OpsDeck

OpsDeck is a small, btop-inspired terminal dashboard for personal Linux servers, AI-agent heartbeats, and lightweight workflows. One native Go binary provides both the TUI and remote metrics probe; there is no web server or metrics database.

Layout

• AI agents: heartbeat cards read from ~/.local/state/opsdeck/agents/*.json.
• Servers: local or SSH CPU, memory, disk, network, container health, sites, and small history graphs.
• Sites: configured container-name patterns place each site beneath every host currently running it. Moving containers moves the site on the next refresh.
• Workflows: a persistent to-do queue plus live host-migration states derived from container placement.

The layout switches from the sketch's two-column composition to stacked panels on smaller terminals. It follows btop's dense boxes, restrained theme, keyboard focus, and low-overhead native collection without copying btop source.

Structural lines use console-safe square box characters, with solid usage bars and high-contrast colors that remain readable on a physical Linux console. Color remains 24-bit when the terminal supports it.

Controls

Key	Action
tab / shift-tab	Change panel
j / k, arrows	Move selection
space	Toggle selected workflow
a	Add a workflow
q	Quit

Agent heartbeat contract

An agent writes one JSON file atomically into the configured agents directory:

{
  "id": "research-1",
  "name": "Research agent",
  "status": "running",
  "task": "Reviewing provider prices",
  "model": "gpt-5",
  "pid": 1234,
  "updated_at": "2026-08-22T14:00:00Z"
}

Heartbeats older than 90 seconds are displayed as stale. The future agent runner can use this contract without coupling the TUI to a particular AI framework.

Requirements

• Linux on the dashboard host and metric-probe hosts
• Go 1.24 or newer to build
• OpenSSH client for remote probes
• Docker is optional; container health appears when the current user can run docker ps

Install on Ubuntu

git clone https://github.com/0utsights/opsdeck.git
cd opsdeck
./install.sh
opsdeck

The installer creates a private user configuration at ~/.config/opsdeck/config.json. Edit that file to define local and SSH hosts, site health checks, container matching, and migrations. Runtime state stays under ~/.local/state/opsdeck and is never committed. Site names, URLs, container patterns, SSH addresses, usernames, and migration plans belong only in this private configuration; the repository ships generic examples.

Rotate independent TUIs

opsdeck-carousel keeps independent terminal applications running in separate tmux windows and rotates the session between them. Edit the private configuration at ~/.config/opsdeck/carousel.conf:

interval_seconds=20
session_name=opsdeck
window=opsdeck|opsdeck
window=system-monitor|btop
window=project-tui|your-project-command

Then enable the user service:

systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now opsdeck-carousel.service

The carousel operates above the applications, so each TUI remains an independent process with its own keyboard handling and screen state. Add another window= line to extend the rotation.

Site placement and migration states

Each sites entry maps one logical site to one or more container-name fragments. Each optional migrations entry names a source and target server ID. OpsDeck derives SOURCE ONLY, MIRRORED, MOVED, or MISSING directly from live Docker probes; there is no second placement database to keep synchronized.

Remote probes

Install the same binary on each remote Linux server:

sudo install -m 755 ~/.local/bin/opsdeck /usr/local/bin/opsdeck
/usr/local/bin/opsdeck --probe

Use a dedicated SSH key restricted to the probe command. A suitable authorized_keys prefix is:

restrict,command="sudo -n /usr/local/bin/opsdeck --probe"

OpsDeck invokes probes on demand and does not leave an agent daemon running.

Development

go test ./...
go build -trimpath -ldflags="-s -w" -o opsdeck .
./opsdeck --config ./config.example.json --snapshot 140x42