GitHub - sderosiaux/launchdeck: Unified macOS service console for launchd and Homebrew

The missing service dashboard for macOS.

Launchdeck gives launchd jobs and Homebrew services one fast, readable control surface: status, schedules, plist metadata, logs, and guarded actions without spelunking through launchctl, brew services, and scattered plist files.

It is built for real developer machines, where background work lives across ~/Library/LaunchAgents, /Library/LaunchDaemons, Apple-managed jobs, vendor helpers, and Homebrew formulas. Launchdeck keeps the noisy system universe available when you need it, but starts with the services you are most likely to care about.

Why Launchdeck?

macOS service management is powerful, but the day-to-day experience is fragmented:

• launchctl knows runtime state, but its output is dense and domain-oriented.
• Plist files explain schedules, logs, RunAtLoad, and KeepAlive, but they are spread across multiple directories.
• brew services is convenient, but only sees the Homebrew side of the world.
• A stopped process might actually be a scheduled job waiting for its next run.
• Killing a process is not the same thing as unloading a launchd job.

Launchdeck brings those pieces together and adds the safety rails you want before changing anything. It shows the command before it runs, blocks risky system/vendor actions, preserves selection by service identity across refreshes, and makes logs and schedules visible where you make decisions.

Install

Install the latest macOS release binary:

brew install sderosiaux/tap/launchdeck

Without Homebrew:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sderosiaux/launchdeck/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

The installer writes to ~/.local/bin by default. Override it with:

BIN_DIR=/usr/local/bin sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sderosiaux/launchdeck/main/scripts/install.sh)"

Install from source with Cargo:

Install from the GitHub repository:

cargo install --git https://github.com/sderosiaux/launchdeck

Or build locally:

git clone https://github.com/sderosiaux/launchdeck.git
cd launchdeck
cargo build --release
./target/release/launchdeck

Usage

Print inventory without opening the TUI:

launchdeck list uses the same default visibility as the TUI and hides Apple/system services. Print the full discovered inventory with:

Features

• One service list for launchd jobs and Homebrew services.
• Runtime state from launchctl, enriched with Homebrew metadata and parsed plist configuration.
• A distinct scheduled state for loaded jobs that are not running now but will wake up later.
• Compact schedule summaries such as 5min, 1h, 00:00, and Sun 09:00.
• Type-to-search, source/status filters, warnings-only view, Apple/system toggle, and practical sorting.
• Detail modal for status, scope, safety level, command, plist path, schedule, logs, and health warnings.
• Scrollable stdout/stderr log view from configured StandardOutPath and StandardErrorPath.
• Confirmed actions for start, stop, restart/load, enable/disable, RunAtLoad, edit plist, and delete plist.
• User LaunchAgent creation for common plist fields without hand-writing XML.
• Background refresh that keeps the selected service stable by identity, not row index.

Status Model

Launchdeck separates states that can otherwise look the same in launchctl output:

For scheduled jobs, stop uses launchctl bootout so the job is actually unloaded and will not wake up on the next schedule.

Keybindings

Overview

Actions show the exact command before execution. Press y/Enter to confirm or n/Esc to cancel.

Detail

Logs

The log view opens at the end of the selected stream and keeps a scrollback window from the latest 500 lines.

Safety

Launchdeck is conservative by default:

• Homebrew services are managed through brew services.
• User-owned launchd jobs are managed through launchctl.
• Services under /System/Library are inspect-only.
• Admin-required services are blocked until sudo handling is implemented.
• Vendor/runtime services are blocked unless they can be classified safely.
• Destructive actions, including delete, always require confirmation.

Create Form

The create form writes user LaunchAgents only, under ~/Library/LaunchAgents.

It supports common plist fields: label, program arguments, working directory, stdout/stderr paths, environment variables, RunAtLoad, KeepAlive, StartInterval, optional bootstrap, and optional start.

Arguments and environment values accept shell-style quotes, so values like --name "hello world" are preserved correctly.

Requirements

• macOS
• Homebrew optional, for brew services support
• Rust toolchain only when installing from source

Test Fixture

The repository includes a fake user agent plist for local discovery testing:

cp fixtures/com.sderosiaux.launchdeck.fake.plist ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
cargo run -- --list | rg launchdeck.fake

The fixture is not loaded or started by that command. Remove it with:

rm ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.sderosiaux.launchdeck.fake.plist

Development

scripts/lint.sh
cargo run
cargo run -- --list

Release

Releases are built from tags:

git tag v0.1.0
git push origin v0.1.0

The release workflow builds macOS archives for Apple Silicon and Intel, publishes checksums, and updates the GitHub release assets.

Project Status

Launchdeck is early software. It is already useful for inventory, inspection, filtering, navigable logs, guarded lifecycle actions, and creating user LaunchAgents. Sudo-backed admin actions are not implemented yet.