweight way to run Node services on a single server without adopting a container orchestrator.

Key features

Keeps apps running with automatic restarts
Zero-downtime application reloads
Built-in cluster load balancer
Manages Node.js, Bun and other processes
Command line monitoring and management
Linux, macOS and Windows support

Good fit for

→Running Node.js services on a VPS
→Zero-downtime deploys without containers
→Monitoring process health from the CLI

Built with: JavaScript; Node.js
Tags: process-manager; nodejs; bun; devops; load-balancer; deployment; monitoring; cli

PM2: questions and answers

What is PM2 used for?: PM2 is a production process manager for Node.js and Bun apps with a built-in load balancer, automatic restarts and zero-downtime reloads, working on Linux, macOS and Windows. It is a good fit for running Node.js services on a VPS, zero-downtime deploys without containers and monitoring process health from the CLI.
Is PM2 open source?: Yes. PM2 is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at Unitech/pm2 and is written mainly in JavaScript.
Is PM2 free?: Yes. PM2 is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence. Paid plans are also available, starting at $39 per month.
What are some alternatives to PM2?: Similar open-source tools in the CI/CD & DevOps category include Spug, Act and Kamal. SaaS products in the same category include AWS CodePipeline, Buddy and Octopus Deploy.
Is PM2 actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to PM2 was on 4 September 2026, and the latest release is v7.0.4, published on 24 August 2026. The project has 43k stars on GitHub.