Aperture is a terminal-based diagnostic tool designed for Windows power users, enabling comprehensive system management through process monitoring, service control, and network analysis.
Key Features:
Locker Tab: Identify and manage processes holding file locks or consuming excessive resources. Kill runaway applications directly from the interface.
Controller Tab: Start, stop, or restart Windows services with ease, ensuring smooth system operation.
Nexus Tab: Monitor active network connections and associated processes for troubleshooting or optimization.
Audience & Benefit:
Ideal for power users, system administrators, and IT professionals who require deep insight into their system's resource usage and performance. Aperture empowers users to resolve conflicts, optimize workflows, and maintain system stability efficiently.
Available via winget, Aperture offers a responsive, intuitive interface with motion-based navigation inspired by Vim/Neovim, making it accessible and efficient for experienced users.
If you want to run the aperture command from any terminal:
Just move Aperture.exe to a folder that is already in your user's PATH
Then restart your terminal and run aperture from anywhere!
Installation (package managers)
WinGet
winget install aperture
Scoop
Scoop requires 100 GitHub stars or 2000 downloads to be in their Extras bucket, for now please use this installation command: scoop install https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stylebending/scoop-bucket/refs/heads/main/bucket/Aperture.json
Chocolatey
choco install aperture
Installing with these package managers automatically adds Aperture to your path. After running one of those installation commands, just close and re-open your terminal and you'll immediately be able to run aperture from any terminal.
Note: Press / to enter input mode and type a file path. Enter a folder path to scan all files in that directory.
Acknowledgements
This project wouldn't be possible without:
Rust - Systems programming language making Windows API access safe and fast
ratatui - The beautiful terminal user interface framework powering Aperture
crossterm - Cross-platform terminal manipulation and event handling
tokio - The asynchronous runtime enabling responsive UI updates
windows-rs - Microsoft's official Windows API bindings for Rust
Vim / Neovim - For the motion-based navigation philosophy
Quick Start Guide
Find What's Locking a File
Can't delete a file because it's "in use"? Aperture can find the culprit:
Press f to open the File Lock Search modal
Press / to enter input mode
Type the full path to the file (e.g., C:\Users\You\file.txt)
Press Enter to search
See which processes have the file locked
Navigate with j/k and press K to kill the process (requires admin)
Tip: Enter a folder path to scan all files in that directory and find all locks.
Kill a Runaway Process
Switch to Locker tab (press Tab until you see "Locker")
Sort by CPU usage: Press s until title shows "CPU", then S to toggle direction
Find the process using high CPU
Press K to kill it (requires admin privileges)
Manage Services
Switch to Controller tab
Sort by Status: Press s until title shows "Status"
Find the service you want to control
Press Enter to toggle start/stop (requires admin)
View Process Tree
See hierarchical process relationships (parent/child):
Switch to Locker tab
Press t to toggle Tree View
Navigate the tree with j/k
Press Space to expand/collapse nodes (> / v indicators)
Search/filter still works in tree view - shows matching processes and their ancestor chain
View Process Details
See detailed information about a process:
Switch to Locker tab
Navigate to a process with j/k
Press d to open Process Details modal
View loaded modules, parent PID, CPU, and memory usage
Press K in the modal to kill the process (requires admin)
Press Esc or q to close
Export Data
Export all data to JSON or CSV format:
Press e to open the Export modal
Press j to export as JSON
Press c to export as CSV
Files are saved to your Documents folder with timestamps
Press Esc or q to cancel
Export includes: All processes, services, and network connections from all tabs
Filter and Search
Press / to enter search mode
Type to filter the current list
Press Enter to apply the filter and exit search mode
Press Esc to clear the filter
Example workflow:
In Locker tab, press /
Type "chrome" - list filters to show only Chrome processes
Navigate with j/k
Press Esc to clear filter and see all processes again
Navigate Large Lists
j/k or ↑/↓ - Move one item at a time
Ctrl+D - Page down (jump 10 items)
Ctrl+U - Page up (jump 10 items)
gg - Jump to first item
G - Jump to last item
Tab/Shift+Tab - Switch between tabs
Sort Data
Each tab supports different sorting:
Locker (Processes):
Press s to cycle: Name → PID → CPU → Memory
Press S (Shift+s) to toggle ascending/descending
Default: CPU descending (highest first)
Controller (Services):
Press s to cycle: Name → Status → Type
Press S to toggle order
Default: Status ascending (Running first)
Nexus (Connections):
Press s to cycle: State → PID → Protocol → Process
Press S to toggle order
Default: State ascending (ESTABLISHED first)
Keybindings
Category
Key
Action
Context
Description
Navigation
Tab / Shift+Tab
Switch tabs
Global
Move between Locker/Controller/Nexus
j / k
Navigate
Lists
Move down/up one item
↑ / ↓
Navigate
Lists
Alternative to j/k
Ctrl+D
Page down
Lists
Jump down 10 items
Ctrl+U
Page up
Lists
Jump up 10 items
gg
Jump to first
Lists
Jump to first item
G
Jump to last
Lists
Jump to last item
Actions
/
Toggle search
Global
Enter/exit search mode
Esc
Clear/Cancel
Global
Clear filter, exit search, or close modal
s
Cycle sort
Global
Change sort key (Name, PID, Status, etc.)
S (Shift+s)
Toggle order
Global
Switch ascending/descending
r
Refresh
Global
Force refresh current tab
f
Find locks
Global
Open file lock search modal
e
Export
Global
Open export format modal
Locker
t
Tree view
Locker only
Toggle hierarchical process tree view
Space
Expand/Collapse
Locker only
Expand/collapse tree node (tree mode only)
d
Details
Locker only
Show process details modal
K
Kill process
Locker only
Kill selected process (admin)
Controller
Enter
Toggle service
Controller only
Start/stop selected service (admin)
File Lock Modal
/
Edit path
Modal
Enter input mode to type path
Enter
Search
Modal
Execute search
j/k
Navigate
Modal
Move up/down results
K
Kill
Modal
Kill selected locking process
System
q
Quit
Global
Exit application
Search Mode Keybindings
When in search mode (/):
Type characters to filter
Backspace - Delete last character
Enter - Apply filter and exit search
Esc - Cancel search
File Lock Search Modal
When file lock modal is open (f):
Type file paths (one per line)
/ - Enter input mode to edit path (any key including j/k can now be typed)
Enter - Search for locking processes
j/k or ↑/↓ - Navigate results (normal mode only)
K - Kill selected process (admin)
Esc - Close modal (or cancel input mode)
Directory Scanning:
Enter a folder path to scan all files in that directory
Shows "Scanned X files - Found Y locks" with the count of files checked
Export Modal
When export modal is open (e):
j - Export to JSON format
c - Export to CSV format
Esc or q - Close modal without exporting
Export Location: Files are saved to your Documents folder with timestamps (e.g., aperture_export_1234567890.json)
Process Details Modal
When process details modal is open (d in Locker tab):
View process information: PID, name, parent PID, CPU%, memory
View loaded modules (first 10, with count of additional modules)
K - Kill the process (requires admin)
Esc or q - Close modal
Configuration
Aperture currently uses sensible defaults optimized for real-time performance:
Setting
Default
Description
Data refresh interval
2 seconds
How often to poll for new data
Navigation debounce
50ms
Delay after navigation before accepting updates
CPU metrics interval
1 second
How often to update CPU/memory usage
Note: Configurable polling intervals are on the roadmap. Currently, these values are optimized for smooth real-time performance without overwhelming the system.
Performance
Aperture is designed for real-time performance on Windows:
Smart Update System
Change Detection: Uses data hashing to only update when data actually changes
Navigation Debounce: 50ms delay after navigation prevents cursor jumping during active use
Separate Concerns: Filter operations apply instantly; only navigation triggers debounce
Cached Metrics: CPU and memory values are cached to prevent flashing during temporary data unavailability
Data Loading
Preload All Tabs: Data for all tabs loads at startup, enabling instant tab switching
Background Updates: All tabs refresh every 2 seconds in the background
Initial Load Bypass: First data load happens immediately without debounce
Why Not WMI?
Aperture uses direct Win32 APIs instead of WMI for maximum performance:
WMI queries can take 500ms-2s per call
Win32 APIs respond in <50ms
Essential for smooth TUI experience with 2-second refresh rates
Architecture
aperture/
├── src/
│ ├── main.rs # Entry point, event loop, keybindings
│ ├── app.rs # Application state, tab management
│ ├── ui/ # UI rendering
│ │ ├── mod.rs # Layout, sidebar, status bar
│ │ ├── locker.rs # Process tab UI with sorting
│ │ ├── controller.rs # Services tab UI with sorting
│ │ └── nexus.rs # Network tab UI with sorting
│ ├── sys/ # Windows API abstractions
│ │ ├── process.rs # Process enumeration, CPU/memory metrics
│ │ ├── service.rs # SCM/Service control
│ │ ├── network.rs # IP Helper/TCP-UDP connections
│ │ └── handle.rs # File lock detection (Restart Manager)
│ └── state/ # Per-tab state with sorting
│ ├── locker.rs # Process state, PID tracking
│ ├── controller.rs # Service state, name tracking
│ └── nexus.rs # Connection state, key tracking
├── Cargo.toml
└── README.md
Process tree view - Hierarchical parent/child relationships with expand/collapse
Process details view - Show loaded modules, parent PID, and process info
Export to JSON/CSV - Export all tab data with timestamps
IPv6 support - Full IPv6 TCP/UDP connection monitoring
In Progress / TODO
Real-time service status notifications via NotifyServiceStatusChange
Currently polls every 2s; would show instant service state changes
Configurable polling intervals
Allow users to change 2s refresh rate
Aperture bridges the gap between the Linux btop/lsof experience and Windows' deep diagnostic capabilities (Processes, Services, and Network). Unlike cross-platform tools, Aperture focuses on Windows-specific pain points: file locks, service management, and process-to-socket mapping.
Features
The Locker (Process Management)
View all running processes with PID, name, path, CPU%, and memory usage
Real-time CPU and memory metrics with intelligent caching
Sort by: Name, PID, CPU usage, Memory usage
Filter processes by name, path, or PID
Kill processes (requires admin - press K)
Find file locks - Identify which processes are locking specific files (press f)
Process tree view - Hierarchical parent/child relationships (press t)
Process details - View loaded modules and detailed info (press d)
The Controller (Service Management)
List all Windows services with status, start type, and process ID
