linux-service-triage

What This Skill Does

The linux-service-triage skill is a specialized diagnostic utility designed to troubleshoot common deployment and runtime failures in Linux-based server environments. It acts as a bridge between raw system diagnostics—such as systemd unit logs, PM2 process lists, and Nginx reverse proxy configurations—and actionable remediation steps. By analyzing log files, process statuses, and filesystem permissions, the skill helps developers identify why an application might be crashing, unreachable, or suffering from configuration drifts. It is built to assist in the lifecycle management of web services, ensuring they are properly proxied, listening on the correct ports, and maintaining appropriate filesystem access rights.

Installation

To integrate this skill into your OpenClaw agent, execute the following command in your terminal: clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/kowl64/linux-service-triage

Use Cases

This skill is ideal for DevOps engineers and developers who manage Linux applications. Use it when:

• An application returns a 502 Bad Gateway or 504 Gateway Timeout on your Nginx server.
• A service fails to start after a reboot and you need to debug the systemd unit file.
• An app cannot write to its storage directory due to permission misconfigurations (e.g., "Permission denied").
• You need to confirm that an application is actually binding to the expected network port before debugging network traffic.
• You are setting up a new service and want to ensure the configuration complies with standard Linux production best practices.

Example Prompts

1. "My web app is returning a 502 error; here is the output of systemctl status myapp and the last 20 lines of the nginx error log. Can you analyze the root cause?"
2. "The service is failing with a 'Permission denied' error when trying to write to /var/www/uploads. What is the safest way to correct the ownership and permissions?"
3. "I have a Node.js script that needs to stay running. Can you help me generate a systemd unit file and explain how to enable it so it starts on boot?"

Tips & Limitations

• Safety First: The skill operates in a read-only manner by default. It analyzes the diagnostic information you provide. It will never execute destructive commands without your explicit review and confirmation. Always prefer using nginx -t to validate configuration syntax before applying reloads.
• Scope: This tool is not intended for kernel-level debugging, memory dumping, or complex performance profiling. It focuses on the application layer and service-level management. Ensure you have the necessary sudo privileges if you request the skill to generate fix commands, as many service operations require administrative access.