Pairkiller v4.0.0

A modern, intelligent app monitoring and control system that automatically manages your companion applications based on what games you're playing. Now supports Windows, macOS, and Linux with seamless updates!

✨ Features

🎯 Smart Monitoring

• Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Real-time Process Detection: Monitors running applications with optimized performance
• Flexible Conditions: Set rules based on "any" or "all" monitored apps running
• Process Caching: Efficient monitoring with intelligent caching to reduce system load

🎮 Gaming Focus

• Pre-built Presets: Ready-to-use configurations for popular gaming setups
  • League of Legends + Blitz (Windows & macOS)
  • Rocket League + BakkesMod (Windows) / Rocket League Monitor (macOS)
  • Steam Games monitoring (All platforms)
  • Discord Gaming monitor (All platforms)
• Custom Groups: Create your own monitoring groups for any applications

🚀 Enhanced Performance

• Parallel Processing: Concurrent app monitoring and control for better performance
• Resource Optimization: Minimal system impact with smart resource management
• Error Recovery: Robust error handling and automatic recovery mechanisms
• Platform-Optimized: Uses native commands for each operating system

🎨 Modern UI/UX

• Beautiful Interface: Clean, modern design with smooth animations
• Dark Theme: Eye-friendly dark theme throughout the application
• Responsive Design: Adapts to different screen sizes and resolutions
• Interactive Elements: Tooltips, confirmations, and visual feedback

🔧 Advanced Configuration

• Flexible Actions: Start, stop, sync, or run opposite to monitored apps
• Path Detection: Automatic executable path detection with file browser
• Cross-Platform Apps: Supports .exe files on Windows, .app bundles on macOS
• Validation: Real-time configuration validation with helpful error messages
• Backup & Recovery: Safe configuration management with atomic saves

🔄 Seamless Updates

• Automatic Configuration Migration: Your settings are automatically migrated when updating from any previous version
• Safe Update Process: Configuration backups are created before updates
• Backward Compatibility: Supports configuration formats from v1.0.0+
• Update Verification: Built-in tests ensure migrations work correctly
• Recovery System: Automatic backup restoration if configuration becomes corrupted

📥 Installation

Download

Get the latest release from the GitHub Releases page:

• Windows: Pairkiller.Setup.4.0.0.exe
• macOS: Pairkiller-4.0.0.dmg (Intel & Apple Silicon)
• Linux: Pairkiller-4.0.0.AppImage

Platform-Specific Installation

Windows

1. Download Pairkiller.Setup.4.0.0.exe
2. Run the installer and follow the setup wizard
3. The app will start automatically and appear in your system tray

macOS

1. Download Pairkiller-4.0.0.dmg
2. Open the DMG file and drag Pairkiller to your Applications folder
3. Launch Pairkiller from Applications or Spotlight
4. You may need to allow the app in System Preferences > Security & Privacy

Linux

1. Download Pairkiller-4.0.0.AppImage
2. Make it executable: chmod +x Pairkiller-4.0.0.AppImage
3. Run the AppImage: ./Pairkiller-4.0.0.AppImage

Quick Start

1. Launch the application (it will start in the system tray)
2. Right-click the tray icon and select "Settings"
3. Choose a preset or create your own app group
4. Save and let Pairkiller manage your apps automatically!

🎮 Usage Examples

League of Legends + Blitz

Windows: Monitor when League of Legends is running and automatically start/stop Blitz accordingly.

• Monitored Apps: LeagueClient.exe, League of Legends.exe
• Controlled Apps: Blitz.exe (Start/Stop with League)

macOS:

• Monitored Apps: League of Legends, LeagueClient
• Controlled Apps: Blitz (Start/Stop with League)

Rocket League + BakkesMod

Windows: Automatically manage BakkesMod when playing Rocket League.

• Monitored Apps: RocketLeague.exe
• Controlled Apps: BakkesMod.exe (Sync with Rocket League)

macOS: Monitor Rocket League for companion app management.

• Monitored Apps: RocketLeague
• Controlled Apps: Add your preferred companion apps

Cross-Platform Steam Monitor

Works on all platforms to monitor Steam and manage gaming apps.

• Windows: Monitors steam.exe
• macOS: Monitors Steam
• Linux: Monitors steam

⚙️ Platform Differences

Process Detection

• Windows: Uses tasklist for process detection
• macOS: Uses pgrep and ps with fallback to AppleScript for .app bundles
• Linux: Uses pgrep and ps for process detection

App Launching

• Windows: Direct executable launching
• macOS: Uses open command for .app bundles, direct execution for binaries
• Linux: Background process launching with &

File Types

• Windows: Supports .exe, .bat, .cmd files
• macOS: Supports .app bundles and executables
• Linux: Supports all executable files

🔧 Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16+
• npm 8+
• ImageMagick (for icon generation)

Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/hybes/pairkiller.git
cd pairkiller

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build CSS
npm run build:css

# Run in development mode
npm run dev

Building for Distribution

For detailed build instructions and cross-platform compilation, see BUILD.md.

Quick commands:

npm run build:icons     # Generate all icon formats
npm run build:mac       # Build for macOS
npm run build:win       # Build for Windows  
npm run build:linux     # Build for Linux
npm run build:all       # Build for all platforms
npm run release         # Icons + all platforms

Platform-Specific Development

Windows Development

Requires Windows 10+ for full functionality testing.

macOS Development

Requires macOS 10.14+ and Xcode Command Line Tools:

xcode-select --install

Linux Development

Requires development packages:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install build-essential

# RHEL/CentOS/Fedora
sudo yum groupinstall "Development Tools"

🐛 Troubleshooting

Platform-Specific Issues

Windows

Q: Pairkiller isn't detecting my app A: Make sure you're using the correct process name (e.g., notepad.exe). Check Task Manager for the exact process name.

macOS

Q: Can't detect Mac applications A: Try using just the app name without ".app" (e.g., "Steam" instead of "Steam.app"). For some apps, you may need to use the actual process name.

Q: Permission denied when starting apps A: Check System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Automation and ensure Pairkiller has the necessary permissions.

Linux

Q: AppImage won't run A: Ensure the file is executable (chmod +x Pairkiller.AppImage) and that you have FUSE installed.

Common Issues

Q: Controlled app isn't starting A: Verify the path to the executable is correct. Use the "Browse" button to select the file.

Q: High CPU usage A: Increase the monitoring interval in settings to reduce frequency of checks.

Debug Mode

Run with debug mode for detailed logging:

npm run dev

Logs

• Windows: %APPDATA%/Pairkiller/logs/
• macOS: ~/Library/Logs/Pairkiller/
• Linux: ~/.config/Pairkiller/logs/

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

👨‍💻 Author

Ben Hybert

• GitHub: @hybes
• Twitter: @hybes
• Email: [email protected]

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Originally created because Fraser wanted Blitz to only run with League of Legends
• Built with Electron for cross-platform compatibility
• UI styled with Tailwind CSS
• Icons by Font Awesome

📊 Stats

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Made with ❤️ for the gaming community across all platforms