Install on Bare-Metal Linux
ChannelWatch v1.5.3 does not publish a standalone Linux package, bare-metal release artifact, or supported systemd installer. The supported Linux deployment is the ChannelWatch container. Use Install with Docker Compose for a normal host or Kubernetes + Helm for a Kubernetes environment.
Why a one-process service does not work
Section titled “Why a one-process service does not work”The released container runs more than python -m core.main:
- The container entrypoint prepares and validates
/config, applies bootstrap settings, selects the active application bundle, and drops privileges. - Supervisor starts the monitoring core and the FastAPI UI backend as separate managed processes.
- The UI backend serves a compiled static frontend produced during the container build.
- The runtime launcher coordinates in-app updates and restarts both processes against the same selected application bundle.
Running python -m core.main directly starts only the monitoring core. It does not start the web UI on port 8501, supply the built frontend, or reproduce the container’s update and restart controls.
Run on a Linux host
Section titled “Run on a Linux host”Docker Compose still runs directly on your Linux host while preserving the supported ChannelWatch runtime:
- Install Docker Engine and the Compose plugin.
- Follow Install with Docker Compose.
- Mount a persistent host directory at
/config. - Open
http://your-linux-host:8501and complete First-Run Configuration.
The container uses host networking in the primary Linux example, so it can reach Channels DVR services on your LAN without maintaining a separate bare-metal package.
Source development
Section titled “Source development”A source checkout can run individual core diagnostic flags from the repository’s app directory with the packaged module name core.main. That is a development and troubleshooting path, not a complete installation. See CLI Commands for supported commands inside the running container.