Can pm2 run an 'npm start' script

To use npm run

pm2 start npm --name "{app_name}" -- run {script_name}

Those who are using a configuration script like a .json file to run the pm2 process can use npm start or any other script like this -

my-app-pm2.json

{
    "apps": [
        {
            "name": "my-app",
            "script": "npm",
            "args" : "start"
        }
    ]
}

Then simply -

pm2 start my-app-pm2.json

Edit - To handle the use case when you have this configuration script in a parent directory and want to launch an app in the sub-directory then use the cwd attribute.

Assuming our app is in the sub-directory nested-app relative to this configuration file then -

{
    "apps": [
        {
            "name": "my-nested-app",
            "cwd": "./nested-app",
            "script": "npm",
            "args": "start"
        }
    ]
}

More detail here.

PM2 now supports npm start:

pm2 start npm -- start

To assign a name to the PM2 process, use the --name option:

pm2 start npm --name "app name" -- start