The Problem
QA and Dev teams needed to run background Java processes on servers, but every time they had to SSH in, navigate to the right directory, and manually kick off jobs. It was repetitive, error-prone, and not everyone on the team had (or should have) SSH access to production-adjacent environments.
What It Does
Job Runner gives teams a clean web interface to start, stop, and monitor background Java processes - no terminal access needed. You configure your jobs once in a simple TOML file, deploy the WAR, and anyone on the team can manage jobs through their browser.
Real-time log viewing means you can watch job output as it happens, without tailing log files on a server.
Key Features
- Web UI - Start, stop, and monitor jobs from the browser
- Real-time logs - Watch job output live, no SSH needed
- TOML config - Simple, readable job definitions
- Two job types - Continuous (long-running) and on-demand (one-shot)
- REST API - Full programmatic control for automation
Tech Stack
- Java 11+ with Jakarta EE (Tomcat 10/11)
- TOML for human-friendly configuration
- HTML/CSS/JS for the web interface
- Docker ready for containerized deployments
- Maven build system
Context
Built for internal use and open-sourced for teams facing the same problem. Also maintains a Java 8 / Tomcat 9 version for legacy environments.