Running as a Service

Running Astonish as a background service is the standard way to operate it. The daemon is the foundation that powers all Astonish interfaces — it serves the Studio web UI, listens on communication channels (Telegram, Email), runs scheduled tasks, and manages fleet sessions.

Install and Start the Service

astonish daemon install
astonish daemon start

This creates a launchd service on macOS or a systemd service on Linux, then starts it immediately. The service is configured to start automatically on boot.

Management Commands

astonish daemon start      # Start the service
astonish daemon stop       # Stop the service
astonish daemon restart    # Restart the service
astonish daemon status     # Check if the service is running
astonish daemon uninstall  # Remove the service entirely

Viewing Logs

astonish daemon logs          # Print recent logs
astonish daemon logs -f       # Follow logs in real time
astonish daemon logs -n 100   # Show the last 100 lines

Studio Access

When the daemon is running, Studio is available at http://localhost:9393 by default. To use a different port:

astonish daemon install --port 8080
astonish daemon start

Authentication

Studio has built-in authentication enabled by default when running as a daemon. This protects access to your sessions, credentials, and tools. If you are running on a trusted local network and prefer to skip auth, it can be disabled in the configuration file.

What the Daemon Powers

• Studio — The web UI at http://localhost:9393 for chat, flow design, fleet management, and settings.
• CLI Chat — astonish chat connects to the daemon for session management and tool execution.
• Scheduling — Define recurring tasks with astonish scheduler. The daemon executes them on time.
• Channels — Connect Telegram and Email with astonish channels. The daemon listens for incoming messages and responds.
• Fleet sessions — Run multi-agent teams that coordinate on complex tasks.

Running in Foreground

For debugging, you can run the daemon process in the foreground instead of as a system service:

astonish daemon run

This runs the same daemon code but keeps it attached to your terminal, making it easier to see output and interrupt with Ctrl+C.