@rupertsworld/daemon

Install, uninstall, and check background daemons on macOS (launchd) and Linux (systemd).

Supported platforms

• macOS — LaunchAgents via launchctl
• Linux — systemd user units via systemctl --user

Other platforms throw a clear error.

Install

npm install @rupertsworld/daemon

Usage

import { Daemon } from "@rupertsworld/daemon";

const daemon = new Daemon({
  name: "com.example.myapp",
  description: "My background service",
  command: "/usr/local/bin/myapp",
  args: ["--serve"],
  env: { NODE_ENV: "production" }, // optional
});

// Register and start the daemon
await daemon.install();

// Check if it's running
const { installed, running } = await daemon.status();

// Stop and remove the daemon
await daemon.uninstall();

API

new Daemon(options)

| Option | Type | Required | Description | | ------------- | -------------------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------ | | name | string | yes | Service identifier | | description | string | yes | Human-readable description | | command | string | yes | Absolute path to the executable | | args | string[] | yes | Arguments passed to the command | | env | Record<string, string> | no | Environment variables for the daemon |

daemon.install(): Promise<void>

Writes the platform service file and registers it. Idempotent — if the service is already installed, it unloads/disables first, then re-registers.

daemon.uninstall(): Promise<void>

Stops the service and removes the service file. Safe to call when the service is not installed.

daemon.status(): Promise<{ installed: boolean; running: boolean }>

Returns whether the service file exists and whether the daemon process is currently running.