daemon.conf.asciidoc

// -*- text -*-

daemon.conf(5)
==============
David Caldwell <david@porkrind.org>

NAME
----
daemon.conf - Daemon configuration file for Daemon Manager

SYNOPSIS
--------
  # Example conf file:
  start=exec ./daemon --flags  # Line will be interpretted by /bin/sh
  dir=/some/working/dir        # working dir        default: /
  user=nobody                  # Who to run as      default: the user
  output=log                   # "log" or "discard" default: discard
  autostart=no                 # "yes" or "no"      default: yes
  export VAR=value             # Set env variable "VAR" to "value"

DESCRIPTION
-----------
This manual page describes the config files for daemons controlled by
'daemon-manager(1)'. The config files are loaded out of the user's home
directory: *'~/.daemon-manager/daemons'*. Root's config files are loaded from
*'/etc/daemon-manager/daemons'*. Only files with the suffix ``.conf'' will be
loaded.

The config files must not be world writable and must be owned by the user
whose home directory they are in.

Each config file describes a single daemon.

FILE FORMAT
-----------
The config file is a plain text file. The general format is

  option = value

White space is stripped from around options and values.

Comments are stripped from lines before they are parsed. A comment starts with
a "#" and continues to the end of a line.

Blank lines are ignored.

Environment variables for the process can be set with the 'export' keyword:

  export env_var = value

This resembles 'bash' but is not. In particular, quotes are not interpreted
in the config file, so don't put quotes around 'value' unless you want
literal quote characters in your environment variable.

There are three default environment variables: 'HOME', 'LOGNAME', and
'PATH'. Variables with the same name in the config file will override the
defaults.

CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
---------------------

*start*::

  This is the line that will be fed to /bin/sh in order to start the
  daemon. This option is required. The daemon is required to stay in the
  foreground. If it tries to daemonize then 'daemon-manager(1)' will think it
  has exited prematurely and will attempt to restart it. It is also a good idea
  to use _sh_'s 'exec' built-in to jettison the shell while launching the
  daemon.

*dir*::

  This option specifies the working directory. The daemon will be started from
  this directory. If the 'dir' option is not specified it defaults to ``/''.

*user*::

  Use this option to specify which user the daemon should be run as. By default
  users are only allowed to start daemons as themselves. The system
  administrator can allow a user to run as another user by adding to the
  'can_run_as' section of the 'daemon-manager.conf(5)' file. The 'HOME'
  environment variable in the daemon's process will default to the specified
  user's home directory, and 'LOGNAME' will default to the specified user's
  login name.

*output*::

  This option controls whether stdout and stderr from the daemon should be
  logged or discarded.
  +
  The valid values for this option are ``log'' or ``discard'', with
  ``discard'' being the default if the option is not specified.
  +
  If the daemons have been configured with the 'output' option set to ``log''
  then their stdout and stderr will be redirected to a log file in
  ``~/.daemon-manager/log/_<daemon>_.log'' where ``__<daemon>__'' is the basename of the
  .conf file.

*autostart*::

  If this option is ``yes'' or left unspecified then the daemon will be started
  automatically when 'daemon-manager(5)' itself is started.
  +
  If this option is ``no'' then it will only be started by _dmctl(1)_'s
  ``start'' command.

SEE ALSO
--------
'daemon-manager(1)', 'daemon-manager.conf(5)', 'dmctl(1)'