*Watchdog is now called Sheepdog. Find it at [sheepdog.dannyhope.co.uk](https://sheepdog.dannyhope.co.uk).*
Today I'm releasing Watchdog, a small Mac menu bar app that keeps your apps and local services alive. It checks that they're not just running but actually responding, and if one isn't, it restarts it.
## Why I built it
I'd set a bot to keep an eye on how Bionic was getting on with a long task. Partway through, the monitoring fell apart. The bot decided the Grok Bot server was down, when really the app just wasn't responding properly. Nothing was there to notice the difference and give it a nudge. What I wanted was something small and boring that asks "are you actually responding?" and, if the answer's no, restarts it.
## What it does
Watchdog sits in the menu bar as a little dog. You give it a list of apps and project services, each with its own switch. It checks them regularly, relaunches anything that has quit or frozen, and turns orange while it's fixing something. It turns red when something needs you, and the menu tells you exactly what's wrong.
## Not a new idea, and that's fine
Process supervisors have been around for decades. If you live in ops tooling, you already have options. Watchdog is for people who know their way around a machine but don't want to write unit files or babysit config just to keep a local site and a few apps up. A big part of its value is the experience: a clear list, sensible defaults, and honest messages when it can't help.
## Try it
Watchdog is out today – grab it at [watchdog.dannyhope.co.uk](https://watchdog.dannyhope.co.uk). If you follow what I make, this is one to know about. There's a short summary on its [project page](/projects/watchdog/), alongside everything else on my [projects page](/projects/).