service

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title: Run as a service type: guide

Run as a service

mind-map can install itself as a system service so it starts at boot and stays running. One command on every supported OS.

Install

sudo mind-map service install
sudo mind-map service start

On Windows (admin PowerShell):

mind-map service install
mind-map service start

What that does

OS	Service system	Where
Linux	systemd	/etc/systemd/system/mind-map.service
macOS	launchd	/Library/LaunchDaemons/mind-map.plist
Windows	Windows Services	Registered as mind-map
FreeBSD	rc.d	/usr/local/etc/rc.d/mind-map

Backed by the kardianos/service library — same install command, same behavior, on every OS.

Configuration

The service runs mind-map serve with whatever flags you supplied to service install. Common pattern:

sudo mind-map service install --addr 127.0.0.1:4242 --dir /home/you/.mind-map/wiki
sudo mind-map service start

To change flags after install, uninstall and reinstall:

sudo mind-map service stop
sudo mind-map service uninstall
sudo mind-map service install --addr 127.0.0.1:8080
sudo mind-map service start

Status and logs

mind-map service status
journalctl -u mind-map -f      # Linux
log stream --process mind-map  # macOS

mind-map also writes to ~/.mind-map/mind-map.log regardless.

Uninstall

sudo mind-map service stop
sudo mind-map service uninstall

Your wiki at ~/.mind-map/wiki is untouched — uninstalling the service removes only the service registration. See guides/install#uninstalling to remove the binary or wipe data.

When to use a service vs ad-hoc

• Service. You use mind-map daily, want it always reachable at http://localhost:4242, and want an agents/index to use it via MCP without you launching anything.
• Ad-hoc mind-map serve. You only want it running while editing.

Both modes use the same binary and the same guides/out-of-the-box.

See also

• guides/install
• guides/platforms
• guides/out-of-the-box