traycli

traycli

A cross-platform system tray app that runs a configurable command and keeps it alive. Stdout and stderr are captured to files; if the process exits, it restarts after 5 seconds.

Features

• Cross-platform: Windows, macOS, Linux
• Simple config: JSON config at ~/.traycli/config.json
• Auto-restart: Waits 5 seconds after exit, then restarts
• Output capture: stdout → ~/.traycli/stdout.txt, stderr → ~/.traycli/stderr.txt
• Tray menu: Right-click to see uptime and restart count; quit from the menu

Installation

Build from source

Requires Go 1.25+ and CGO (for systray and dialog).

git clone https://github.com/yankeguo/traycli.git
cd traycli
go build -o traycli .

Windows (hide console window):

go build -ldflags "-H=windowsgui" -o traycli.exe .

Linux dependencies

For systray and native dialogs:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install gcc libgtk-3-dev libayatana-appindicator3-dev

# Fedora
sudo dnf install gtk3-devel libappindicator-gtk3-devel

macOS

Pack as an app bundle to run without a visible Dock icon. Minimal structure:

traycli.app/
  Contents/
    Info.plist
    MacOS/
      traycli

Example Info.plist snippet:

<key>LSUIElement</key>
<true/>
<key>NSHighResolutionCapable</key>
<true/>

Configuration

Create ~/.traycli/config.json:

{
  "cmd": ["python3", "-m", "http.server", "8080"],
  "env": {
    "CUSTOM_VAR": "value"
  }
}

• cmd: Array of strings; first element is the program, rest are arguments. Executed directly (no shell).
• env: Optional key-value object. Merged into the process environment; overrides existing variables.

If config.json is missing, traycli shows an error dialog, creates an empty template, opens it for editing, and exits.

Usage

1. Put your command in ~/.traycli/config.json under the cmd key
2. Run traycli (or traycli.exe on Windows)
3. Check the system tray for the traycli icon
4. Right-click the icon:
   • See uptime and restart count
   • Choose Quit to exit

Output files:

• ~/.traycli/stdout.txt — stdout
• ~/.traycli/stderr.txt — stderr

Logs are appended across restarts.

Platform notes