Accessing Node.js Process Information Using the `process` Object

Learn how to access and utilize information about the current Node.js process using the built-in `process` object. This tutorial covers key `process` object properties (pid, version, platform, etc.) and methods (exit, on, etc.) for managing and monitoring your Node.js applications.

Accessing Node.js Process Information

Node.js provides a built-in `process` object that gives you access to various aspects of the current Node.js process. This includes information about the process itself (ID, version, platform, etc.) and methods for managing the process (like terminating it).

Node.js Process Properties

The `process` object has many properties; here are some key ones:

Property	Description
`process.arch`	The system's architecture (e.g., 'x64', 'arm').
`process.argv`	An array of command-line arguments.
`process.env`	An object containing environment variables.
`process.pid`	The process ID (PID) of the Node.js process.
`process.platform`	The operating system platform (e.g., 'linux', 'win32', 'darwin').
`process.release`	Metadata about the Node.js release.
`process.version`	The Node.js version.
`process.versions`	An object with Node.js and its dependencies' versions.

Example 1: Accessing Basic Process Information

console.log(`Architecture: ${process.arch}`);
console.log(`PID: ${process.pid}`);
console.log(`Platform: ${process.platform}`);
console.log(`Version: ${process.version}`);

    

Example 2: Accessing Command-Line Arguments

process.argv.forEach((val, index) => {
  console.log(`${index}: ${val}`);
});

    

Node.js Process Methods

Method	Description
`process.cwd()`	Gets the current working directory.
`process.hrtime()`	Gets high-resolution real-time.
`process.memoryUsage()`	Gets memory usage information.
`process.kill(pid[, signal])`	Terminates a process.
`process.uptime()`	Gets the process uptime (in seconds).

Example 3: Current Directory and Uptime

console.log(`Current directory: ${process.cwd()}`);
console.log(`Uptime: ${process.uptime()}`);