supervisor
A system for controlling process state under UNIX
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you are running UNIX-based production systems and need reliable process supervision without external dependencies. Supervisor is a proven, stable tool with no runtime dependencies and a permissive license. The aging maintenance status (356 days since last release) is not a blocker for stable deployments, but do not expect rapid feature additions or quick responses to new platform issues. Not suitable for Windows environments.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Supervisor only runs on UNIX-like operating systems (Linux, macOS, Solaris, FreeBSD).
- It will not run on Windows.
- Requires Python 2.7 or Python 3.4 or later.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — Licensed under a BSD-derived license (permissive), which allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions. No notable licensing constraints for typical deployment scenarios.
last release 2025-08-23 (356 days) · last repo commit 2025-12-21 · 9,102 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 13,194,638 downloads/mo, #1,293 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install supervisor
# After installation, configure supervisord.conf and start the daemon:
supervisord -c /etc/supervisor/supervisord.conf
# Use supervisorctl to manage processes:
supervisorctl start program_name
supervisorctl stop program_name
supervisorctl restart program_name- Whether the package's web UI and XML-RPC interface are suitable for your security model and network topology.
- Performance characteristics when managing hundreds or thousands of processes simultaneously.
- Integration requirements with container orchestration systems or systemd on modern Linux distributions.
What it is and what it does
Supervisor is a long-established process control system for UNIX environments that runs as a daemon to monitor and manage child processes. It provides both a command-line interface (supervisorctl) and a web-based dashboard for starting, stopping, restarting, and monitoring processes. The system logs process output, tracks process state changes, and can automatically restart failed processes based on configured exit codes.
The package has no runtime dependencies and installs as a pure Python wheel, making it lightweight to deploy. It supports both Python 2.7 and Python 3.4 and later, though recent versions (3.8+) no longer require setuptools at runtime. The codebase is stable and production-ready, with a long history of bug fixes and platform compatibility improvements, though development has slowed in recent years.
Use it for
- Keep long-running application servers (Django, Flask, etc.) alive and automatically restart them if they crash.
- Manage multiple background worker processes (Celery, RQ) and coordinate their lifecycle from a single control point.
- Monitor and control system daemons and custom services across a fleet of servers using the XML-RPC API.
- Aggregate logs from multiple processes into centralized files or syslog for easier debugging and auditing.
- Run scheduled or event-driven tasks with automatic restart and state tracking in production environments.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you are running UNIX-based production systems and need reliable process supervision without external dependencies.
Supervisor is a proven, stable tool with no runtime dependencies and a permissive license. The aging maintenance status (356 days since last release) is not a blocker for stable deployments, but do not expect rapid feature additions or quick responses to new platform issues. Not suitable for Windows environments.
Install
supervisor on PyPI
Before you install
Low installation friction with no runtime dependencies. Maintenance status is aging—last release was 356 days ago—but the repository remains active with recent commits and the package is marked Production/Stable. Suitable for long-running deployments where stability matters more than rapid feature iteration.
Supervisor only runs on UNIX-like operating systems (Linux, macOS, Solaris, FreeBSD). It will not run on Windows. Requires Python 2.7 or Python 3.4 or later. On Python versions before 3.8, setuptools must be installed separately.
License in practice
Licensed under a BSD-derived license (permissive), which allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions. No notable licensing constraints for typical deployment scenarios.
Quickstart
pip install supervisor
# After installation, configure supervisord.conf and start the daemon:
supervisord -c /etc/supervisor/supervisord.conf
# Use supervisorctl to manage processes:
supervisorctl start program_name
supervisorctl stop program_name
supervisorctl restart program_nameVerify before relying
- Whether the package's web UI and XML-RPC interface are suitable for your security model and network topology.
- Performance characteristics when managing hundreds or thousands of processes simultaneously.
- Integration requirements with container orchestration systems or systemd on modern Linux distributions.
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Aging 356 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 13,194,638 / month, #1,293 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableEnvironment :: No Input/Output (Daemon)Intended Audience :: System AdministratorsNatural Language :: EnglishOperating System :: POSIXProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 2Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.4Programming Language :: Python :: 3.5Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: System :: BootTopic :: System :: MonitoringTopic :: System :: Systems Administration |
Evidence: supervisor-4.3.0-py2.py3-none-any.whl
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