feat(cli/daemon/processmonitor): Add flexible target resolution and search command; improve restart/backoff and error handling

changelog.md

@@ -1,5 +1,17 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 2025-08-30 - 5.3.0 - feat(cli/daemon/processmonitor)
+Add flexible target resolution and search command; improve restart/backoff and error handling
+
+- Add new cli command `search` to find processes by id or name fragment.
+- Allow flexible process targets in CLI commands (accepts numeric id, id:<n>, or name:<label>) for start/stop/restart/delete/describe/logs/edit commands.
+- Introduce a new daemon IPC method `resolveTarget` to normalize user-provided targets to ProcessId (supports id:<n>, name:<label>, or bare numeric id).
+- Keep `remove` as a CLI alias but daemon exposes `delete` only; CLI resolves targets and always calls daemon `delete`.
+- Implement scheduled restart/backoff in ProcessMonitor with incremental debounce, max retries, and a 1-hour reset window.
+- Emit a `failed` event from ProcessMonitor when max restart attempts are exceeded; ProcessManager listens and marks processes as `errored` and clears pid.
+- Ensure desired state is set to `stopped` before deleting a process to avoid race conditions.
+- Improve cli output messages to include resolved names alongside numeric ids where available.
+
 ## 2025-08-30 - 5.2.0 - feat(cli)
 Preserve CLI environment when adding processes, simplify edit flow, and refresh README docs
 

readme.md

@@ -38,21 +38,23 @@ npm install --save-dev @git.zone/tspm
 # Add a process (creates config without starting)
 tspm add "node server.js" --name my-server --memory 1GB
 
-# Start the process
+# Start the process (by name or id)
-tspm start my-server
+tspm start name:my-server
+# or
+tspm start id:1
 
 # Or add and start in one go
 tspm add "node app.js" --name my-app
-tspm start my-app
+tspm start name:my-app
 
 # List all processes
 tspm list
 
 # View logs
-tspm logs my-app
+tspm logs name:my-app
 
 # Stop a process
-tspm stop my-app
+tspm stop name:my-app
 ```
 
 ## 📋 Commands
@@ -86,38 +88,38 @@ tspm add "tsx watch src/index.ts" --name dev-server --watch --watch-paths "src,c
 tspm add "node worker.js" --name one-time-job --autorestart false
 ```
 
-#### `tspm start <id>`
+#### `tspm start <id|id:N|name:LABEL>`
 
 Start a previously added process by its ID or name.
 
 ```bash
-tspm start my-server
+tspm start name:my-server
-tspm start 1  # Can also use numeric ID
+tspm start id:1  # Or a bare numeric id: tspm start 1
 ```
 
-#### `tspm stop <id>`
+#### `tspm stop <id|id:N|name:LABEL>`
 
 Gracefully stop a running process (SIGTERM → SIGKILL after timeout).
 
 ```bash
-tspm stop my-server
+tspm stop name:my-server
 ```
 
-#### `tspm restart <id>`
+#### `tspm restart <id|id:N|name:LABEL>`
 
 Stop and restart a process with the same configuration.
 
 ```bash
-tspm restart my-server
+tspm restart name:my-server
 ```
 
-#### `tspm delete <id>` / `tspm remove <id>`
+#### `tspm delete <id|id:N|name:LABEL>` / `tspm remove <id|id:N|name:LABEL>`
 
 Stop and remove a process from TSPM management. Also deletes persisted logs.
 
 ```bash
-tspm delete old-server
+tspm delete name:old-server
-tspm remove old-server  # Alias for delete
+tspm remove name:old-server  # Alias for delete (daemon handles delete)
 ```
 
 #### `tspm edit <id>`
@@ -148,12 +150,12 @@ tspm list
 └─────────┴─────────────┴───────────┴───────────┴──────────┴──────────┘
 ```
 
-#### `tspm describe <id>`
+#### `tspm describe <id|id:N|name:LABEL>`
 
 Get detailed information about a specific process.
 
 ```bash
-tspm describe my-server
+tspm describe name:my-server
 
 # Output:
 Process Details: my-server
@@ -173,7 +175,7 @@ Auto-restart: true
 Watch:       disabled
 ```
 
-#### `tspm logs <id> [options]`
+#### `tspm logs <id|id:N|name:LABEL> [options]`
 
 View process logs (stdout and stderr combined).
 
@@ -183,13 +185,13 @@ View process logs (stdout and stderr combined).
 
 ```bash
 # View last 50 lines
-tspm logs my-server
+tspm logs name:my-server
 
 # View last 100 lines
-tspm logs my-server --lines 100
+tspm logs name:my-server --lines 100
 
 # Follow logs in real-time
-tspm logs my-server --follow
+tspm logs name:my-server --follow
 ```
 
 ### Batch Operations
@@ -496,7 +498,31 @@ Common issues:
 
 - **"Daemon not running"**: Run `tspm daemon start` or `tspm enable`
 - **"Permission denied"**: Check socket permissions in `~/.tspm/`
-- **"Process won't start"**: Check logs with `tspm logs <id>`
+- **"Process won't start"**: Check logs with `tspm logs <id|id:N|name:LABEL>`
+
+## 🎯 Targeting Processes (IDs and Names)
+
+Most process commands accept the following target formats:
+
+- Numeric ID: `tspm start 1`
+- Explicit ID: `tspm start id:1`
+- Explicit name: `tspm start name:api-server`
+
+Notes:
+- Names must be used with the `name:` prefix.
+- If multiple processes share the same name, the CLI will report the ambiguous matches. Use `id:N` to disambiguate.
+- Use `tspm search <query>` to discover IDs by name or ID fragments.
+
+### `tspm search <query>`
+
+Search processes by name or ID substring and print matching IDs (and names when available):
+
+```bash
+tspm search api
+# Matches for "api":
+# - id:3    name:api-server
+```
+
 - **"Memory limit exceeded"**: Increase limit with `tspm edit <id>`
 
 ## 🤝 Why Choose TSPM?
@@ -515,6 +541,20 @@ Common issues:
 
 ### Perfect For
 
+### Restart Backoff and Failure Handling
+
+TSPM automatically restarts crashed processes with an incremental backoff:
+
+- Debounce delay grows linearly from 1s up to 10s for consecutive retries.
+- After the 10th retry, the process is marked as failed (status: "errored") and auto-restarts stop.
+- The retry counter resets if no retry happens for 1 hour since the last attempt.
+
+You can manually restart a failed process at any time:
+
+```bash
+tspm restart id:1
+```
+
 - 🚀 **Production Node.js apps** - Reliable process management
 - 🔧 **Microservices** - Manage multiple services easily  
 - 👨‍💻 **Development** - File watching and auto-restart

ts/00_commitinfo_data.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,6 @@
  */
 export const commitinfo = {
   name: '@git.zone/tspm',
-  version: '5.2.0',
+  version: '5.3.0',
   description: 'a no fuzz process manager'
 }

ts/cli/commands/default.ts

@@ -22,13 +22,14 @@ export function registerDefaultCommand(smartcli: plugins.smartcli.Smartcli) {
       );
       console.log('  disable                  Disable TSPM system service');
       console.log('\nProcess Commands:');
-      console.log('  start <script>           Start a process');
+      console.log('  start <id|id:N|name:LBL> Start a process');
       console.log('  list                     List all processes');
-      console.log('  stop <id>                Stop a process');
+      console.log('  stop <id|id:N|name:LBL>  Stop a process');
-      console.log('  restart <id>             Restart a process');
+      console.log('  restart <id|id:N|name:LBL> Restart a process');
-      console.log('  delete <id>              Delete a process');
+      console.log('  delete <id|id:N|name:LBL> Delete a process');
-      console.log('  describe <id>            Show details for a process');
+      console.log('  describe <id|id:N|name:LBL> Show details for a process');
-      console.log('  logs <id>                Show logs for a process');
+      console.log('  logs <id|id:N|name:LBL>  Show logs for a process');
+      console.log('  search <query>           Find processes by id/name');
       console.log('  start-all                Start all saved processes');
       console.log('  stop-all                 Stop all processes');
       console.log('  restart-all              Restart all processes');

ts/cli/commands/process/delete.ts

@@ -8,23 +8,25 @@ export function registerDeleteCommand(smartcli: plugins.smartcli.Smartcli) {
     smartcli,
     ['delete', 'remove'],
     async (argvArg: CliArguments) => {
-      const id = argvArg._[1];
+      const target = argvArg._[1];
-      if (!id) {
+      if (!target) {
-        console.error('Error: Please provide a process ID');
+        console.error('Error: Please provide a process target');
-        console.log('Usage: tspm delete <id> | tspm remove <id>');
+        console.log('Usage: tspm delete <id|id:N|name:LABEL> | tspm remove <id|id:N|name:LABEL>');
         return;
       }
 
       // Determine if command was 'remove' to use the new IPC route, otherwise 'delete'
       const cmd = String(argvArg._[0]);
-      const useRemove = cmd === 'remove';
+      const isRemoveAlias = cmd === 'remove';
-      console.log(`${useRemove ? 'Removing' : 'Deleting'} process: ${id}`);
+      console.log(`${isRemoveAlias ? 'Removing' : 'Deleting'} process: ${target}`);
-      const response = await tspmIpcClient.request(useRemove ? 'remove' : 'delete', { id } as any);
+      const resolved = await tspmIpcClient.request('resolveTarget', { target: String(target) });
+      // Always call daemon 'delete'; 'remove' is CLI alias only
+      const response = await tspmIpcClient.request('delete', { id: resolved.id } as any);
 
       if (response.success) {
-        console.log(`✓ ${response.message || (useRemove ? 'Removed successfully' : 'Deleted successfully')}`);
+        console.log(`✓ ${response.message || (isRemoveAlias ? 'Removed successfully' : 'Deleted successfully')}`);
       } else {
-        console.error(`✗ Failed to ${useRemove ? 'remove' : 'delete'} process: ${response.message}`);
+        console.error(`✗ Failed to ${isRemoveAlias ? 'remove' : 'delete'} process: ${response.message}`);
       }
     },
     { actionLabel: 'delete/remove process' },

ts/cli/commands/process/describe.ts

@@ -9,16 +9,17 @@ export function registerDescribeCommand(smartcli: plugins.smartcli.Smartcli) {
     smartcli,
     'describe',
     async (argvArg: CliArguments) => {
-      const id = argvArg._[1];
+      const target = argvArg._[1];
-      if (!id) {
+      if (!target) {
-        console.error('Error: Please provide a process ID');
+        console.error('Error: Please provide a process target');
-        console.log('Usage: tspm describe <id>');
+        console.log('Usage: tspm describe <id | id:N | name:LABEL>');
         return;
       }
 
-      const response = await tspmIpcClient.request('describe', { id });
+      const resolved = await tspmIpcClient.request('resolveTarget', { target: String(target) });
+      const response = await tspmIpcClient.request('describe', { id: resolved.id });
 
-      console.log(`Process Details: ${id}`);
+      console.log(`Process Details: ${response.config.name || resolved.id}`);
       console.log('─'.repeat(40));
       console.log(`Status:      ${response.processInfo.status}`);
       console.log(`PID:         ${response.processInfo.pid || 'N/A'}`);

ts/cli/commands/process/edit.ts

@@ -9,17 +9,16 @@ export function registerEditCommand(smartcli: plugins.smartcli.Smartcli) {
     smartcli,
     'edit',
     async (argvArg: CliArguments) => {
-      const idRaw = argvArg._[1];
+      const target = argvArg._[1];
-      if (!idRaw) {
+      if (!target) {
-        console.error('Error: Please provide a process ID to edit');
+        console.error('Error: Please provide a process target to edit');
-        console.log('Usage: tspm edit <id>');
+        console.log('Usage: tspm edit <id | id:N | name:LABEL>');
         return;
       }
 
-      const id = idRaw;
+      // Resolve and load current config
-
+      const resolved = await tspmIpcClient.request('resolveTarget', { target: String(target) });
-      // Load current config
+      const { config } = await tspmIpcClient.request('describe', { id: resolved.id });
-      const { config } = await tspmIpcClient.request('describe', { id });
 
       // Interactive editing is temporarily disabled - needs smartinteract API update
       console.log('Interactive editing is temporarily disabled.');
@@ -63,7 +62,7 @@ export function registerEditCommand(smartcli: plugins.smartcli.Smartcli) {
       };
 
       const updateResponse = await tspmIpcClient.request('update', {
-        id,
+        id: resolved.id,
         updates,
       });
 
@@ -73,4 +72,3 @@ export function registerEditCommand(smartcli: plugins.smartcli.Smartcli) {
     { actionLabel: 'edit process config' },
   );
 }
-

ts/cli/commands/process/logs.ts

@@ -11,10 +11,10 @@ export function registerLogsCommand(smartcli: plugins.smartcli.Smartcli) {
     smartcli,
     'logs',
     async (argvArg: CliArguments) => {
-      const id = argvArg._[1];
+      const target = argvArg._[1];
-      if (!id) {
+      if (!target) {
-        console.error('Error: Please provide a process ID');
+        console.error('Error: Please provide a process target');
-        console.log('Usage: tspm logs <id> [options]');
+        console.log('Usage: tspm logs <id | id:N | name:LABEL> [options]');
         console.log('\nOptions:');
         console.log('  --lines <n>   Number of lines to show (default: 50)');
         console.log('  --follow      Stream logs in real-time (like tail -f)');
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ export function registerLogsCommand(smartcli: plugins.smartcli.Smartcli) {
       const lines = getNumber(argvArg, 'lines', 50);
       const follow = getBool(argvArg, 'follow', 'f');
 
+      const resolved = await tspmIpcClient.request('resolveTarget', { target: String(target) });
+      const id = resolved.id;
       const response = await tspmIpcClient.request('getLogs', { id, lines });
 
       if (!follow) {
@@ -44,7 +46,7 @@ export function registerLogsCommand(smartcli: plugins.smartcli.Smartcli) {
       }
 
       // Streaming mode
-      console.log(`Logs for process: ${id} (streaming...)`);
+      console.log(`Logs for process: ${resolved.name || id} (streaming...)`);
       console.log('─'.repeat(60));
 
       let lastSeq = 0;

ts/cli/commands/process/restart.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import * as plugins from '../../plugins.js';
 import { tspmIpcClient } from '../../../client/tspm.ipcclient.js';
-import { toProcessId } from '../../../shared/protocol/id.js';
 import type { CliArguments } from '../../types.js';
 import { registerIpcCommand } from '../../registration/index.js';
 
@@ -11,9 +10,9 @@ export function registerRestartCommand(smartcli: plugins.smartcli.Smartcli) {
     async (argvArg: CliArguments) => {
       const arg = argvArg._[1];
       if (!arg) {
-        console.error('Error: Please provide a process ID or "all"');
+        console.error('Error: Please provide a process target or "all"');
         console.log('Usage:');
-        console.log('  tspm restart <id>');
+        console.log('  tspm restart <id | id:N | name:LABEL>');
         console.log('  tspm restart all');
         return;
       }
@@ -33,12 +32,13 @@ export function registerRestartCommand(smartcli: plugins.smartcli.Smartcli) {
         return;
       }
 
-      const id = String(arg);
+      const target = String(arg);
-      console.log(`Restarting process: ${id}`);
+      console.log(`Restarting process: ${target}`);
-      const response = await tspmIpcClient.request('restart', { id: toProcessId(id) });
+      const resolved = await tspmIpcClient.request('resolveTarget', { target });
+      const response = await tspmIpcClient.request('restart', { id: resolved.id });
 
       console.log(`✓ Process restarted successfully`);
-      console.log(`  ID: ${response.processId}`);
+      console.log(`  ID: ${response.processId}${resolved.name ? ` (name: ${resolved.name})` : ''}`);
       console.log(`  PID: ${response.pid || 'N/A'}`);
       console.log(`  Status: ${response.status}`);
     },

ts/cli/commands/process/search.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+import * as plugins from '../../plugins.js';
+import { tspmIpcClient } from '../../../client/tspm.ipcclient.js';
+import type { CliArguments } from '../../types.js';
+import { registerIpcCommand } from '../../registration/index.js';
+
+export function registerSearchCommand(smartcli: plugins.smartcli.Smartcli) {
+  registerIpcCommand(
+    smartcli,
+    'search',
+    async (argvArg: CliArguments) => {
+      const query = String(argvArg._[1] || '').trim();
+      if (!query) {
+        console.error('Error: Please provide a search query');
+        console.log('Usage: tspm search <name-fragment | id-fragment>');
+        return;
+      }
+
+      // Fetch list of processes, then enrich with names via describe
+      const listRes = await tspmIpcClient.request('list', {});
+      const processes = listRes.processes;
+
+      // If there are no processes, short-circuit
+      if (processes.length === 0) {
+        console.log('No processes found.');
+        return;
+      }
+
+      const lowerQ = query.toLowerCase();
+      const matches: Array<{ id: number; name?: string }> = [];
+
+      // Collect describe calls to obtain names
+      for (const proc of processes) {
+        try {
+          const desc = await tspmIpcClient.request('describe', { id: proc.id });
+          const name = desc.config.name || '';
+          const idStr = String(proc.id);
+          if (name.toLowerCase().includes(lowerQ) || idStr.includes(query)) {
+            matches.push({ id: proc.id, name });
+          }
+        } catch {
+          // Ignore describe errors for individual processes
+        }
+      }
+
+      if (matches.length === 0) {
+        console.log(`No matches for "${query}"`);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      console.log(`Matches for "${query}":`);
+      for (const m of matches) {
+        if (m.name) {
+          console.log(`- id:${m.id}\tname:${m.name}`);
+        } else {
+          console.log(`- id:${m.id}`);
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    { actionLabel: 'search processes' },
+  );
+}
+

ts/cli/commands/process/start.ts

@@ -10,17 +10,18 @@ export function registerStartCommand(smartcli: plugins.smartcli.Smartcli) {
     smartcli,
     'start',
     async (argvArg: CliArguments) => {
-      const id = argvArg._[1];
+      const target = argvArg._[1];
-      if (!id) {
+      if (!target) {
-        console.error('Error: Please provide a process ID to start');
+        console.error('Error: Please provide a process target to start');
-        console.log('Usage: tspm start <id>');
+        console.log('Usage: tspm start <id | id:N | name:LABEL>');
         return;
       }
 
-      console.log(`Starting process id ${id}...`);
+      console.log(`Starting process: ${target}...`);
-      const response = await tspmIpcClient.request('startById', { id });
+      const resolved = await tspmIpcClient.request('resolveTarget', { target: String(target) });
+      const response = await tspmIpcClient.request('startById', { id: resolved.id });
       console.log('✓ Process started');
-      console.log(`  ID: ${response.processId}`);
+      console.log(`  ID: ${response.processId}${resolved.name ? ` (name: ${resolved.name})` : ''}`);
       console.log(`  PID: ${response.pid || 'N/A'}`);
       console.log(`  Status: ${response.status}`);
     },

ts/cli/commands/process/stop.ts

@@ -8,15 +8,16 @@ export function registerStopCommand(smartcli: plugins.smartcli.Smartcli) {
     smartcli,
     'stop',
     async (argvArg: CliArguments) => {
-      const id = argvArg._[1];
+      const target = argvArg._[1];
-      if (!id) {
+      if (!target) {
-        console.error('Error: Please provide a process ID');
+        console.error('Error: Please provide a process target');
-        console.log('Usage: tspm stop <id>');
+        console.log('Usage: tspm stop <id | id:N | name:LABEL>');
         return;
       }
 
-      console.log(`Stopping process: ${id}`);
+      console.log(`Stopping process: ${target}`);
-      const response = await tspmIpcClient.request('stop', { id });
+      const resolved = await tspmIpcClient.request('resolveTarget', { target: String(target) });
+      const response = await tspmIpcClient.request('stop', { id: resolved.id });
 
       if (response.success) {
         console.log(`✓ ${response.message}`);

ts/cli/index.ts

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import { registerAddCommand } from './commands/process/add.js';
 import { registerStopCommand } from './commands/process/stop.js';
 import { registerRestartCommand } from './commands/process/restart.js';
 import { registerDeleteCommand } from './commands/process/delete.js';
+import { registerSearchCommand } from './commands/process/search.js';
 import { registerListCommand } from './commands/process/list.js';
 import { registerDescribeCommand } from './commands/process/describe.js';
 import { registerLogsCommand } from './commands/process/logs.js';
@@ -74,6 +75,7 @@ export const run = async (): Promise<void> => {
   registerDescribeCommand(smartcliInstance);
   registerLogsCommand(smartcliInstance);
   registerEditCommand(smartcliInstance);
+  registerSearchCommand(smartcliInstance);
 
   // Batch commands
   registerStartAllCommand(smartcliInstance);

ts/daemon/processmanager.ts

@@ -156,6 +156,11 @@ export class ProcessManager extends EventEmitter {
         this.updateProcessInfo(config.id, { pid: undefined });
       });
 
+      // Set up failure handler to mark process as errored
+      monitor.on('failed', () => {
+        this.updateProcessInfo(config.id, { status: 'errored', pid: undefined });
+      });
+
       await monitor.start();
 
       // Wait a moment for the process to spawn and get its PID
@@ -327,6 +332,11 @@ export class ProcessManager extends EventEmitter {
         });
       }
 
+      // Mark errored on failure events
+      newMonitor.on('failed', () => {
+        this.updateProcessInfo(id, { status: 'errored', pid: undefined });
+      });
+
       this.logger.info(`Successfully restarted process with id '${id}'`);
     } catch (error: Error | unknown) {
       const processError = new ProcessError(

ts/daemon/processmonitor.ts

@@ -18,6 +18,10 @@ export class ProcessMonitor extends EventEmitter {
   private processId?: ProcessId;
   private currentLogMemorySize: number = 0;
   private readonly MAX_LOG_MEMORY_SIZE = 10 * 1024 * 1024; // 10MB
+  private restartTimer: NodeJS.Timeout | null = null;
+  private lastRetryAt: number | null = null;
+  private readonly MAX_RETRIES = 10;
+  private readonly RESET_WINDOW_MS = 60 * 60 * 1000; // 1 hour
 
   constructor(config: IMonitorConfig & { id?: ProcessId }) {
     super();
@@ -132,10 +136,7 @@ export class ProcessMonitor extends EventEmitter {
         this.emit('exit', code, signal);
 
         if (!this.stopped) {
-          this.logger.info('Restarting process...');
+          this.scheduleRestart('exit');
-          this.log('Restarting process...');
-          this.restartCount++;
-          this.spawnProcess();
         } else {
           this.logger.debug(
             'Not restarting process because monitor is stopped',
@@ -164,10 +165,7 @@ export class ProcessMonitor extends EventEmitter {
       }
 
       if (!this.stopped) {
-        this.logger.info('Restarting process due to error...');
+        this.scheduleRestart('error');
-        this.log('Restarting process due to error...');
-        this.restartCount++;
-        this.spawnProcess();
       } else {
         this.logger.debug('Not restarting process because monitor is stopped');
       }
@@ -185,6 +183,49 @@ export class ProcessMonitor extends EventEmitter {
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Schedule a restart with incremental debounce and failure cutoff.
+   */
+  private scheduleRestart(reason: 'exit' | 'error'): void {
+    const now = Date.now();
+    // Reset window: if last retry was more than 1 hour ago, reset counter
+    if (this.lastRetryAt && now - this.lastRetryAt >= this.RESET_WINDOW_MS) {
+      this.logger.info('Resetting retry counter after 1 hour window');
+      this.restartCount = 0;
+    }
+
+    // Already at or above max retries?
+    if (this.restartCount >= this.MAX_RETRIES) {
+      const msg = 'Maximum restart attempts reached. Marking process as failed.';
+      this.logger.warn(msg);
+      this.log(msg);
+      this.stopped = true;
+      // Emit a specific event so manager can set status to errored
+      this.emit('failed');
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Increment and compute delay (1..10 seconds)
+    this.restartCount++;
+    const delaySec = Math.min(this.restartCount, 10);
+    const msg = `Restarting process in ${delaySec}s (attempt ${this.restartCount}/${this.MAX_RETRIES}) due to ${reason}...`;
+    this.logger.info(msg);
+    this.log(msg);
+
+    // Clear existing timer if any, then schedule
+    if (this.restartTimer) {
+      clearTimeout(this.restartTimer);
+    }
+    this.lastRetryAt = now;
+    this.restartTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+      // If stopped in the meantime, do not spawn
+      if (this.stopped) {
+        return;
+      }
+      this.spawnProcess();
+    }, delaySec * 1000);
+  }
+
   /**
    * Monitor the process group's memory usage. If the total memory exceeds the limit,
    * kill the process group so that the 'exit' handler can restart it.

ts/daemon/tspm.daemon.ts

@@ -208,6 +208,8 @@ export class TspmDaemon {
       async (request: RequestForMethod<'delete'>) => {
         try {
           const id = toProcessId(request.id);
+          // Ensure desired state reflects stopped before deletion
+          await this.tspmInstance.setDesiredState(id, 'stopped');
           await this.tspmInstance.delete(id);
           return {
             success: true,
@@ -246,18 +248,7 @@ export class TspmDaemon {
       },
     );
 
-    this.ipcServer.onMessage(
+    // Note: 'remove' is only a CLI alias. Daemon exposes 'delete' only.
-      'remove',
-      async (request: RequestForMethod<'remove'>) => {
-        try {
-          const id = toProcessId(request.id);
-          await this.tspmInstance.delete(id);
-          return { success: true, message: `Process ${id} deleted successfully` };
-        } catch (error) {
-          throw new Error(`Failed to remove process: ${error.message}`);
-        }
-      },
-    );
 
     this.ipcServer.onMessage(
       'list',
@@ -291,6 +282,58 @@ export class TspmDaemon {
       },
     );
 
+    // Resolve target (id:n | name:foo | numeric string) to ProcessId
+    this.ipcServer.onMessage(
+      'resolveTarget',
+      async (request: RequestForMethod<'resolveTarget'>) => {
+        const raw = String(request.target || '').trim();
+        if (!raw) {
+          throw new Error('Empty target');
+        }
+
+        // id:<n>
+        if (/^id:\s*\d+$/i.test(raw)) {
+          const idNum = raw.split(':')[1].trim();
+          const id = toProcessId(idNum);
+          const config = this.tspmInstance.processConfigs.get(id);
+          if (!config) throw new Error(`Process ${id} not found`);
+          return { id, name: config.name } as ResponseForMethod<'resolveTarget'>;
+        }
+
+        // name:<label>
+        if (/^name:/i.test(raw)) {
+          const name = raw.slice(raw.indexOf(':') + 1).trim();
+          if (!name) throw new Error('Missing name after name:');
+          const matches = Array.from(this.tspmInstance.processConfigs.values()).filter(
+            (c) => (c.name || '').trim() === name,
+          );
+          if (matches.length === 0) {
+            throw new Error(`No process found with name "${name}"`);
+          }
+          if (matches.length > 1) {
+            const ids = matches.map((c) => String(c.id)).join(', ');
+            throw new Error(
+              `Multiple processes found with name "${name}": ids [${ids}]. Please use id:<n>.`,
+            );
+          }
+          return { id: matches[0].id, name } as ResponseForMethod<'resolveTarget'>;
+        }
+
+        // bare numeric id
+        if (/^\d+$/.test(raw)) {
+          const id = toProcessId(raw);
+          const config = this.tspmInstance.processConfigs.get(id);
+          if (!config) throw new Error(`Process ${id} not found`);
+          return { id, name: config.name } as ResponseForMethod<'resolveTarget'>;
+        }
+
+        // Unknown format
+        throw new Error(
+          'Unsupported target format. Use numeric id (e.g. 1), id:<n> (e.g. id:1), or name:<label> (e.g. name:api).',
+        );
+      },
+    );
+
     // Batch operations handlers
     this.ipcServer.onMessage(
       'startAll',

ts/shared/protocol/ipc.types.ts

@@ -240,14 +240,6 @@ export interface AddResponse {
 }
 
 // Remove (delete config and stop if running)
-export interface RemoveRequest {
-  id: ProcessId;
-}
-
-export interface RemoveResponse {
-  success: boolean;
-  message?: string;
-}
 
 // Update (modify existing config)
 export interface UpdateRequest {
@@ -260,6 +252,16 @@ export interface UpdateResponse {
   config: IProcessConfig;
 }
 
+// Resolve a user-provided target (id:n or name:foo or numeric string) to a ProcessId
+export interface ResolveTargetRequest {
+  target: string;
+}
+
+export interface ResolveTargetResponse {
+  id: ProcessId;
+  name?: string;
+}
+
 // Type mappings for methods
 export type IpcMethodMap = {
   start: { request: StartRequest; response: StartResponse };
@@ -269,7 +271,6 @@ export type IpcMethodMap = {
   delete: { request: DeleteRequest; response: DeleteResponse };
   add: { request: AddRequest; response: AddResponse };
   update: { request: UpdateRequest; response: UpdateResponse };
-  remove: { request: RemoveRequest; response: RemoveResponse };
   list: { request: ListRequest; response: ListResponse };
   describe: { request: DescribeRequest; response: DescribeResponse };
   getLogs: { request: GetLogsRequest; response: GetLogsResponse };
@@ -286,6 +287,7 @@ export type IpcMethodMap = {
     response: DaemonShutdownResponse;
   };
   heartbeat: { request: HeartbeatRequest; response: HeartbeatResponse };
+  resolveTarget: { request: ResolveTargetRequest; response: ResolveTargetResponse };
 };
 
 // Helper type to extract request type for a method