# go-serviceman A cross-platform service manager. Because debugging launchctl, systemd, etc absolutely sucks! ...and I wanted a reasonable way to install [Telebit](https://telebit.io) on Windows. (see more in the **Why** section below) ## Features - Unprivileged (User Mode) Services - [x] Linux (`sytemctl --user`) - [x] MacOS (`launchctl`) - [x] Windows (`HKEY_CURRENT_USER/.../Run`) - Privileged (System) Services - [x] Linux (`sudo sytemctl`) - [x] MacOS (`sudo launchctl`) - [ ] Windows (_not yet implemented_) # Table of Contents - Usage - Install - Examples - compiled programs - scripts - bash - node - python - ruby - Logging - Debugging - Windows - Building - Why - Legal # Usage The basic pattern of usage, and what that might look like: ``` serviceman add [options] [interpreter] -- [service options] ``` ``` serviceman add foo.exe ``` ``` serviceman add --title "Foo App" node ./foo.js -- --bar ``` You can also view the help and the version: ``` serviceman add --help ``` ``` serviceman version ``` # Install There are a number of pre-built binaries. If none of them work for you, or you prefer to build from source, see the instructions for building far down below. ## Downloads ### MacOS MacOS (darwin): [64-bit Download ](https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/darwin/amd64/serviceman) ``` curl https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/darwin/amd64/serviceman -o serviceman ``` ### Windows
See download options Windows 10: [64-bit Download](https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/windows/amd64/serviceman.exe) ``` powershell.exe $ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue'; Invoke-WebRequest https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/windows/amd64/serviceman.exe -OutFile serviceman.exe ``` **Debug version**: ``` powershell.exe $ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue'; Invoke-WebRequest https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/windows/amd64/serviceman.debug.exe -OutFile serviceman.debug.exe ``` Windows 7: [32-bit Download](https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/windows/386/serviceman.exe) ``` powershell.exe "(New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadFile('https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/windows/386/serviceman.exe', 'serviceman.exe')" ``` **Debug version**: ``` powershell.exe "(New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadFile('https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/windows/386/serviceman.debug.exe', 'serviceman.debug.exe')" ```
### Linux
See download options Linux (64-bit): [Download](https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/linux/amd64/serviceman) ``` curl https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/linux/amd64/serviceman -o serviceman ``` Linux (32-bit): [Download](https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/linux/386/serviceman) ``` curl https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/linux/386/serviceman -o serviceman ```
### Raspberry Pi (Linux ARM)
See download options RPi 4 (64-bit armv8): [Download](https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/linux/armv8/serviceman) ``` curl https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/linux/armv8/serviceman -o serviceman` ``` RPi 3 (armv7): [Download](https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/linux/armv7/serviceman) ``` curl https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/linux/armv7/serviceman -o serviceman ``` ARMv6: [Download](https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/linux/armv6/serviceman) ``` curl https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/linux/armv6/serviceman -o serviceman ``` RPi Zero (armv5): [Download](https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/linux/armv5/serviceman) ``` curl https://rootprojects.org/serviceman/dist/linux/armv5/serviceman -o serviceman ```
### Add to PATH **Windows** ``` mkdir %userprofile%\bin reg add HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Environment /v PATH /d "%PATH%;%userprofile%\bin" move serviceman.exe %userprofile%\bin\serviceman.exe ``` **All Others** ``` chmod a+x ./serviceman sudo mv ./serviceman /usr/local/bin/ ``` # Examples > **serviceman add** <program> **--** <program options>
Compiled Programs Normally you might your program somewhat like this: ``` dinglehopper --port 8421 ``` Adding a service for that program with `serviceman` would look like this: > **serviceman add** dinglehopper **--** --port 8421 serviceman will find dinglehopper in your PATH.
Using with scripts Although your text script may be executable, you'll need to specify the interpreter in order for `serviceman` to configure the service correctly. For example, if you had a bash script that you normally ran like this: ``` ./snarfblat.sh --port 8421 ``` You'd create a system service for it like this: > serviceman add **bash** ./snarfblat.sh **--** --port 8421 `serviceman` will resolve `./snarfblat.sh` correctly because it comes before the **--**. **Background Information** An operating system can't "run" text files (even if the executable bit is set). Scripts require an _interpreter_. Often this is denoted at the top of "executable" scripts with something like one of these: ``` #!/usr/bin/env ruby ``` ```bash #!/usr/bin/python ``` However, sometimes people get fancy and pass arguments to the interpreter, like this: ```bash #!/usr/local/bin/node --harmony --inspect ```
Using with node.js If normally you run your node script something like this: ```bash node ./demo.js --foo bar --baz ``` Then you would add it as a system service like this: > **serviceman add** node ./demo.js **--** --foo bar --baz It is important that you specify `node ./demo.js` and not just `./demo.js` See **Using with scripts** for more detailed information.
Using with python If normally you run your python script something like this: ```bash python ./demo.py --foo bar --baz ``` Then you would add it as a system service like this: > **serviceman add** python ./demo.py **--** --foo bar --baz It is important that you specify `python ./demo.py` and not just `./demo.py` See **Using with scripts** for more detailed information.
Using with ruby If normally you run your ruby script something like this: ```bash ruby ./demo.rb --foo bar --baz ``` Then you would add it as a system service like this: > **serviceman add** ruby ./demo.rb **--** --foo bar --baz It is important that you specify `ruby ./demo.rb` and not just `./demo.rb` See **Using with scripts** for more detailed information.
## Relative vs Absolute Paths Although serviceman can expand the executable's path, if you have any arguments with relative paths you should switch to using absolute paths. ``` dinglehopper --config ./conf.json ``` ``` serviceman add dinglehopper -- --config /Users/me/dinglehopper/conf.json ``` # Logging ### Linux ```bash sudo journalctl -xef --unit ``` ### Mac, Windows When you run `serviceman add` it will either give you an error or will print out the location where logs will be found. By default it's one of these: ```txt ~/.local/share//var/log/.log ``` ```txt /opt//var/log/.log ``` You set it with one of these: - `--logdir ` (cli) - `"logdir": ""` (json) - `Logdir: ""` (go) If anything about the logging sucks, tell me... unless they're your logs (which they probably are), in which case _you_ should fix them. That said, my goal is that it shouldn't take an IT genius to interpret why your app failed to start. # Debugging One of the most irritating problems with all of these launchers is that they're terrible to debug - it's often difficult to find the logs, and nearly impossible to interpret them, if they exist at all. The config files generate by `serviceman` are simple, template-generated and tested, and therefore gauranteed to work - **_if_** your application runs with the parameters given, which is big 'if'. `serviceman` tries to make sure that all necessary files and folders exist and give clear error messages if they don't (be sure to check the logs, mentioned above). There's also a `run` utility that can be used to test that the parameters you've given are being interpreted correctly (absolute paths and such). ```bash serviceman run --config ./conf.json ``` Where `conf.json` looks something like **For Binaries**: ```json { "title": "Demo", "exec": "/Users/me/go-demo/demo", "argv": ["--foo", "bar", "--baz", "qux"] } ``` **For Scripts**: Scripts can't be run directly. They require a binary `interpreter` - bash, node, ruby, python, etc. If you're running from the folder containing `./demo.js`, and `node.exe` is in your PATH, then you can use executable names and relative paths. ```json { "title": "Demo", "interpreter": "node.exe", "exec": "./bin/demo.js", "argv": ["--foo", "bar", "--baz", "qux"] } ``` That's equivalent to this: ```json { "title": "Demo", "name": "demo", "exec": "node.exe", "argv": ["./bin/demo.js", "--foo", "bar", "--baz", "qux"] } ``` Making `add` and `run` take the exact same arguments is on the TODO list. The fact that they don't is an artifact of `run` being created specifically for Windows. If you have gripes about it, tell me. It shouldn't suck. That's the goal anyway. ## Peculiarities of Windows # Console vs No Console Windows binaries can be built either for the console or the GUI. When they're built for the console they can hide themselves when they start. They must open up a terminal window. When they're built for the GUI they can't print any output - even if they're started in the terminal. This is why there's a **Debug version** for the windows binaries - so that you can get your arguments correct with the one and then switch to the other. There's probably a clever way to work around this, but I don't know what it is yet. # No userspace launcher Windows doesn't have a userspace daemon launcher. This means that if your application crashes, it won't automatically restart. However, `serviceman` handles this by not directly adding your application to `HKEY_CURRENT_USER/.../Run`, but rather installing a copy of _itself_ instead, which runs your application and automatically restarts it whenever it exits. If the application fails to start `serviceman` will retry continually, but it does have an exponential backoff of up to 1 minute between failed restart attempts. See the bit on `serviceman run` in the **Debugging** section up above for more information. # Building ```bash git clone https://git.coolaj86.com/coolaj86/go-serviceman.git ``` ```bash pushd ./go-serviceman ``` ```bash go generate -mod=vendor ./... ``` **Windows**: ```bash go build -mod=vendor -ldflags "-H=windowsgui" -o serviceman.exe ``` **Linux, MacOS**: ```bash go build -mod=vendor -o /usr/local/bin/serviceman ``` # Why I created this for two reasons: 1. Too often I just run services in `screen -xRS foo` because systemd `.service` files are way too hard to get right and even harder to debug. I make stupid typos or config mistakes and get it wrong. Then I get a notice 18 months later from digital ocean that NYC region 3 is being rebooted and to expect 5 seconds of downtime... and I don't remember if I remembered to go back and set up that service with systemd or not. 2. To make it easier for people to install [Telebit](https://telebit.io) on Windows. # Legal [serviceman](https://git.coolaj86.com/coolaj86/go-serviceman) | MPL-2.0 | [Terms of Use](https://therootcompany.com/legal/#terms) | [Privacy Policy](https://therootcompany.com/legal/#privacy) Copyright 2019 AJ ONeal.