Manage services and logs

After connecting, the Setup Tool refreshes the controller's complete Docker container list approximately once per second.

Container overview

Each row shows:

• Service or container name.
• Current Docker state.
• Human-readable status.
• Start or Stop.
• Console for logs.
• Delete when removal is allowed.

The list may include containers unrelated to BFC because it reads all Docker containers from the target.

Start and stop

Use Stop before deleting a container. BFC Console images declare SIGINT as their Docker stop signal, allowing the runtime to request script shutdown and execute the Lua Teardown() function.

Use Start to restart an existing stopped container with its original configuration and mounted workspace.

Console containers use the unless-stopped restart policy. A container deliberately stopped by the operator remains stopped until it is started again.

View logs

Select Console for a container. The log window can:

• Show a chosen number of recent lines.
• Follow new output.
• Include Docker timestamps.
• Pause display without stopping the container.

Check logs after every first start. Useful messages include Gateway database migration, Node-RED module loading, Lua startup errors, connection failures, and device communication errors.

Delete a container

The Setup Tool enables Delete only when the container is in a removable stopped state.

For BFC Console containers, deletion also removes the corresponding remote directory:

~/.bfc/containers/CONTAINER_NAME

That directory contains the uploaded automation workspace. Copy anything you need before deletion.

Deleting MariaDB, Node-RED, Gateway, or phpMyAdmin containers does not remove their named volumes through the Setup Tool. This preserves database and Node-RED data when the service container is recreated.

Updating a release

A safe preview update sequence is:

1. Back up MariaDB and important Node-RED flows.
2. Stop BFC Console automations.
3. Upload the new BFC images.
4. Stop and delete the old Gateway container.
5. Run Setup gateway to recreate it.
6. Re-upload scripts when their runtime image or workspace changed.
7. Check all service logs and health endpoints.

The current Setup Tool does not perform version comparison, migration planning, or automated backup.