Process Managers

A process manager is a system utility that manages processes on the server. It is responsible for starting, stopping, and restarting game servers, monitoring their status, collecting statistics, and limiting resources (CPU / RAM). By default, systemd is used on Linux, and Shawl on Windows.

Configuration

The process manager is configured in the GameAP Daemon configuration file.

Basic Structure

process_manager:
  name: <manager_name>
  config:
    <key>: <value>

Available managers:

Linux: systemd (default), docker, podman, tmux
Windows: shawl (default), winsw

Linux

Systemd

Used by default on Linux. It is a modern process manager that provides high performance and reliability. Isolation capabilities for this process manager are limited.

Feature
Start, stop, restart servers	✅
Statistics	⚠️
Resource limits (CPU / RAM)	✅
Console reading	✅
Sending commands to console	✅
Isolation	⚠️ Limited

Systemd Configuration

Systemd does not require additional configuration. The Daemon automatically creates and manages unit files.

Configuration Example

process_manager:
  name: systemd

Docker

Docker is used to isolate game servers in containers. Use Docker if you plan to use Pterodactyl Eggs or Pelican Eggs.

Feature
Start, stop, restart servers	✅
Statistics	⚠️
Resource limits (CPU / RAM)	✅
Console reading	✅
Sending commands to console	✅
Isolation	✅

Docker Configuration

Configuration Examples

Minimal:

process_manager:
  name: docker

Podman

Podman is an alternative to Docker that provides isolation of game servers in containers. You can also use Podman if you plan to use Pterodactyl Eggs or Pelican Eggs.

Feature
Start, stop, restart servers	✅
Statistics	⚠️
Resource limits (CPU / RAM)	✅
Console reading	✅
Sending commands to console	✅
Isolation	✅

Podman Configuration

Podman uses the same parameters as Docker, plus a specific parameter for connecting to the API.

Specific Parameters

Config Key	Description	Default
`socket_path`	Path to Podman unix socket	`unix:///run/user/{UID}/podman/podman.sock` (rootless)

Configuration Examples

Rootless (default):

process_manager:
  name: podman

Rootful:

process_manager:
  name: podman
  config:
    socket_path: "unix:///run/podman/podman.sock"

Tmux

Tmux is a terminal multiplexer. It is currently a deprecated process manager in GameAP, which is not recommended for use as it does not provide full functionality.

Tmux can be used on older systems, as well as inside containers (LXC, Docker/Podman, etc.), virtual systems, and systems that do not have Systemd and/or cannot use Docker or Podman.

Feature
Start, stop, restart servers	✅
Statistics	⚠️
Resource limits (CPU / RAM)	❌
Console reading	✅
Sending commands to console	✅
Isolation	❌

Tmux Configuration

Tmux does not require additional configuration.

Configuration Example

process_manager:
  name: tmux

Windows

Shawl

Shawl is a lightweight process manager for Windows that provides basic functionality for managing game servers. It is written in Rust and uses the Windows API to run applications as Windows services.

Feature
Start, stop, restart servers	✅
Statistics	⚠️
Resource limits (CPU / RAM)	❌
Console reading	✅
Sending commands to console	❌
Isolation	❌

Shawl Configuration

Shawl does not require additional configuration.

Operation Details

Parameter	Value
Configuration directory	`C:\gameap\services`
Stop timeout	10000 ms
Log rotation	Daily
Log retention	7 days

Configuration Example

process_manager:
  name: shawl

WinSW

WinSW (Windows Service Wrapper) is a process manager written in C#. It allows running applications as Windows services. In GameAP, it is a deprecated manager and has been replaced by Shawl.

Feature
Start, stop, restart servers	✅
Statistics	⚠️
Resource limits (CPU / RAM)	❌
Console reading	✅
Sending commands to console	❌
Isolation	❌

WinSW Configuration

WinSW does not require additional configuration.

Operation Details

Parameter	Value
Configuration directory	`C:\gameap\services`
Configuration format	XML

Configuration Example

process_manager:
  name: winsw