Managing PC2

Complete guide to managing your PC2 installation - starting, stopping, updating, and monitoring.

Process Management

PC2 runs as a background process. Commands depend on your installation method.

PM2 (Local Install)

Used for local installations via start-local.sh:

pm2 status          # Check status
pm2 logs pc2        # View logs
pm2 stop pc2        # Stop server
pm2 start pc2       # Start server
pm2 restart pc2     # Restart server
pm2 monit           # Monitor dashboard

Systemd (VPS)

Used for VPS deployments:

systemctl status pc2-node         # Check status
journalctl -u pc2-node -f         # View logs (live)
sudo systemctl stop pc2-node      # Stop server
sudo systemctl start pc2-node     # Start server
sudo systemctl restart pc2-node   # Restart server
sudo systemctl enable pc2-node    # Enable on boot

Desktop App

The desktop app provides a GUI:

• Click Start to start the server
• Click Stop to stop the server
• Status indicator shows current state (green/red/yellow)
• View logs in the Logs panel

Updating PC2

Via UI (Recommended)

1. Open PC2 in your browser
2. Go to Settings → Updates
3. Click “Check for Updates”
4. If available, click “Install Update”
5. Wait for automatic restart

Via Terminal (PM2)

cd ~/pc2.net
git pull origin main
npm install --legacy-peer-deps --include=dev
npm run build
pm2 restart pc2

Via Terminal (Systemd)

cd ~/pc2.net
git pull origin main
npm install --legacy-peer-deps --include=dev
npm run build
sudo systemctl restart pc2-node

Health Check

PC2 provides a health endpoint:

curl http://localhost:4200/health

Returns:

{
  "status": "ok",
  "version": "0.1.1",
  "uptime": 3600
}

Backup & Restore

Create Backup

Via UI: Settings → Storage → Backups → Create Backup

Via Terminal:

cd ~/pc2.net
tar -czvf backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz data/

Restore Backup

pm2 stop pc2
cd ~/pc2.net
rm -rf data/
tar -xzvf backup-YYYYMMDD.tar.gz
pm2 start pc2

Configuration

Config file location: ~/pc2.net/pc2-node/config/config.json

Common Settings

{
  "port": 4200,
  "owner": "0x...",
  "ipfs": {
    "mode": "hybrid"
  }
}

Change Port

1. Edit config.json
2. Change "port": 4200 to desired port
3. Restart PC2

Lock to Specific Wallet

Set an owner to restrict access:

1. Edit config.json
2. Add "owner": "0xYourWalletAddress"
3. Restart PC2

Monitoring

Resource Usage

# PM2 dashboard
pm2 monit
 
# System resources
htop

Disk Usage

# PC2 data size
du -sh ~/pc2.net/data
 
# Available space
df -h

Logs

Clear Logs

# PM2
pm2 flush pc2
 
# Systemd
sudo journalctl --vacuum-time=7d

Troubleshooting

PC2 Won’t Start

1. Check logs: pm2 logs pc2
2. Check port: lsof -i :4200
3. Check Node version: node --version (need v20+)

High CPU Usage

1. Check for AI processing
2. Check for indexing tasks
3. View processes: htop

Out of Disk Space

1. Empty trash in PC2 UI
2. Remove old backups
3. Clear logs: pm2 flush