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wtf is forego?

inconshreveable/forego — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-08-08 · repo last pushed 2016-05-30

1GoAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · easy

TL;DR

Forego runs multiple parts of your app at once from a single command, using a Procfile to define processes and showing their combined output in one color-coded stream.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Runs multiple processes
      One command launch
      Combined color output
    How it works
      Reads a Procfile
      Each line names a process
      Labels output by name
    Use cases
      Local development
      Multi-component apps
      Mirror production setup
    Tech stack
      Go language
      Single binary
      No runtime needed
    Audience
      App developers
      Teams using Procfiles
      Rails and stack devs

Code map

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Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Run a web server and background worker together with one command during local development.

REASON 2

Start an entire multi-component app stack defined in a Procfile for quick testing.

REASON 3

Mirror a production Procfile-based setup locally so development matches the real environment.

What's in the stack?

Go

How it stacks up

inconshreveable/forego0xdevalias/blackgoodayadvayc/wrapped
Stars111
LanguageGoGoGo
Last pushed2016-05-302018-04-09
MaintenanceDormantDormant
Setup difficultyeasymoderateeasy
Complexity2/52/52/5
Audiencedeveloperdevelopergeneral

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

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Download a single self-contained Go binary and create a Procfile, no runtime or dependencies to install.

Wtf does this do

Forego is a tool that lets you run multiple parts of an application at the same time from a single command. If your app has a web server and a background worker, for example, you normally need to open separate terminal windows to start each one. This tool lets you start them all at once with one command, and it shows their combined output in a single, color-coded stream so you can see what each part is doing. You describe the pieces of your app in a text file called a "Procfile," where each line names a process and the command that starts it. When you run the start command, the tool reads that file and launches everything listed. Each process's output is labeled with its name, so you can tell which log line came from the web server versus the worker. This is useful for developers who are building apps with multiple components, say, a Rails web server, a Sidekiq job processor, and a streaming service, and want a quick way to run the whole stack locally during development. It's especially handy for teams whose production environment uses a similar Procfile-based setup, so the local workflow mirrors how the app runs in the real world. The project is a Go reimplementation of an earlier Ruby tool called Foreman, which does the same thing. The main appeal of rewriting it in Go is that the result is a single self-contained binary: you download it and run it, with no need to install a language runtime or manage dependencies first. Beyond that, the README doesn't go into detail on additional features or configuration options.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Help me write a Procfile for my app that starts a Node web server on port 3000 and a Redis worker process at the same time
Prompt 2
I have forego installed and a Procfile ready, what command do I run to start all my app processes together?
Prompt 3
My forego output is showing all processes mixed together, how do I tell which log lines belong to which process?

Frequently asked questions

wtf is forego?

Forego runs multiple parts of your app at once from a single command, using a Procfile to define processes and showing their combined output in one color-coded stream.

What language is forego written in?

Mainly Go. The stack also includes Go.

Is forego actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2016-05-30).

How hard is forego to set up?

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

Who is forego for?

Mainly developer.

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