Overview

Running EdgeFlow as a systemd service ensures it starts automatically on boot and restarts if it crashes. This is the recommended approach for bare-metal installations on Raspberry Pi and other Linux systems.

Installation

First, install EdgeFlow using the install script which auto-detects your platform:

curl -fsSL https://edgx.cloud/install.sh | sudo bash

# Verify installation
edgeflow --version

Create Service User

Create a dedicated user for running EdgeFlow:

# Create edgeflow user
sudo useradd -r -s /bin/false edgeflow

# Create data directory
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/edgeflow
sudo chown edgeflow:edgeflow /var/lib/edgeflow

# Create config directory
sudo mkdir -p /etc/edgeflow
sudo chown edgeflow:edgeflow /etc/edgeflow

Create Systemd Unit File

Create the service file at /etc/systemd/system/edgeflow.service:

[Unit]
Description=EdgeFlow IoT Automation Platform
Documentation=https://edgx.cloud/docs
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=edgeflow
Group=edgeflow

# Working directory
WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/edgeflow

# Environment
Environment=EDGEFLOW_SERVER_PORT=8080
Environment=EDGEFLOW_DATABASE_PATH=/var/lib/edgeflow/edgeflow.db
Environment=EDGEFLOW_LOGGER_LEVEL=info

# Execute
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/edgeflow serve
ExecReload=/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID

# Restart on failure
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

# Resource limits
MemoryMax=256M
CPUQuota=80%

# Security
NoNewPrivileges=true
ProtectSystem=strict
ProtectHome=true
ReadWritePaths=/var/lib/edgeflow

# Logging
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal
SyslogIdentifier=edgeflow

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

GPIO Access

For GPIO access on Raspberry Pi, add the user to the gpio group:

# Add edgeflow user to gpio group
sudo usermod -a -G gpio edgeflow

# Update the service file to allow device access
# Add under [Service]:
SupplementaryGroups=gpio i2c spi

Enable and Start

# Reload systemd
sudo systemctl daemon-reload

# Enable service (start on boot)
sudo systemctl enable edgeflow

# Start the service
sudo systemctl start edgeflow

# Check status
sudo systemctl status edgeflow

Managing the Service

Command	Description
`sudo systemctl start edgeflow`	Start EdgeFlow
`sudo systemctl stop edgeflow`	Stop EdgeFlow
`sudo systemctl restart edgeflow`	Restart EdgeFlow
`sudo systemctl status edgeflow`	Check status
`sudo systemctl enable edgeflow`	Enable auto-start
`sudo systemctl disable edgeflow`	Disable auto-start

Viewing Logs

# View recent logs
sudo journalctl -u edgeflow -n 50

# Follow logs in real-time
sudo journalctl -u edgeflow -f

# View logs from today
sudo journalctl -u edgeflow --since today

# View logs with errors only
sudo journalctl -u edgeflow -p err

Configuration File

Create a configuration file at /etc/edgeflow/config.yaml:

# /etc/edgeflow/config.yaml
server:
  port: 8080
  host: 0.0.0.0

database:
  path: /var/lib/edgeflow/edgeflow.db

logger:
  level: info
  format: json

auth:
  enabled: false

modules:
  network: true
  gpio: true
  messaging: true
  database: true

Update the service to use the config:

ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/edgeflow serve --config /etc/edgeflow/config.yaml

Automatic Updates

Create a timer for automatic updates:

# /etc/systemd/system/edgeflow-update.timer
[Unit]
Description=EdgeFlow Update Timer

[Timer]
OnCalendar=weekly
Persistent=true

[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target

# /etc/systemd/system/edgeflow-update.service
[Unit]
Description=Update EdgeFlow

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/edgeflow update
ExecStartPost=/bin/systemctl restart edgeflow