How do I start services in a Flox environment?

Use the command 'flox activate --start-services' or the shorthand 'flox activate -s' to initialize all background processes defined in your manifest.

Do services automatically inherit environment hooks?

No, service commands run in a clean shell. You must explicitly source virtual environments or activation scripts within the service command definition.

How do I ensure a service waits for a database to be ready?

You can use a 'until' loop in the service command to check for connectivity (e.g., using pg_isready) before executing the main application process.

Can I run multiple databases like Postgres and Redis simultaneously?

Yes, Flox allows you to define multiple services in your configuration. This skill provides specific patterns to manage their ports and dependencies to avoid conflicts.

Where are service logs stored for debugging?

Following the recommended patterns, service output is piped to '$FLOX_ENV_CACHE/logs/'. You can view them using the 'flox services logs ' command.

Flox Services Manager

Name: Flox Services Manager
Author: flox

byflox

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Deployment & DevOps

Manages background processes, database services, and network configurations within isolated Flox environments.

About

This skill empowers Claude to configure, start, and manage background services such as PostgreSQL, Redis, and web servers directly within Flox-managed environments. It provides standardized patterns for network service configuration, automated logging to persistent cache, and service dependency management, ensuring that local development environments are reproducible, isolated, and production-ready. By automating the boilerplate of service orchestration, it allows developers to spin up complex multi-service stacks with a single activation command.

Key Features

Ready-to-use patterns for PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB, and various web frameworks
Dependency sequencing and health check implementations for multi-service architectures
Configurable network settings using environment variables for host and port flexibility
3 GitHub stars
Standardized service lifecycle management including start, stop, restart, and status tracking
Isolated service logging and data persistence within the Flox environment cache

Use Cases

Debugging complex background process failures using integrated logging and status checks
Defining reproducible environment requirements for collaborative projects and CI/CD pipelines
Orchestrating a full local development stack with databases and APIs in a single command

About

Key Features

Ready-to-use patterns for PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB, and various web frameworks
Dependency sequencing and health check implementations for multi-service architectures
Configurable network settings using environment variables for host and port flexibility
3 GitHub stars
Standardized service lifecycle management including start, stop, restart, and status tracking
Isolated service logging and data persistence within the Flox environment cache

Use Cases

Debugging complex background process failures using integrated logging and status checks
Defining reproducible environment requirements for collaborative projects and CI/CD pipelines
Orchestrating a full local development stack with databases and APIs in a single command