sdtop - systemd TUI Manager

A terminal-based interactive dashboard for managing and debugging systemd services on Linux.

✨ Features

Service Management

• 🔍 View all systemd services with color-coded status indicators
  • ● Green = Running
  • ✗ Red = Failed
  • ○ Gray = Stopped/Dead
• ⚡ Control services: start, stop, restart with visual feedback
• 🎯 Enable/disable services on boot
• 🔎 Filter services: all, running, failed

Real-time Monitoring

• 📊 Live log streaming from journald with priority highlighting
  • ✗ Red for errors
  • ⚠ Yellow for warnings
  • Auto-scrolling with timestamps
• 🌳 Process Tree View - See what's actually running!
  • Shows all processes for a service
  • Parent-child relationships
  • PIDs and command lines
  • Debug zombie processes
  • Understand CPU usage

User Experience

• 🎨 Context-aware help and guidance
• 💡 Intuitive empty states that explain what to do
• ⌨️ Keyboard-driven interface with vi-style shortcuts
• 🚀 Fast, responsive, built with Go and Bubble Tea

Requirements

• Linux with systemd
• journald enabled
• Go ≥ 1.21 (for building)

Installation

Package Managers

Arch Linux (AUR):

yay -S sdtop
# or
paru -S sdtop

Debian/Ubuntu (PPA):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:YashSaini99/sdtop
sudo apt update
sudo apt install sdtop

Fedora/RHEL (COPR):

sudo dnf copr enable YashSaini99/sdtop
sudo dnf install sdtop

Flatpak:

flatpak install flathub io.github.YashSaini99.sdtop
flatpak run io.github.YashSaini99.sdtop

Snap:

sudo snap install sdtop --classic

Homebrew (Linux):

brew install sdtop

Pre-built Binaries

One-line install (recommended):

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/YashSaini99/sdtop/main/install.sh | bash

Manual download:

# Download from GitHub releases
wget https://github.com/YashSaini99/sdtop/releases/latest/download/sdtop-linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar -xzf sdtop-linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo mv sdtop /usr/local/bin/

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/YashSaini99/sdtop.git
cd sdtop
go build -o sdtop ./cmd/main.go
sudo mv sdtop /usr/local/bin/

Run without installing

go run ./cmd/main.go

Usage

Launch the application:

sdtop

Keyboard Controls

Key	Action
↑ / k	Move selection up
↓ / j	Move selection down
Enter	Select service and view logs
Service Control
r	Restart selected service
s	Stop selected service
t	Start selected service
e	Enable service on boot
d	Disable service from boot
View Modes
p	Show process tree 🌳
l	Return to logs view
Filtering
f	Cycle filters (all → running → failed)
/	Search/filter services
1	Show all services
2	Show only running
3	Show only failed
Other
q	Quit application

Permissions

To view logs and control services, you may need appropriate permissions:

• Read logs: User must be in systemd-journal group or run as root
• Control services: Requires PolicyKit authorization or root access

Add user to journal group:

sudo usermod -a -G systemd-journal $USER

For service control without root, configure PolicyKit rules or use sudo:

sudo sdtop

Architecture

sdtop/
├── cmd/
│   └── main.go              # Application entry point
├── internal/
│   ├── systemd/
│   │   ├── services.go      # DBus service operations (start/stop/restart)
│   │   ├── logs.go          # Journald log streaming
│   │   └── processes.go     # Process tree from /proc filesystem
│   ├── ui/
│   │   └── model.go         # Bubble Tea UI (MVC pattern)
│   └── types/
│       └── models.go        # Data structures (Service, LogEntry, Process)
├── go.mod
└── README.md

How It Works

Service Control - Uses go-systemd/dbus to communicate with systemd:

• ListUnits() → fetches all services
• StartUnit(), StopUnit(), RestartUnit() → control services
• Real-time state updates

Log Streaming - Uses go-systemd/sdjournal to read logs:

• AddMatch() → filter by service name
• SeekTail() → start from recent logs
• Continuous polling for new entries

Process Tree - Reads /proc filesystem directly:

• Scans /proc/[pid]/cgroup → finds processes belonging to service
• Reads /proc/[pid]/stat → gets process name and parent PID
• Reads /proc/[pid]/cmdline → gets command line
• Builds parent-child tree structure

UI Framework - Bubble Tea (Elm Architecture):

• Model - Application state (services, logs, processes)
• Update - Handles events (keypresses, data updates)
• View - Renders UI from state

Key Components

Bubble Tea Pattern:

Init()      → Load initial data, start background tasks
Update(msg) → Handle events, return new state + commands
View()      → Render current state to terminal

Concurrency:

• Log ticker runs every 500ms (when viewing logs)
• Context cancellation prevents memory leaks
• Background goroutines for data fetching

Use Cases

Debug a failing service:

1. Press 3 to show only failed services
2. Select the service, view error logs
3. Press p to see if processes are stuck
4. Press r to restart

Monitor system services:

1. Press 2 to show running services
2. Select a service to watch live logs
3. See real-time activity

Understand what's running:

1. Select any service
2. Press p to see process tree
3. Identify child processes and their relationships

Control boot services:

1. Select a service
2. Press e to enable on boot
3. Press d to disable from boot

Dependencies

• Bubble Tea - TUI framework
• Bubbles - TUI components
• Lipgloss - Styling
• go-systemd - systemd integration

License

LICENSE