feat(core): add nx show running-tasks CLI command

[juristr]

Current Behavior

AI agents can access running task information through Nx Console's MCP server, which receives updates from the TUI via a socket-based JSON-RPC channel. However, this requires VSCode with Nx Console installed. Terminal-based agents (Claude Code, Cursor terminal, etc.) that don't have access to Nx Console have no way to query running task status — even though the Nx CLI already has this information internally.

Expected Behavior

Expose running task information directly via the Nx CLI with nx show running-tasks. Since the CLI already tracks this data through its lifecycle system, this provides a more direct path for any agent to query task status without depending on Nx Console or the MCP server.

Usage

# List all running tasks (JSON output)
nx show running-tasks

# Get log output for a specific task (last 100 lines)
nx show running-tasks --task myapp:serve

Output Format

[
  {
    "pid": 12345,
    "command": "nx run-many -t build,serve",
    "startTime": "2026-02-24T10:00:00.000Z",
    "tasks": {
      "myapp:build": {
        "status": "success",
        "continuous": false,
        "startTime": "2026-02-24T10:00:01.000Z",
        "endTime": "2026-02-24T10:00:05.000Z"
      },
      "myapp:serve": {
        "status": "in-progress",
        "continuous": true,
        "startTime": "2026-02-24T10:00:05.000Z"
      }
    }
  }
]

Architecture

nx run-many -t build,serve            nx show running-tasks
        │                                      │
        │ LifeCycle hooks                      │ daemon client
        ▼                                      ▼
   ┌──────────────────── Nx Daemon ─────────────────────────┐
   │  In-memory: Map<pid, RunningProcessState>              │
   │                                                        │
   │  REGISTER_RUNNING_TASKS    → store initial state       │
   │  UPDATE_RUNNING_TASKS      → update task statuses      │
   │  UNREGISTER_RUNNING_TASKS  → remove on end             │
   │  GET_RUNNING_TASKS         → return all active runs    │
   │  GET_RUNNING_TASK_OUTPUT   → return task's log output  │
   └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Running nx processes report state to the daemon via a new DaemonReportingLifeCycle. The nx show running-tasks command queries the daemon. No files on disk, no new sockets — reuses existing daemon IPC infrastructure.

Key implementation details

• 5 new daemon message types for register/update/unregister/get tasks/get output
• DaemonReportingLifeCycle — fire-and-forget reporting, never blocks task execution, batches output with 2s interval flush
• Ring buffer — last 100 lines of output per task stored in daemon memory
• Dead PID pruning — GET_RUNNING_TASKS prunes processes that are no longer alive
• Multiple concurrent runs — each nx process registers with its own PID

Edge cases handled

• Daemon disabled (NX_DAEMON=false, CI) → lifecycle silently no-ops
• Daemon crashes mid-run → lifecycle catches errors, task execution unaffected
• Process killed without cleanup → GET_RUNNING_TASKS prunes dead PIDs
• Multiple nx run processes simultaneously → each registers with own PID
• No tasks running → returns []
• --task with non-existent task → clear error message with list of available tasks

Related Issue(s)

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☁️ Nx Cloud last updated this comment at 2026-03-02 16:07:54 UTC

[github-actions]

🐳 We have a release for that!

This PR has a release associated with it. You can try it out using this command:

npx create-nx-workspace@22.6.0-pr.34591.64acf17 my-workspace

Or just copy this version and use it in your own command:

22.6.0-pr.34591.64acf17

Release details	📑
Published version	22.6.0-pr.34591.64acf17
Triggered by	@juristr
Branch	feat/show-running-tasks
Commit	64acf17
Workflow run	22585594020

To request a new release for this pull request, mention someone from the Nx team or the @nrwl/nx-pipelines-reviewers.