BeamConsole - an embeddable process map and flight recorder for BEAM applications

I’ve released BeamConsole 0.1.0, an embeddable, read-only process flight recorder and process map for Phoenix and BEAM applications.

Its focus is straightforward: show which processes are running, how supervision and process relationships connect them, and how that structure changes while an application runs.

Add the dependency:

def deps do
  [
    {:beam_console, "~> 0.1.0"}
  ]
end

Then mount it in a Phoenix router:

import BeamConsole.Router

scope "/" do
  pipe_through :browser

  beam_console "/beam"
end

Visiting /beam opens the dashboard.

BeamConsole currently provides:

• A stable supervision and process map with collapsible branches

• Searchable process exploration

• Safe process, application, and connected-node inspection

• Links and monitors between processes

• Observed process starts, terminations, and crash-and-replacement correlations

• Activity history for reductions, mailbox growth, and memory movement

• Runtime memory, run queue, applications, ETS tables, atoms, and node information

• Bounded recording with pause and resume controls

• Light, dark, and system themes

Applications are grouped into host, dependencies, OTP, and tooling categories. Collapsed branches and theme preferences persist while navigating and reconnecting.

The default recording mode collects history while at least one BeamConsole page is connected. Recording can also start with the application:

config :beam_console, :recorder,
  mode: :always

The collector and recorder work in plain Elixir applications as well. Phoenix and LiveView are only required for the embedded web interface.

BeamConsole is intentionally read-only. It does not fetch process messages, dictionaries, stacktraces, binaries, or arbitrary process state. It does not use tracing, remote RPC, :sys, or process mutation.

The route is disabled outside development by default, and applications remain responsible for authentication and authorization if they choose to expose it elsewhere.

Observer and Phoenix LiveDashboard are both broader tools with different strengths. BeamConsole takes a narrower, process-first approach centered on supervision topology, runtime relationships, bounded activity history, and observed crash-and-replacement events.

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Hex: beam_console | Hex
Documentation: beam_console v0.1.0 — Documentation
GitHub: