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wtf is chain-cli?

chrahunt/chain-cli — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-13 · repo last pushed 2018-05-26

PythonAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · easy

TL;DR

crestart is a lightweight command-line tool that automatically restarts your server or background task when you trigger it, via a signal or network request, so you don't have to restart manually after every code change.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Auto restart commands
      Signal or network trigger
      Passes stdin stdout
    How it works
      Runs child process
      Kills and restarts on trigger
      Keyboard shortcuts
    Use cases
      Local API server reload
      Pair with file watcher
      Dev workflow automation
    Tech stack
      Python 27 and later
      Unix systems
      Command line tool
    Audience
      Developers
      Lightweight setup seekers

Code map

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Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Automatically restart a local API server when files change by pairing with a file-watcher script.

REASON 2

Manually reload a running background task with a keyboard shortcut like Ctrl-backslash.

REASON 3

Trigger a server restart from another tool via a network request to a local port.

What's in the stack?

PythonPython 2.7+Unix

How it stacks up

chrahunt/chain-cli0xhassaan/nn-from-scratch3ks/embedoc
Stars0
LanguagePythonPythonPython
Last pushed2018-05-262023-06-08
MaintenanceDormantDormant
Setup difficultyeasymoderatehard
Complexity2/54/51/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Requires a Unix system and Python 2.7 or later, no complex dependencies or infrastructure needed.

The explanation does not mention a license, so the licensing terms are unknown.

Wtf does this do

When you're building software, you often need to restart a server or background task every time you change a file. Doing this manually gets old fast. This command-line tool, crestart, automates that process. It wraps your command and provides a simple way to force it to reload whenever you trigger it, either by sending a signal or making a quick network request. At a high level, the tool runs your command as a child process and watches for a reload trigger. You might pair it with a file-watcher that sends a quick message to a local port when files change. When that message arrives, the tool kills your current command and starts a fresh one. Standard input and output pass through directly, so you can interact with your program normally while the tool manages its lifecycle in the background. The tool is built for developers working on unix systems who want a lightweight restart mechanism without setting up a full development environment. For example, if you're running a local API server and want it to pick up code changes, you can use this alongside a file-watcher script. When you save a file, the watcher pings the tool, which restarts your server automatically. It also supports keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl-backslash for manual reloads and passes signals through to the underlying program. A few design choices stand out. The tool works with Python 2.7 and later, so it runs on older systems. It offers multiple ways to stop a program, including graceful and forceful options. The README doesn't go into detail on advanced configuration or edge cases, but the feature set suggests it's meant for simple, fast restart workflows rather than complex process management scenarios.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
How do I use crestart to automatically restart my Python Flask dev server whenever I save a file, using a file-watcher that sends a network request to crestart's local port?
Prompt 2
Set up crestart to wrap my Node.js API server so I can trigger a graceful reload by sending a signal or making a network request from another terminal.
Prompt 3
Show me a workflow where crestart runs my background worker process and I can manually restart it with Ctrl-backslash without killing the terminal session.

Frequently asked questions

wtf is chain-cli?

crestart is a lightweight command-line tool that automatically restarts your server or background task when you trigger it, via a signal or network request, so you don't have to restart manually after every code change.

What language is chain-cli written in?

Mainly Python. The stack also includes Python, Python 2.7+, Unix.

Is chain-cli actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2018-05-26).

What license does chain-cli use?

The explanation does not mention a license, so the licensing terms are unknown.

How hard is chain-cli to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is chain-cli for?

Mainly developer.

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