From 914cac735fe946e6182cb505eaae7eeff172107c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Roe <daniel@roe.dev>
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2026 14:34:03 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 01/13] feat(build,dev): add `--profile` support

---
 packages/nuxi/src/commands/_shared.ts  | 9 +++++++++
 packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts    | 9 ++++++++-
 packages/nuxi/src/commands/dev.ts      | 3 ++-
 packages/nuxi/src/commands/generate.ts | 3 ++-
 packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts         | 8 ++++++++
 packages/nuxi/src/dev/utils.ts         | 1 +
 6 files changed, 30 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/_shared.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/_shared.ts
index 7d10a1c0d..28c2c359b 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/_shared.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/_shared.ts
@@ -40,6 +40,15 @@ export const extendsArgs = {
   },
 } as const satisfies Record<string, ArgDef>
 
+export const profileArgs = {
+  profile: {
+    type: 'string',
+    description: 'Profile performance. Use --profile for CPU only, --profile=verbose for full report.',
+    default: false as unknown as string,
+    valueHint: 'verbose',
+  },
+} as const satisfies Record<string, ArgDef>
+
 export const legacyRootDirArgs = {
   // cwd falls back to rootDir's default (indirect default)
   cwd: {
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
index fb9b6ec61..d9f9bc6d1 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import { overrideEnv } from '../utils/env'
 import { clearBuildDir } from '../utils/fs'
 import { loadKit } from '../utils/kit'
 import { logger } from '../utils/logger'
-import { cwdArgs, dotEnvArgs, envNameArgs, extendsArgs, legacyRootDirArgs, logLevelArgs } from './_shared'
+import { cwdArgs, dotEnvArgs, envNameArgs, extendsArgs, legacyRootDirArgs, logLevelArgs, profileArgs } from './_shared'
 
 export default defineCommand({
   meta: {
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ export default defineCommand({
     ...dotEnvArgs,
     ...envNameArgs,
     ...extendsArgs,
+    ...profileArgs,
     ...legacyRootDirArgs,
   },
   async run(ctx) {
@@ -43,6 +44,11 @@ export default defineCommand({
     const kit = await loadKit(cwd)
 
     await showVersions(cwd, kit, ctx.args.dotenv)
+    // --profile → CPU profile only (quiet), --profile=verbose → full report
+    const buildStart = Date.now()
+    const profileArg = ctx.args.profile
+    const perfValue = profileArg === 'verbose' ? true : profileArg ? 'quiet' : undefined
+
     const nuxt = await kit.loadNuxt({
       cwd,
       dotenv: {
@@ -59,6 +65,7 @@ export default defineCommand({
           preset: ctx.args.preset || process.env.NITRO_PRESET || process.env.SERVER_PRESET,
         },
         ...(ctx.args.extends && { extends: ctx.args.extends }),
+        ...(perfValue && { debug: { perf: perfValue }, _startTime: buildStart }),
         ...ctx.data?.overrides,
       },
     })
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/dev.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/dev.ts
index 9101f7da9..c8fe5db54 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/dev.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/dev.ts
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import { isBun, isTest } from 'std-env'
 import { initialize } from '../dev'
 import { ForkPool } from '../dev/pool'
 import { debug, logger } from '../utils/logger'
-import { cwdArgs, dotEnvArgs, envNameArgs, extendsArgs, legacyRootDirArgs, logLevelArgs } from './_shared'
+import { cwdArgs, dotEnvArgs, envNameArgs, extendsArgs, legacyRootDirArgs, logLevelArgs, profileArgs } from './_shared'
 
 const startTime: number | undefined = Date.now()
 const forkSupported = !isTest && (!isBun || isBunForkSupported())
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ const command = defineCommand({
       },
       clipboard: { ...listhenArgs.clipboard, default: false },
     },
+    ...profileArgs,
     sslCert: {
       type: 'string',
       description: '(DEPRECATED) Use `--https.cert` instead.',
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/generate.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/generate.ts
index 6e2b9015f..2ee64d2c4 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/generate.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/generate.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { defineCommand } from 'citty'
 
-import { cwdArgs, dotEnvArgs, envNameArgs, extendsArgs, legacyRootDirArgs, logLevelArgs } from './_shared'
+import { cwdArgs, dotEnvArgs, envNameArgs, extendsArgs, legacyRootDirArgs, logLevelArgs, profileArgs } from './_shared'
 import buildCommand from './build'
 
 export default defineCommand({
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ export default defineCommand({
     ...dotEnvArgs,
     ...envNameArgs,
     ...extendsArgs,
+    ...profileArgs,
     ...legacyRootDirArgs,
   },
   async run(ctx) {
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
index 8a8f2f748..5dacf70e6 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
@@ -55,11 +55,19 @@ interface InitializeReturn {
 export async function initialize(devContext: NuxtDevContext, ctx: InitializeOptions = {}): Promise<InitializeReturn> {
   overrideEnv('development')
 
+  // --profile → CPU profile only (quiet), --profile=verbose → full report
+  const profileArg = devContext.args.profile
+  const perfValue = profileArg === 'verbose' ? true : profileArg ? 'quiet' : undefined
+  const perfOverrides = perfValue
+    ? { debug: { perf: perfValue }, _startTime: start } as NuxtConfig
+    : {}
+
   const devServer = new NuxtDevServer({
     cwd: devContext.cwd,
     overrides: defu(
       ctx.data?.overrides,
       ({ extends: devContext.args.extends } satisfies NuxtConfig) as NuxtConfig,
+      perfOverrides,
     ),
     logLevel: devContext.args.logLevel as 'silent' | 'info' | 'verbose',
     clear: devContext.args.clear,
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/dev/utils.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/dev/utils.ts
index 6c262eff9..9ad83e93f 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/dev/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/dev/utils.ts
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ export interface NuxtDevContext {
     dotenv?: string
     envName?: string
     extends?: string
+    profile?: string | boolean
   }
 }
 

From 2680bb6e9453da326a61239c51df41a990e7990d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Roe <daniel@roe.dev>
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2026 17:25:40 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 02/13] fix: don't set _startTime

---
 packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts | 2 +-
 packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts      | 2 +-
 2 files changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
index d9f9bc6d1..d6d69cec6 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ export default defineCommand({
           preset: ctx.args.preset || process.env.NITRO_PRESET || process.env.SERVER_PRESET,
         },
         ...(ctx.args.extends && { extends: ctx.args.extends }),
-        ...(perfValue && { debug: { perf: perfValue }, _startTime: buildStart }),
+        ...(perfValue && { debug: { perf: perfValue } }),
         ...ctx.data?.overrides,
       },
     })
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
index 5dacf70e6..7f197af9b 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ export async function initialize(devContext: NuxtDevContext, ctx: InitializeOpti
   const profileArg = devContext.args.profile
   const perfValue = profileArg === 'verbose' ? true : profileArg ? 'quiet' : undefined
   const perfOverrides = perfValue
-    ? { debug: { perf: perfValue }, _startTime: start } as NuxtConfig
+    ? { debug: { perf: perfValue } } as NuxtConfig
     : {}
 
   const devServer = new NuxtDevServer({

From 338aebf20b048f379c8432c33d65dcfd188d2deb Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Roe <daniel@roe.dev>
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2026 17:33:51 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 03/13] fix: use `undefined` as default `profile` value

---
 packages/nuxi/src/commands/_shared.ts | 2 +-
 packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts   | 1 -
 2 files changed, 1 insertion(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/_shared.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/_shared.ts
index 28c2c359b..8606274aa 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/_shared.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/_shared.ts
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ export const profileArgs = {
   profile: {
     type: 'string',
     description: 'Profile performance. Use --profile for CPU only, --profile=verbose for full report.',
-    default: false as unknown as string,
+    default: undefined as string | undefined,
     valueHint: 'verbose',
   },
 } as const satisfies Record<string, ArgDef>
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
index d6d69cec6..b1bae920c 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ export default defineCommand({
 
     await showVersions(cwd, kit, ctx.args.dotenv)
     // --profile → CPU profile only (quiet), --profile=verbose → full report
-    const buildStart = Date.now()
     const profileArg = ctx.args.profile
     const perfValue = profileArg === 'verbose' ? true : profileArg ? 'quiet' : undefined
 

From 39aad905d2a2ade93672d43eafa21fd0000fd78f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Roe <daniel@roe.dev>
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2026 20:54:10 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 04/13] feat: move profiler entirely to cli

---
 packages/nuxi/bin/nuxi.mjs          | 16 +++++
 packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts | 15 ++++-
 packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts      | 10 ++-
 packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts  | 99 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 packages/nuxt-cli/bin/nuxi.mjs      | 16 +++++
 types.d.ts                          |  1 +
 6 files changed, 153 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts

diff --git a/packages/nuxi/bin/nuxi.mjs b/packages/nuxi/bin/nuxi.mjs
index 63504b583..259422031 100755
--- a/packages/nuxi/bin/nuxi.mjs
+++ b/packages/nuxi/bin/nuxi.mjs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
 
+import inspector from 'node:inspector'
 import nodeModule from 'node:module'
 import process from 'node:process'
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
@@ -25,6 +26,21 @@ globalThis.__nuxt_cli__ = {
   devEntry: fileURLToPath(new URL('../dist/dev/index.mjs', import.meta.url)),
 }
 
+if (
+  process.argv.includes('--profile')
+  || process.argv.some(a => a.startsWith('--profile='))
+) {
+  const session = new inspector.Session()
+  session.connect()
+  // eslint-disable-next-line antfu/no-top-level-await
+  await new Promise((resolve) => {
+    session.post('Profiler.enable', () => {
+      session.post('Profiler.start', resolve)
+    })
+  })
+  globalThis.__nuxt_cli__.cpuProfileSession = session
+}
+
 // eslint-disable-next-line antfu/no-top-level-await
 const { runMain } = await import('../dist/index.mjs')
 
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
index b1bae920c..2990f7bbf 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import { overrideEnv } from '../utils/env'
 import { clearBuildDir } from '../utils/fs'
 import { loadKit } from '../utils/kit'
 import { logger } from '../utils/logger'
+import { installSignalHandlers, startCpuProfile, stopCpuProfile } from '../utils/profile'
 import { cwdArgs, dotEnvArgs, envNameArgs, extendsArgs, legacyRootDirArgs, logLevelArgs, profileArgs } from './_shared'
 
 export default defineCommand({
@@ -39,14 +40,18 @@ export default defineCommand({
 
     const cwd = resolve(ctx.args.cwd || ctx.args.rootDir)
 
+    const profileArg = ctx.args.profile
+    const perfValue = profileArg === 'verbose' ? true : profileArg ? 'quiet' : undefined
+    if (profileArg) {
+      await startCpuProfile()
+      installSignalHandlers(cwd)
+    }
+
     intro(colors.cyan('Building Nuxt for production...'))
 
     const kit = await loadKit(cwd)
 
     await showVersions(cwd, kit, ctx.args.dotenv)
-    // --profile → CPU profile only (quiet), --profile=verbose → full report
-    const profileArg = ctx.args.profile
-    const perfValue = profileArg === 'verbose' ? true : profileArg ? 'quiet' : undefined
 
     const nuxt = await kit.loadNuxt({
       cwd,
@@ -93,6 +98,10 @@ export default defineCommand({
 
     await kit.buildNuxt(nuxt)
 
+    if (profileArg) {
+      await stopCpuProfile(cwd).catch(() => {})
+    }
+
     if (ctx.args.prerender) {
       if (!nuxt.options.ssr) {
         logger.warn(`HTML content not prerendered because ${colors.cyan('ssr: false')} was set.`)
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
index 7f197af9b..af3ecce94 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import type { NuxtDevContext, NuxtDevIPCMessage, NuxtParentIPCMessage } from './
 import process from 'node:process'
 import defu from 'defu'
 import { overrideEnv } from '../utils/env.ts'
+import { installSignalHandlers, startCpuProfile, stopCpuProfile } from '../utils/profile.ts'
 import { NuxtDevServer } from './utils'
 
 const start = Date.now()
@@ -55,13 +56,17 @@ interface InitializeReturn {
 export async function initialize(devContext: NuxtDevContext, ctx: InitializeOptions = {}): Promise<InitializeReturn> {
   overrideEnv('development')
 
-  // --profile → CPU profile only (quiet), --profile=verbose → full report
   const profileArg = devContext.args.profile
   const perfValue = profileArg === 'verbose' ? true : profileArg ? 'quiet' : undefined
   const perfOverrides = perfValue
     ? { debug: { perf: perfValue } } as NuxtConfig
     : {}
 
+  if (profileArg) {
+    await startCpuProfile()
+    installSignalHandlers(devContext.cwd)
+  }
+
   const devServer = new NuxtDevServer({
     cwd: devContext.cwd,
     overrides: defu(
@@ -123,6 +128,9 @@ export async function initialize(devContext: NuxtDevContext, ctx: InitializeOpti
         devServer.listener.close(),
         devServer.close(),
       ])
+      if (profileArg) {
+        await stopCpuProfile(devContext.cwd).catch(() => {})
+      }
     },
     onReady: (callback: (address: string) => void) => {
       if (address) {
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2d8ca95d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+import type { Session } from 'node:inspector'
+import { mkdirSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { mkdir, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises'
+import process from 'node:process'
+import { colors } from 'consola/utils'
+import { join } from 'pathe'
+import { logger } from './logger'
+
+let session: Session | undefined
+let profileCount = 0
+
+export async function startCpuProfile(): Promise<void> {
+  // Adopt session started in bin/nuxi.mjs
+  const cli = globalThis.__nuxt_cli__ as typeof globalThis.__nuxt_cli__ & { cpuProfileSession?: import('node:inspector').Session }
+  if (cli?.cpuProfileSession) {
+    session = cli.cpuProfileSession
+    delete cli.cpuProfileSession
+    return
+  }
+  const inspector = await import('node:inspector')
+  session = new inspector.Session()
+  session.connect()
+  await new Promise<void>((res, rej) => {
+    session!.post('Profiler.enable', () => {
+      session!.post('Profiler.start', (err) => {
+        if (err) {
+          rej(err)
+        }
+        else { res() }
+      })
+    })
+  })
+}
+
+export function stopCpuProfile(outDir: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
+  if (!session) {
+    return Promise.resolve(undefined)
+  }
+  const s = session
+  session = undefined
+  return new Promise((res, rej) => {
+    s.post('Profiler.stop', (err, { profile }) => {
+      if (err) {
+        return rej(err)
+      }
+      const outPath = join(outDir, `profile-${profileCount++}.cpuprofile`)
+      mkdir(outDir, { recursive: true })
+        .then(() => writeFile(outPath, JSON.stringify(profile)))
+        .then(() => {
+          logger.info(`CPU profile written to ${colors.cyan(outPath)}`)
+          logger.info(`Open it in ${colors.cyan('https://www.speedscope.app')} or Chrome DevTools`)
+          s.disconnect()
+          res(outPath)
+        })
+        .catch(rej)
+    })
+  })
+}
+
+export function stopCpuProfileSync(outDir: string): string | undefined {
+  if (!session) {
+    return
+  }
+  const s = session
+  session = undefined
+  let outPath: string | undefined
+  s.post('Profiler.stop', (_err, params) => {
+    if (_err || !params?.profile) {
+      return
+    }
+    outPath = join(outDir, `profile-${profileCount++}.cpuprofile`)
+    try {
+      mkdirSync(outDir, { recursive: true })
+      writeFileSync(outPath, JSON.stringify(params.profile))
+      logger.info(`CPU profile written to ${colors.cyan(outPath)}`)
+      logger.info(`Open it in ${colors.cyan('https://www.speedscope.app')} or Chrome DevTools`)
+    }
+    catch {}
+    s.disconnect()
+  })
+  return outPath
+}
+
+/**
+ * Install signal handlers that flush the CPU profile before exit.
+ * Returns a cleanup function to remove the handlers.
+ */
+export function installSignalHandlers(outDir: string): () => void {
+  const onSignal = (signal: NodeJS.Signals) => {
+    stopCpuProfileSync(outDir)
+    process.kill(process.pid, signal)
+  }
+  process.once('SIGINT', onSignal)
+  process.once('SIGTERM', onSignal)
+  return () => {
+    process.off('SIGINT', onSignal)
+    process.off('SIGTERM', onSignal)
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/nuxt-cli/bin/nuxi.mjs b/packages/nuxt-cli/bin/nuxi.mjs
index 63504b583..259422031 100755
--- a/packages/nuxt-cli/bin/nuxi.mjs
+++ b/packages/nuxt-cli/bin/nuxi.mjs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
 
+import inspector from 'node:inspector'
 import nodeModule from 'node:module'
 import process from 'node:process'
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
@@ -25,6 +26,21 @@ globalThis.__nuxt_cli__ = {
   devEntry: fileURLToPath(new URL('../dist/dev/index.mjs', import.meta.url)),
 }
 
+if (
+  process.argv.includes('--profile')
+  || process.argv.some(a => a.startsWith('--profile='))
+) {
+  const session = new inspector.Session()
+  session.connect()
+  // eslint-disable-next-line antfu/no-top-level-await
+  await new Promise((resolve) => {
+    session.post('Profiler.enable', () => {
+      session.post('Profiler.start', resolve)
+    })
+  })
+  globalThis.__nuxt_cli__.cpuProfileSession = session
+}
+
 // eslint-disable-next-line antfu/no-top-level-await
 const { runMain } = await import('../dist/index.mjs')
 
diff --git a/types.d.ts b/types.d.ts
index 2893c86a3..6ac85db41 100644
--- a/types.d.ts
+++ b/types.d.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ declare global {
       entry: string
       devEntry?: string
       startTime: number
+      cpuProfileSession?: import('node:inspector').Session
     }
 }
 

From 72559f9486f28d5c4f25c8d97eeb13a6a4fb135c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Roe <daniel@roe.dev>
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2026 20:55:11 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 05/13] fix: merge debug overrides

---
 packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts | 7 ++++++-
 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
index 2990f7bbf..7a18b3ba7 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
@@ -69,7 +69,12 @@ export default defineCommand({
           preset: ctx.args.preset || process.env.NITRO_PRESET || process.env.SERVER_PRESET,
         },
         ...(ctx.args.extends && { extends: ctx.args.extends }),
-        ...(perfValue && { debug: { perf: perfValue } }),
+        ...((perfValue || ctx.data?.overrides?.debug) && {
+          debug: {
+            ...ctx.data?.overrides?.debug,
+            ...(perfValue && { perf: perfValue }),
+          },
+        }),
         ...ctx.data?.overrides,
       },
     })

From cd04391c3a1e6764395f29a2e05a9b817c89cfa4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Roe <daniel@roe.dev>
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2026 20:57:18 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 06/13] chore: lint

---
 packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
index 2d8ca95d0..c284c431e 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ export function stopCpuProfile(outDir: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
   })
 }
 
-export function stopCpuProfileSync(outDir: string): string | undefined {
+function stopCpuProfileSync(outDir: string): string | undefined {
   if (!session) {
     return
   }

From 74916ddb032d60cbc3208f4eb204140f9ac971f8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Roe <daniel@roe.dev>
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2026 05:34:54 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 07/13] fix: stop profiler synchronously

---
 packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts |  7 ++--
 packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts      | 10 +++---
 packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts  | 53 +++--------------------------
 3 files changed, 12 insertions(+), 58 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
index 7a18b3ba7..bdf92dbaa 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import { overrideEnv } from '../utils/env'
 import { clearBuildDir } from '../utils/fs'
 import { loadKit } from '../utils/kit'
 import { logger } from '../utils/logger'
-import { installSignalHandlers, startCpuProfile, stopCpuProfile } from '../utils/profile'
+import { startCpuProfile, stopCpuProfile } from '../utils/profile'
 import { cwdArgs, dotEnvArgs, envNameArgs, extendsArgs, legacyRootDirArgs, logLevelArgs, profileArgs } from './_shared'
 
 export default defineCommand({
@@ -44,7 +44,6 @@ export default defineCommand({
     const perfValue = profileArg === 'verbose' ? true : profileArg ? 'quiet' : undefined
     if (profileArg) {
       await startCpuProfile()
-      installSignalHandlers(cwd)
     }
 
     intro(colors.cyan('Building Nuxt for production...'))
@@ -103,9 +102,7 @@ export default defineCommand({
 
     await kit.buildNuxt(nuxt)
 
-    if (profileArg) {
-      await stopCpuProfile(cwd).catch(() => {})
-    }
+    stopCpuProfile(cwd)
 
     if (ctx.args.prerender) {
       if (!nuxt.options.ssr) {
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
index af3ecce94..dbeb02279 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import type { NuxtDevContext, NuxtDevIPCMessage, NuxtParentIPCMessage } from './
 import process from 'node:process'
 import defu from 'defu'
 import { overrideEnv } from '../utils/env.ts'
-import { installSignalHandlers, startCpuProfile, stopCpuProfile } from '../utils/profile.ts'
+import { startCpuProfile, stopCpuProfile } from '../utils/profile.ts'
 import { NuxtDevServer } from './utils'
 
 const start = Date.now()
@@ -64,7 +64,6 @@ export async function initialize(devContext: NuxtDevContext, ctx: InitializeOpti
 
   if (profileArg) {
     await startCpuProfile()
-    installSignalHandlers(devContext.cwd)
   }
 
   const devServer = new NuxtDevServer({
@@ -120,6 +119,10 @@ export async function initialize(devContext: NuxtDevContext, ctx: InitializeOpti
     console.debug(`Dev server (internal) initialized in ${Date.now() - start}ms`)
   }
 
+  if (profileArg) {
+    process.once('exit', () => stopCpuProfile(devContext.cwd))
+  }
+
   return {
     listener: devServer.listener,
     close: async () => {
@@ -128,9 +131,6 @@ export async function initialize(devContext: NuxtDevContext, ctx: InitializeOpti
         devServer.listener.close(),
         devServer.close(),
       ])
-      if (profileArg) {
-        await stopCpuProfile(devContext.cwd).catch(() => {})
-      }
     },
     onReady: (callback: (address: string) => void) => {
       if (address) {
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
index c284c431e..b9fda11e0 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 import type { Session } from 'node:inspector'
 import { mkdirSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
-import { mkdir, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises'
-import process from 'node:process'
 import { colors } from 'consola/utils'
 import { join } from 'pathe'
 import { logger } from './logger'
@@ -10,8 +8,7 @@ let session: Session | undefined
 let profileCount = 0
 
 export async function startCpuProfile(): Promise<void> {
-  // Adopt session started in bin/nuxi.mjs
-  const cli = globalThis.__nuxt_cli__ as typeof globalThis.__nuxt_cli__ & { cpuProfileSession?: import('node:inspector').Session }
+  const cli = globalThis.__nuxt_cli__ as Record<string, any> | undefined
   if (cli?.cpuProfileSession) {
     session = cli.cpuProfileSession
     delete cli.cpuProfileSession
@@ -26,38 +23,15 @@ export async function startCpuProfile(): Promise<void> {
         if (err) {
           rej(err)
         }
-        else { res() }
+        else {
+          res()
+        }
       })
     })
   })
 }
 
-export function stopCpuProfile(outDir: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
-  if (!session) {
-    return Promise.resolve(undefined)
-  }
-  const s = session
-  session = undefined
-  return new Promise((res, rej) => {
-    s.post('Profiler.stop', (err, { profile }) => {
-      if (err) {
-        return rej(err)
-      }
-      const outPath = join(outDir, `profile-${profileCount++}.cpuprofile`)
-      mkdir(outDir, { recursive: true })
-        .then(() => writeFile(outPath, JSON.stringify(profile)))
-        .then(() => {
-          logger.info(`CPU profile written to ${colors.cyan(outPath)}`)
-          logger.info(`Open it in ${colors.cyan('https://www.speedscope.app')} or Chrome DevTools`)
-          s.disconnect()
-          res(outPath)
-        })
-        .catch(rej)
-    })
-  })
-}
-
-function stopCpuProfileSync(outDir: string): string | undefined {
+export function stopCpuProfile(outDir: string): string | undefined {
   if (!session) {
     return
   }
@@ -80,20 +54,3 @@ function stopCpuProfileSync(outDir: string): string | undefined {
   })
   return outPath
 }
-
-/**
- * Install signal handlers that flush the CPU profile before exit.
- * Returns a cleanup function to remove the handlers.
- */
-export function installSignalHandlers(outDir: string): () => void {
-  const onSignal = (signal: NodeJS.Signals) => {
-    stopCpuProfileSync(outDir)
-    process.kill(process.pid, signal)
-  }
-  process.once('SIGINT', onSignal)
-  process.once('SIGTERM', onSignal)
-  return () => {
-    process.off('SIGINT', onSignal)
-    process.off('SIGTERM', onSignal)
-  }
-}

From 26b08e5a2a7d185212578836736e9dbbbd7cd8a6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Roe <daniel@roe.dev>
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:24:40 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 08/13] fix: handle session cleanup

---
 packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts | 117 +++++++++++++++-------------
 packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts  |  65 ++++++++++------
 packages/nuxt-cli/bin/nuxi.mjs      |  27 +++++--
 3 files changed, 124 insertions(+), 85 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
index bdf92dbaa..87798c551 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
@@ -46,76 +46,81 @@ export default defineCommand({
       await startCpuProfile()
     }
 
-    intro(colors.cyan('Building Nuxt for production...'))
+    try {
+      intro(colors.cyan('Building Nuxt for production...'))
 
-    const kit = await loadKit(cwd)
+      const kit = await loadKit(cwd)
 
-    await showVersions(cwd, kit, ctx.args.dotenv)
+      await showVersions(cwd, kit, ctx.args.dotenv)
 
-    const nuxt = await kit.loadNuxt({
-      cwd,
-      dotenv: {
+      const nuxt = await kit.loadNuxt({
         cwd,
-        fileName: ctx.args.dotenv,
-      },
-      envName: ctx.args.envName, // c12 will fall back to NODE_ENV
-      overrides: {
-        logLevel: ctx.args.logLevel as 'silent' | 'info' | 'verbose',
-        // TODO: remove in 3.8
-        _generate: ctx.args.prerender,
-        nitro: {
-          static: ctx.args.prerender,
-          preset: ctx.args.preset || process.env.NITRO_PRESET || process.env.SERVER_PRESET,
+        dotenv: {
+          cwd,
+          fileName: ctx.args.dotenv,
         },
-        ...(ctx.args.extends && { extends: ctx.args.extends }),
-        ...((perfValue || ctx.data?.overrides?.debug) && {
-          debug: {
-            ...ctx.data?.overrides?.debug,
-            ...(perfValue && { perf: perfValue }),
+        envName: ctx.args.envName, // c12 will fall back to NODE_ENV
+        overrides: {
+          logLevel: ctx.args.logLevel as 'silent' | 'info' | 'verbose',
+          // TODO: remove in 3.8
+          _generate: ctx.args.prerender,
+          nitro: {
+            static: ctx.args.prerender,
+            preset: ctx.args.preset || process.env.NITRO_PRESET || process.env.SERVER_PRESET,
           },
-        }),
-        ...ctx.data?.overrides,
-      },
-    })
-
-    let nitro: ReturnType<typeof kit.useNitro> | undefined
-    // In Bridge, if Nitro is not enabled, useNitro will throw an error
-    try {
-      // Use ? for backward compatibility for Nuxt <= RC.10
-      nitro = kit.useNitro?.()
-      if (nitro) {
-        logger.info(`Nitro preset: ${colors.cyan(nitro.options.preset)}`)
+          ...(ctx.args.extends && { extends: ctx.args.extends }),
+          ...ctx.data?.overrides,
+          ...((perfValue || ctx.data?.overrides?.debug) && {
+            debug: {
+              ...ctx.data?.overrides?.debug,
+              ...(perfValue && { perf: perfValue }),
+            },
+          }),
+        },
+      })
+
+      let nitro: ReturnType<typeof kit.useNitro> | undefined
+      // In Bridge, if Nitro is not enabled, useNitro will throw an error
+      try {
+        // Use ? for backward compatibility for Nuxt <= RC.10
+        nitro = kit.useNitro?.()
+        if (nitro) {
+          logger.info(`Nitro preset: ${colors.cyan(nitro.options.preset)}`)
+        }
+      }
+      catch {
+        //
       }
-    }
-    catch {
-      //
-    }
-
-    await clearBuildDir(nuxt.options.buildDir)
 
-    await kit.writeTypes(nuxt)
+      await clearBuildDir(nuxt.options.buildDir)
 
-    nuxt.hook('build:error', (err) => {
-      logger.error(`Nuxt build error: ${err}`)
-      process.exit(1)
-    })
+      await kit.writeTypes(nuxt)
 
-    await kit.buildNuxt(nuxt)
+      nuxt.hook('build:error', (err) => {
+        logger.error(`Nuxt build error: ${err}`)
+        process.exit(1)
+      })
 
-    stopCpuProfile(cwd)
+      await kit.buildNuxt(nuxt)
 
-    if (ctx.args.prerender) {
-      if (!nuxt.options.ssr) {
-        logger.warn(`HTML content not prerendered because ${colors.cyan('ssr: false')} was set.`)
-        logger.info(`You can read more in ${colors.cyan('https://nuxt.com/docs/getting-started/deployment#static-hosting')}.`)
+      if (ctx.args.prerender) {
+        if (!nuxt.options.ssr) {
+          logger.warn(`HTML content not prerendered because ${colors.cyan('ssr: false')} was set.`)
+          logger.info(`You can read more in ${colors.cyan('https://nuxt.com/docs/getting-started/deployment#static-hosting')}.`)
+        }
+        // TODO: revisit later if/when nuxt build --prerender will output hybrid
+        const dir = nitro?.options.output.publicDir
+        const publicDir = dir ? relative(process.cwd(), dir) : '.output/public'
+        outro(`✨ You can now deploy ${colors.cyan(publicDir)} to any static hosting!`)
+      }
+      else {
+        outro('✨ Build complete!')
       }
-      // TODO: revisit later if/when nuxt build --prerender will output hybrid
-      const dir = nitro?.options.output.publicDir
-      const publicDir = dir ? relative(process.cwd(), dir) : '.output/public'
-      outro(`✨ You can now deploy ${colors.cyan(publicDir)} to any static hosting!`)
     }
-    else {
-      outro('✨ Build complete!')
+    finally {
+      if (profileArg) {
+        await stopCpuProfile(cwd)
+      }
     }
   },
 })
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
index b9fda11e0..5ad826c02 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
@@ -17,40 +17,59 @@ export async function startCpuProfile(): Promise<void> {
   const inspector = await import('node:inspector')
   session = new inspector.Session()
   session.connect()
-  await new Promise<void>((res, rej) => {
-    session!.post('Profiler.enable', () => {
-      session!.post('Profiler.start', (err) => {
+  try {
+    await new Promise<void>((res, rej) => {
+      session!.post('Profiler.enable', (err) => {
         if (err) {
-          rej(err)
+          return rej(err)
         }
-        else {
+        session!.post('Profiler.start', (err) => {
+          if (err) {
+            return rej(err)
+          }
           res()
-        }
+        })
       })
     })
-  })
+  }
+  catch (err) {
+    session.disconnect()
+    session = undefined
+    throw err
+  }
 }
 
-export function stopCpuProfile(outDir: string): string | undefined {
+export async function stopCpuProfile(outDir: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
   if (!session) {
     return
   }
   const s = session
   session = undefined
-  let outPath: string | undefined
-  s.post('Profiler.stop', (_err, params) => {
-    if (_err || !params?.profile) {
-      return
-    }
-    outPath = join(outDir, `profile-${profileCount++}.cpuprofile`)
-    try {
-      mkdirSync(outDir, { recursive: true })
-      writeFileSync(outPath, JSON.stringify(params.profile))
-      logger.info(`CPU profile written to ${colors.cyan(outPath)}`)
-      logger.info(`Open it in ${colors.cyan('https://www.speedscope.app')} or Chrome DevTools`)
-    }
-    catch {}
+  const outPath = join(outDir, `profile-${profileCount++}.cpuprofile`)
+  try {
+    await new Promise<any>((resolve, reject) => {
+      s.post('Profiler.stop', (err, params) => {
+        if (err) {
+          return reject(err)
+        }
+
+        if (!params?.profile) {
+          return resolve(params)
+        }
+
+        try {
+          mkdirSync(outDir, { recursive: true })
+          writeFileSync(outPath, JSON.stringify(params.profile))
+          logger.info(`CPU profile written to ${colors.cyan(outPath)}`)
+          logger.info(`Open it in ${colors.cyan('https://www.speedscope.app')} or Chrome DevTools`)
+        }
+        catch {}
+
+        resolve(params)
+      })
+    })
+  }
+  finally {
     s.disconnect()
-  })
-  return outPath
+  }
 }
diff --git a/packages/nuxt-cli/bin/nuxi.mjs b/packages/nuxt-cli/bin/nuxi.mjs
index 259422031..7721e99cd 100755
--- a/packages/nuxt-cli/bin/nuxi.mjs
+++ b/packages/nuxt-cli/bin/nuxi.mjs
@@ -32,13 +32,28 @@ if (
 ) {
   const session = new inspector.Session()
   session.connect()
-  // eslint-disable-next-line antfu/no-top-level-await
-  await new Promise((resolve) => {
-    session.post('Profiler.enable', () => {
-      session.post('Profiler.start', resolve)
+
+  try {
+    // eslint-disable-next-line antfu/no-top-level-await
+    await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+      session.post('Profiler.enable', (err) => {
+        if (err) {
+          return reject(err)
+        }
+        session.post('Profiler.start', (err) => {
+          if (err) {
+            return reject(err)
+          }
+          resolve()
+        })
+      })
     })
-  })
-  globalThis.__nuxt_cli__.cpuProfileSession = session
+    globalThis.__nuxt_cli__.cpuProfileSession = session
+  }
+  catch (err) {
+    session.disconnect()
+    throw err
+  }
 }
 
 // eslint-disable-next-line antfu/no-top-level-await

From b6dc05320af6406b23d9f47e2aa343f72c22f3d7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Roe <daniel@roe.dev>
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:36:26 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 09/13] fix: improve types for `__nuxt_cli__`

---
 packages/nuxi/bin/nuxi.mjs         | 1 +
 packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts | 2 +-
 types.d.ts                         | 4 +++-
 3 files changed, 5 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/nuxi/bin/nuxi.mjs b/packages/nuxi/bin/nuxi.mjs
index 259422031..49df74bd9 100755
--- a/packages/nuxi/bin/nuxi.mjs
+++ b/packages/nuxi/bin/nuxi.mjs
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ globalThis.__nuxt_cli__ = {
   startTime: Date.now(),
   entry: fileURLToPath(import.meta.url),
   devEntry: fileURLToPath(new URL('../dist/dev/index.mjs', import.meta.url)),
+  cpuProfileSession: undefined,
 }
 
 if (
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
index 5ad826c02..d73159fe6 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ let session: Session | undefined
 let profileCount = 0
 
 export async function startCpuProfile(): Promise<void> {
-  const cli = globalThis.__nuxt_cli__ as Record<string, any> | undefined
+  const cli = globalThis.__nuxt_cli__
   if (cli?.cpuProfileSession) {
     session = cli.cpuProfileSession
     delete cli.cpuProfileSession
diff --git a/types.d.ts b/types.d.ts
index 6ac85db41..b88e543e1 100644
--- a/types.d.ts
+++ b/types.d.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import type { Session } from 'node:inspector'
+
 declare global {
   // eslint-disable-next-line vars-on-top
   var __nuxt_cli__:
@@ -6,7 +8,7 @@ declare global {
       entry: string
       devEntry?: string
       startTime: number
-      cpuProfileSession?: import('node:inspector').Session
+      cpuProfileSession?: Session
     }
 }
 

From 4acc72c7b821f38c4086b2d018a13bf71f51003e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Roe <daniel@roe.dev>
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:37:04 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 10/13] fix: stop cpu profile before calling process.exit

---
 packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts | 3 +++
 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+)

diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
index 87798c551..3ad1b172b 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
@@ -98,6 +98,9 @@ export default defineCommand({
 
       nuxt.hook('build:error', (err) => {
         logger.error(`Nuxt build error: ${err}`)
+        if (profileArg) {
+          stopCpuProfile(cwd)
+        }
         process.exit(1)
       })
 

From 0317fb95da5fda181665560ad700bb73ce18c34e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Roe <daniel@roe.dev>
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2026 10:55:50 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 11/13] fix: improve logging + await profiler when exiting
 intentionally

---
 packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts |  6 +++---
 packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts      |  2 +-
 packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts  | 13 ++++++++-----
 3 files changed, 12 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
index 3ad1b172b..818139d3f 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/build.ts
@@ -96,10 +96,10 @@ export default defineCommand({
 
       await kit.writeTypes(nuxt)
 
-      nuxt.hook('build:error', (err) => {
+      nuxt.hook('build:error', async (err) => {
         logger.error(`Nuxt build error: ${err}`)
         if (profileArg) {
-          stopCpuProfile(cwd)
+          await stopCpuProfile(cwd, 'build')
         }
         process.exit(1)
       })
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ export default defineCommand({
     }
     finally {
       if (profileArg) {
-        await stopCpuProfile(cwd)
+        await stopCpuProfile(cwd, 'build')
       }
     }
   },
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
index dbeb02279..5a2a183d9 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ export async function initialize(devContext: NuxtDevContext, ctx: InitializeOpti
   }
 
   if (profileArg) {
-    process.once('exit', () => stopCpuProfile(devContext.cwd))
+    process.once('exit', () => stopCpuProfile(devContext.cwd, 'dev'))
   }
 
   return {
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
index d73159fe6..d02e39cfd 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 import type { Session } from 'node:inspector'
 import { mkdirSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import process from 'node:process'
 import { colors } from 'consola/utils'
-import { join } from 'pathe'
+import { join, relative } from 'pathe'
 import { logger } from './logger'
 
 let session: Session | undefined
@@ -39,13 +40,15 @@ export async function startCpuProfile(): Promise<void> {
   }
 }
 
-export async function stopCpuProfile(outDir: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
+export async function stopCpuProfile(outDir: string, command: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
   if (!session) {
     return
   }
   const s = session
   session = undefined
-  const outPath = join(outDir, `profile-${profileCount++}.cpuprofile`)
+  const count = profileCount++
+  const outPath = join(outDir, `nuxt-${command}${count ? `-${count}` : ''}.cpuprofile`)
+  const relativeOutPath = relative(process.cwd(), outPath).replace(/^(?![^.]{1,2}\/)/, './')
   try {
     await new Promise<any>((resolve, reject) => {
       s.post('Profiler.stop', (err, params) => {
@@ -60,8 +63,8 @@ export async function stopCpuProfile(outDir: string): Promise<string | undefined
         try {
           mkdirSync(outDir, { recursive: true })
           writeFileSync(outPath, JSON.stringify(params.profile))
-          logger.info(`CPU profile written to ${colors.cyan(outPath)}`)
-          logger.info(`Open it in ${colors.cyan('https://www.speedscope.app')} or Chrome DevTools`)
+          logger.info(`CPU profile written to ${colors.cyan(relativeOutPath)}`)
+          logger.info(`Open it in a CPU profile viewer like ${colors.cyan('https://discoveryjs.github.io/cpupro')} or your IDE.`)
         }
         catch {}
 

From 63c2ddb396151958ee4d2406c5ad583f8b4c3fbd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Roe <daniel@roe.dev>
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2026 11:02:38 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 12/13] feat: use box

---
 packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts | 19 ++++++++++++++++---
 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
index d02e39cfd..a076948d1 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/utils/profile.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 import type { Session } from 'node:inspector'
 import { mkdirSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
 import process from 'node:process'
+import { box } from '@clack/prompts'
 import { colors } from 'consola/utils'
 import { join, relative } from 'pathe'
-import { logger } from './logger'
+import { themeColor } from './ascii'
 
 let session: Session | undefined
 let profileCount = 0
@@ -63,8 +64,20 @@ export async function stopCpuProfile(outDir: string, command: string): Promise<s
         try {
           mkdirSync(outDir, { recursive: true })
           writeFileSync(outPath, JSON.stringify(params.profile))
-          logger.info(`CPU profile written to ${colors.cyan(relativeOutPath)}`)
-          logger.info(`Open it in a CPU profile viewer like ${colors.cyan('https://discoveryjs.github.io/cpupro')} or your IDE.`)
+          const nextSteps = [
+            `CPU profile written to ${colors.cyan(relativeOutPath)}.`,
+            `Open it in a CPU profile viewer like your IDE, or ${colors.cyan('https://discoveryjs.github.io/cpupro')}.`,
+          ]
+          box(`\n${nextSteps.map(step => ` › ${step}`).join('\n')}\n`, '', {
+            contentAlign: 'left',
+            titleAlign: 'left',
+            width: 'auto',
+            titlePadding: 2,
+            contentPadding: 2,
+            rounded: true,
+            withGuide: false,
+            formatBorder: (text: string) => `${themeColor + text}\x1B[0m`,
+          })
         }
         catch {}
 

From 61d3b9390f680ab507b72e431e7542de40909052 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Daniel Roe <daniel@roe.dev>
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2026 11:22:42 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 13/13] fix: disable forking when profiling

---
 packages/nuxi/src/commands/dev.ts | 3 ++-
 packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts    | 9 ++++++++-
 2 files changed, 10 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/dev.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/dev.ts
index c8fe5db54..3a1518006 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/commands/dev.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/commands/dev.ts
@@ -85,7 +85,8 @@ const command = defineCommand({
       showBanner: true,
     })
 
-    if (!ctx.args.fork) {
+    // Disable forking when profiling to capture all activity in one process
+    if (!ctx.args.fork || ctx.args.profile) {
       return {
         listener,
         close,
diff --git a/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts b/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
index 5a2a183d9..c000c2fd0 100644
--- a/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
+++ b/packages/nuxi/src/dev/index.ts
@@ -120,7 +120,14 @@ export async function initialize(devContext: NuxtDevContext, ctx: InitializeOpti
   }
 
   if (profileArg) {
-    process.once('exit', () => stopCpuProfile(devContext.cwd, 'dev'))
+    for (const signal of [
+      'exit',
+      'SIGTERM' /* Graceful shutdown */,
+      'SIGINT' /* Ctrl-C */,
+      'SIGQUIT' /* Ctrl-\ */,
+    ] as const) {
+      process.once(signal, () => stopCpuProfile(devContext.cwd, 'dev'))
+    }
   }
 
   return {