Control plane CLI opens a persistent "next-server" console window on Windows #6076

Use Case

I run hindsight-api (v1.1.0) as a long-lived background service on Windows 10, managed by PM2, and use @vectorize-io/hindsight-control-plane (v1.1.0) for the web UI:

pm2 start C:\...\node_modules\@vectorize-io\hindsight-control-plane\bin\cli.js --name hindsight-ui -- --port 9999 --api-url http://localhost:8888

The goal is a fully headless setup — API + UI running quietly in the background, logs captured by the process manager.

Problem Statement

On Windows, the control plane CLI spawns the Next.js standalone server as a child process, and that child opens a visible console window titled next-server that stays open for as long as the UI runs. No window flashes at PM2 start; the window is created by the app itself at runtime.

Root cause is in bin/cli.js (~line 93):

const server = spawn('node', [serverPath], {
  cwd: standaloneDir,
  env,
  stdio: 'inherit',
});

The spawn options don't include windowsHide: true. Since the parent process tree (PM2 daemon) has no console to inherit, Windows allocates a new console for the child node next-server process — that's the visible window.

How This Feature Would Help

A headless option would let the control plane run under process managers (PM2, NSSM, Task Scheduler, Windows services) on Windows without spawning stray console windows — matching how it already behaves on Linux/macOS. Right now every PM2 restart/crash-recovery leaves a console window on the desktop unless the package is manually patched.

Proposed Solution

Add a --headless flag that suppresses any windowed child processes:

const server = spawn('node', [serverPath], {
  cwd: standaloneDir,
  env,
  stdio: 'inherit',
  windowsHide: true,   // always safe: stdio is 'inherit', so logs still flow
});

Honestly, windowsHide: true could also just be unconditional — the CLI already uses stdio: 'inherit' so there's no reason for the child to own a console. The flag would additionally make the intent explicit and cover any future child processes.

Alternatives Considered

• Manually patching bin/cli.js in the global install to add windowsHide: true — this is my current workaround; it works perfectly, but gets wiped on every npm update -g / reinstall.
• Running the PM2 daemon as a hidden Windows service (pm2-installer) — does not help, because the window is created by the app's own grandchild process, not by PM2's children.

Priority

Important - affects my workflow

Additional Context

• Environment: Windows 10 19045, Node v22.22.2, PM2 6.0.14, @vectorize-io/hindsight-control-plane 1.1.0, hindsight-api 1.1.0
• Everything else about the CLI works great under PM2 on Windows (signal handling, log piping, restart recovery) — this is the only rough edge.
• Happy to send a PR if the one-line fix (or the flag) is acceptable.

Checklist

• I would be willing to contribute this feature