Node.js Memory Watchdog

Monitors Node.js processes and auto-kills any that exceed a memory threshold. Prevents system crashes from memory leaks (e.g., Next.js dev server leaking to 160GB+).

What it does

• Checks all node.exe processes every 30 seconds
• Kills any process exceeding 8GB (configurable)
• Logs what was killed with full details (PID, memory, command line, parent process)
• Shows Windows toast notification when a process is killed
• Runs silently in background

Install

# Clone
git clone https://github.com/mediar-ai/node-watchdog.git
cd node-watchdog

# Run install script
.\install.ps1

Manual Install

1. Copy node-watchdog.ps1 to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp\

2. Create startup shortcut:

$WshShell = New-Object -ComObject WScript.Shell
$Shortcut = $WshShell.CreateShortcut("$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\NodeWatchdog.lnk")
$Shortcut.TargetPath = 'powershell.exe'
$Shortcut.Arguments = "-WindowStyle Hidden -File $env:LOCALAPPDATA\Temp\node-watchdog.ps1"
$Shortcut.WindowStyle = 7
$Shortcut.Save()

3. Start manually:

Start-Process powershell -ArgumentList "-WindowStyle Hidden -File $env:LOCALAPPDATA\Temp\node-watchdog.ps1" -WindowStyle Hidden

Configuration

Edit node-watchdog.ps1 to change:

$threshold = 8GB    # Memory limit before kill
$interval = 30      # Check interval in seconds

Logs

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp\node-watchdog.log

Example log entry when a process is killed:

========== KILLED: 2026-01-09 02:15:33 ==========
PID: 32956
Memory: 8.2 GB (exceeded 8GB threshold)
Started: 1/8/2026 6:30:00 PM
Running for: 7.8 hours
Parent: Cursor (PID 12345)
CommandLine: "C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe" ...next\dist\server...
=======================================================

Why

Node.js processes (especially Next.js dev server, TypeScript server) can leak memory over time. Without intervention, they can consume 100GB+ and crash the entire system. This watchdog kills them early and logs the culprit so you can investigate.

License

MIT