Managing the Agent

The agent runs as a user-level systemd service that starts automatically on login and persists across reboots.

Checking Status

systemctl --user status vdo-agent

This shows whether the agent is running, its uptime, and recent log output.

Viewing Logs

Follow live logs:

journalctl --user -u vdo-agent -f

View recent logs:

journalctl --user -u vdo-agent --since "1 hour ago"

The installer also writes the agent process output to:

tail -200 /tmp/vdo-agent-systemd.log

Use this file when journalctl --user only shows systemd wrapper messages.

Restarting

systemctl --user restart vdo-agent

A restart takes a few seconds. Any active sessions will be disconnected and the machine briefly shows as offline before reconnecting.

Stopping

systemctl --user stop vdo-agent

The machine will show as offline in the dashboard. It will not restart until you start it manually or reboot.

Running Manually

For debugging, you can run the agent in the foreground:

# Stop the service first
systemctl --user stop vdo-agent

# Run manually
vdo-remote-agent --foreground

This prints all log output directly to the terminal. Press Ctrl+C to stop. Remember to restart the service afterwards:

systemctl --user start vdo-agent

Auto-Start Behaviour

The agent service is configured to:

• Start on login -- the service starts when a desktop session begins
• Restart on failure -- if the agent crashes, systemd restarts it automatically
• Persist across reboots -- lingering is enabled so the service runs even without an interactive login

Session Security

When a remote session ends:

• The screen locks automatically for security
• The desktop session remains active (applications continue running)
• The agent continues running and is ready for the next connection