Background service

baba install registers /usr/local/bin/baba start as a service that starts on its own and restarts on crash. It needs /var/lib/baba/config.json, so run baba setup first.

baba setup     # configure
baba install   # register and start
baba logs -f   # follow the output

Run baba install again after changing its binary or to repair the service: it rewrites the definition and restarts it. After editing config.json, baba restart is enough.

macOS: launchd

A LaunchAgent at ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.orochibraru.baba.plist, loaded with launchctl load -w. It runs as your user, starts at login (RunAtLoad) and is restarted whenever it exits (KeepAlive). baba restart runs launchctl kickstart -k gui/<uid>/com.orochibraru.baba.

Linux: systemd

baba tries a system service first: it copies the unit to /etc/systemd/system/baba.service with sudo (asking for your password if needed), then daemon-reload, enable and restart. It starts at boot, runs as root, and restarts 5 seconds after a crash.

sudo systemctl status baba

Without sudo, it falls back to a user service in ~/.config/systemd/user/baba.service (systemctl --user), which only runs while you're logged in. To keep it running after you log out:

loginctl enable-linger "$USER"

Logs

Both service managers append baba's output to /var/lib/baba/baba.log: one JSON object per line, since the output isn't a terminal.

baba logs            # last 100 lines, readable
baba logs -n 500
baba logs -f         # then follow new lines, like tail -f

baba logs turns each line into 2026-09-23 21:01:19.155 [INFO] message key=value (times in UTC) and passes anything else through, including the older pino lines from the TypeScript baba. Running baba start in a terminal prints readable key=value lines instead of JSON. Raise the detail with logLevel: "debug": it logs every reading and breach count.

The log file isn't rotated; truncate it whenever (baba logs -f picks up from the start again).

Removing it

baba uninstall           # stop and unregister, keep /var/lib/baba
baba uninstall --purge   # also delete /var/lib/baba: config, incidents, logs

The binary stays in /usr/local/bin; delete it yourself.