How do I check if my service has restarted in Porter?

Last updated: February 9, 2026

Context

When running applications on Porter, you may need to verify if and when your services have restarted. Service restarts can be indicated by specific log patterns and can be tracked through Porter's user interface.

Answer

There are several ways to check if your service has restarted in Porter:

  1. Check the Services Tab - This shows each service's running instances and includes a restart count if any restarts have occurred.

  2. Review the Deployments Tab - Service restarts will be logged here as system notifications.

  3. Monitor Application Logs - Service restarts typically generate specific log entries. For example, you might see logs like:

    2025/03/27 22:55:54 starting downward api checker
Version: 4
2025/03/27 22:55:54 will use DOWNWARD_HOST_IP, specified by DOWNWARD_API_ENV_KEY

    These logs typically appear at the beginning of a new deployment or after a service restart.

If you notice unexpected restarts, check for common causes such as failing liveness probes, reaching resource limits, or recent environment variable updates in synced environment groups.