---
title: Process Management
description: Manage CowAgent process lifecycle with cow commands
---

Process management commands control the CowAgent background process. These commands are only available in the terminal.

## start

Start the CowAgent service. Runs as a background daemon by default and automatically tails logs.

```bash
cow start
```

**Options:**

| Option | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `-f`, `--foreground` | Run in foreground, not as a background daemon |
| `--no-logs` | Don't tail logs after starting |

## stop

Stop the running CowAgent service.

```bash
cow stop
```

## restart

Restart the CowAgent service (stop then start).

```bash
cow restart
```

**Options:**

| Option | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `--no-logs` | Don't tail logs after restart |

## update

Update code and restart the service. Automatically performs:

1. Pull latest code (`git pull`)
2. Stop current service
3. Update Python dependencies
4. Reinstall CLI
5. Start service

```bash
cow update
```

<Warning>
  If `git pull` fails (e.g., uncommitted local changes), the update aborts and the service remains unaffected.
</Warning>

## status

Check CowAgent service status, including process info, version, and current model/channel configuration.

```bash
cow status
```

## logs

View service logs.

```bash
cow logs
```

**Options:**

| Option | Description | Default |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `-f`, `--follow` | Continuously tail log output | No |
| `-n`, `--lines` | Show last N lines | 50 |

Examples:

```bash
# View last 100 lines
cow logs -n 100

# Continuously tail logs
cow logs -f
```

## install-browser

Install Playwright and Chromium browser for the [browser tool](/tools/browser).

```bash
cow install-browser
```

<Tip>
  Only needed when using browser tools (web browsing, screenshots, etc.).
</Tip>

## run.sh Compatibility

If Cow CLI is not installed, you can use `run.sh` to manage the service:

| cow command | run.sh equivalent |
| --- | --- |
| `cow start` | `./run.sh start` |
| `cow stop` | `./run.sh stop` |
| `cow restart` | `./run.sh restart` |
| `cow update` | `./run.sh update` |
| `cow status` | `./run.sh status` |
| `cow logs` | `./run.sh logs` |

<Note>
  The `cow` command is recommended — it provides cleaner syntax and richer features. It is automatically installed via the one-click install script.
</Note>
