Use this guide when you want coding-mcp to run continuously and restart automatically after host reboots or process failures.

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Prerequisites

  • Linux host with Node.js 20 or newer
  • coding-mcp installed globally or available in your runtime path
  • A dedicated service user (recommended)

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Option 1: Systemd

Create a unit file at /etc/systemd/system/coding-mcp.service: 
[Unit]
Description=Coding MCP Service
After=network.target

[Service]
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal

Environment=NODE_VERSION=v22.21.1
Environment=PATH=/home/ubuntu/.nvm/versions/node/v22.22.2/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
Environment=HOME=/home/ubuntu
Environment=ENABLE_AUTH=true
Environment=AUTH_API_KEYS=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX:admin:admin01

User=ubuntu
Group=ubuntu
ExecStart=/home/ubuntu/.nvm/versions/node/v22.22.2/bin/node /home/ubuntu/.nvm/versions/node/v22.22.2/bin/coding-mcp serve --port 4848

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
Reload and enable the service: 
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now coding-mcp
Check status and logs: 
sudo systemctl status coding-mcp
sudo journalctl -u coding-mcp -f
Keep AUTH_API_KEYS out of version control. Store secrets with environment files or your secret manager.

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Option 2: PM2

Install PM2 globally: 
npm install -g pm2
Create an ecosystem file (for example ecosystem.config.cjs): 
module.exports = {
  apps: [
    {
      name: "coding-mcp",
      script: "coding-mcp",
      args: "serve --port 4848",
      autorestart: true,
      env: {
        ENABLE_AUTH: "true",
        AUTH_API_KEYS: "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX:admin:admin01"
      }
    }
  ]
};
Start from the ecosystem file: 
pm2 start ecosystem.config.cjs
Persist across reboots: 
pm2 save
pm2 startup
Inspect process and logs: 
pm2 status coding-mcp
pm2 logs coding-mcp

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Which one should you use?

  • Use Systemd if you want native Linux service management and journald integration.
  • Use PM2 if you already manage Node.js processes with PM2 and need fast process-level controls.