🦁 Lynx

The Secure, Systemd-Native Process Manager for Linux

A lean, hardened alternative to PM2 and Supervisor — built directly on top of systemd.

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Why Lynx?

Feature	🦁 Lynx	🐢 PM2	🦖 Supervisor
Runtime	Compiled Go, native	Node.js (V8)	Python (interpreted)
Cold start	7.8 ms	366 ms	252 ms
Idle RSS	14.7 MB	66.7 MB	27.1 MB
RSS w/ 10 procs	22.8 MB	69.3 MB	27.3 MB
Daemon binary	7.2 MB	Node + deps	Python + libs
Supervisor	systemd	Custom daemon	supervisord
Crash resilience	Apps outlive the CLI	Apps die with PM2	Apps die with the daemon
Sandboxing	DynamicUser + landlock	User-space only	User-space only
Config	CLI flags or Lynxfile.yml	ecosystem.config.js	INI files

Numbers from scripts/bench running in CI on Ubuntu 24.04 (kernel 6.17). PM2 5.4.3, supervisord 4.2.5. Reproduce locally with docker build -f scripts/bench/Dockerfile -t lynx-bench . && docker run --rm lynx-bench.

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Quickstart

Install — .deb (recommended)

# Grab the latest .deb from https://github.com/Jaro-c/Lynx/releases
sudo apt install ./lynxpm_*_amd64.deb
sudo usermod -aG lynxadm "$USER" && newgrp lynxadm
sudo systemctl enable --now lynxd
sudo lynxpm install-tools   # optional: expose bun/node/go/… to the daemon

Install — prebuilt binary

gh release download --repo Jaro-c/Lynx --pattern 'lynxpm_linux_amd64'
install -m 0755 lynxpm_linux_amd64 ~/.local/bin/lynxpm

Run something

lynxpm start "node server.js" --name api --namespace prod --restart always
lynxpm list
lynxpm logs api --follow

Operate on a whole namespace

Every lifecycle command (stop, restart, reload, reset, delete, flush) accepts --namespace <ns> or the <ns>:* selector — no more xargs loops:

lynxpm restart --namespace prod    # roll the prod tier
lynxpm stop 'staging:*'            # halt everything in staging (quote the glob)
lynxpm delete --namespace old --purge

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The Zero-Privilege Deploy

One command spawns an API with no access to /home, no new privileges, and secrets delivered through systemd credentials instead of environment disk:

lynxpm start api.js \
    --name api \
    --isolation dynamic \
    --env-file .env.production

Secrets never appear in /proc/<pid>/environ, ps, or the on-disk spec.

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Documentation

📘 Full docs site: https://jaro-c.github.io/Lynx/ — searchable, with the landing page, quickstart, runtimes, tutorials, and every command's flag reference.

Topic	Link
Runtime recipes — Node / Bun / Python / Go / Rust / Ruby / JVM / …	docs/RUNTIMES.md
Tutorials — Next.js, FastAPI, Django, production hardening, Lynxfile	docs/TUTORIALS.md
Commands reference — start, list, apply, export, …	docs/commands/
FAQ — "Can I…?" / "Why does X fail?"	docs/FAQ.md
Architecture overview	ARCHITECTURE.md
Security model + threat model	SECURITY.md

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Access model

Mode	Socket	Use for
System (default with .deb)	/run/lynxd/lynx.sock (0660, group lynxadm)	Production
User	$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/lynx-<uid>/lynx.sock (0600)	Dev

System mode does not inherit the caller's env. User mode does. Launch user mode ad-hoc with lynxd &, or sudo lynxpm startup for boot persistence. Details in the FAQ.

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Troubleshooting

Symptom	Where to look
cannot reach the Lynx daemon	lynxd & (user) or sudo systemctl start lynxd (system)
Daemon won't start / unit errors	journalctl -u lynxd -f
--isolation dynamic rejected	Needs the system-mode daemon (polkit rule is shipped in the .deb)
Generic usage / naming / env issues	docs/FAQ.md

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Development

Lynx is Linux-only. Contributors on macOS/Windows should use a Linux VM or VS Code Remote-WSL.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full workflow and ARCHITECTURE.md for the internals.

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License

Apache License 2.0 — commercial use, modification, and distribution permitted. Patent grant included.