Supervisor
Supervisor is a free client/server system for monitoring and controlling processes on UNIX-like operating systems. It can start processes, report their status, and restart them after a crash. Administrators configure process behavior in an INI-style file, including restart settings and automatic log rotation. Processes can be assigned priorities and grouped for coordinated start or stop operations. Control options include a command-line client, an optional browser interface, and an XML-RPC interface. When its HTTP server is enabled, the browser interface can show and control process status; authentication can be required for commands over UNIX-domain or TCP sockets. Supervisor also provides event notifications usable by programs written in any language and extension points for Python developers. It can be installed with pip or from a downloaded distribution, including on systems without internet access. The project is intended for processes related to a project or customer, not as a replacement for init as process ID 1. It is tested on Linux, macOS, Solaris, and FreeBSD, and does not run under Windows.
Who it is for
Supervisor is aimed at system administrators managing project- or customer-related processes on UNIX-like systems. It can suit users who want process controls through command-line, browser, or XML-RPC interfaces.
What is good
- Restarts processes after crashes
- Groups processes for coordinated start and stop
- Offers command-line, browser, and XML-RPC controls
- Can be installed without internet access
- Event notifications support programs written in any language
What to know first
- Does not run under Windows
- Not intended to replace init as process ID 1
- Configuration files may contain unencrypted credentials
- Arbitrary configured paths can create vulnerabilities
Verdict
Supervisor provides process control, restart handling, and several management interfaces for UNIX-like systems. Protect its configuration files and follow its runtime security guidance.
Compared on process monitoring software
- Free plan
- Yes
- Supported platforms
- Linux, macOS, self-hosted Unix-like systems, web interface, XML-RPC API
- Remote monitoring
- Yes
- Process alerting
- Yes
- Process controls
- Yes
- Activity logs
- Yes
