skills/service-manage/SKILL.md
Manage services in Kurtosis enclaves. Add, inspect, stop, start, remove, update services. View logs, shell into containers, and execute commands. Use when you need to interact with running services.
npx skillsauth add kurtosis-tech/kurtosis service-manageInstall this skill globally with one command. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.
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Manage services running inside Kurtosis enclaves.
# Services are shown in enclave inspect output
kurtosis enclave inspect <enclave-name>
# View logs
kurtosis service logs <enclave-name> <service-name>
# Follow logs in real time
kurtosis service logs <enclave-name> <service-name> -f
# Show all logs (not just recent)
kurtosis service logs <enclave-name> <service-name> -a
# Get an interactive shell
kurtosis service shell <enclave-name> <service-name>
# Execute a single command
kurtosis service exec <enclave-name> <service-name> -- ls -la /data
# Execute with pipes (wrap in sh -c)
kurtosis service exec <enclave-name> <service-name> -- sh -c "cat /etc/hosts | grep localhost"
kurtosis service inspect <enclave-name> <service-name>
Shows detailed info including ports, status, and container ID.
# Stop a service (keeps it in the enclave, just stops the container)
kurtosis service stop <enclave-name> <service-name>
# Restart a stopped service
kurtosis service start <enclave-name> <service-name>
kurtosis service rm <enclave-name> <service-name>
kurtosis service add <enclave-name> <service-name> <image>
kurtosis service update <enclave-name> <service-name>
Always confirm stop/start/rm succeeded:
# Check service state changed as expected
kurtosis enclave inspect <enclave-name>
# For start: verify the service responds
kurtosis service exec <enclave-name> <service-name> -- wget -qO- http://localhost:8080/health
# HTTP health check
kurtosis service exec <enclave-name> <service-name> -- wget -qO- http://localhost:8080/health
# Check process is running
kurtosis service exec <enclave-name> <service-name> -- ps aux
# Check listening ports
kurtosis service exec <enclave-name> <service-name> -- netstat -tlnp
# Check recent logs
kurtosis service logs <enclave-name> <service-name>
# Check all logs from the start
kurtosis service logs <enclave-name> <service-name> -a
# Inspect for error status
kurtosis service inspect <enclave-name> <service-name>
Use file artifacts in Starlark:
# Store files from one service
artifact = plan.store_service_files(service_name="source-svc", src="/data/output", name="shared-data")
# Mount in another service
plan.add_service(name="dest-svc", config=ServiceConfig(
image="my-image",
files={"/input": artifact},
))
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---------|-------|-----|
| Service won't start | Port conflict or image issue | Check logs with kurtosis service logs, verify image exists |
| Exec command hangs | Container has no shell | Use a base image with shell or exec -- /bin/sh -c "command" |
| Logs show no output | Service crashed immediately | Use kurtosis service logs -a to see full history |
| Service not listed | Wrong enclave | Run kurtosis enclave ls and kurtosis enclave inspect to find it |
| Stop has no effect | Service already stopped | Check status with kurtosis enclave inspect first |
development
Develop and debug Kurtosis Starlark packages. Create packages from scratch, understand the plan-based execution model, use print() debugging, handle future references, and test packages locally. Use when writing or troubleshooting .star files.
content-media
Run Starlark scripts and packages with kurtosis run. Covers all flags including dry-run, args-file, parallel execution, image download modes, verbosity levels, and production mode. Use when executing Kurtosis packages locally or from GitHub.
testing
Manage Kurtosis Portal for remote context access. Start, stop, and check status of the Portal daemon that enables communication with remote Kurtosis servers. Use when working with remote Kurtosis contexts.
testing
View and manage port mappings for Kurtosis services. Check which local ports map to service ports and troubleshoot connectivity. Use when services aren't reachable or you need to find the right port.