How to Monitor and Debug a Live Stack Without SSH for Everything

A deployment tutorial ends at “done.” A real operating workflow starts with questions like: Is the app healthy? Which container failed? What do the logs say? Can I restart one service without touching the whole stack?

This guide is about building a repeatable troubleshooting flow so SSH is no longer the first reflex for every issue.

Before you run the commands

If you do not have Stacker installed yet, the quickest path is the install script.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/trydirect/stacker/main/install.sh | bash

GitHub repository and installation steps

If you prefer to explore Stacker with Docker first, you can also pull the image:

docker pull trydirect/stacker:latest

If your workflow also uses Status Panel locally or on a target server, start here too.

curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/trydirect/status/master/install.sh | sh

GitHub repository and installation steps for Status Panel

docker pull trydirect/status:latest

What you need

• a stack already deployed with Stacker
• Status Panel agent installed or available on the target server
• at least one app name to inspect, such as openclaw or n8n
• access to stacker agent commands from your workstation

Step 1: Check the deployment snapshot

stacker agent status

Step 2: Check health for the affected app

stacker agent health --app openclawstacker agent health --app n8n

Step 3: Read logs before restarting anything

stacker agent logs openclaw --lines 200stacker agent logs n8n --lines 200status logs openclaw -n 100status logs n8n -n 100

Step 4: Restart only what is affected

stacker agent restart openclawstacker agent restart n8n

A good troubleshooting checklist

1. check status first
2. inspect health for the affected service
3. read logs before restarting
4. restart only the failing app if justified
5. re-run health and test one real workflow

Good next reads

If you need a starting deployment example, begin with the OpenClaw guide. If you need safer change management after debugging, continue to the configuration guide.