%s is already running (pid %v). Use 'daemon restart' to rest

Error message

%s is already running (pid %v). Use 'daemon restart' to restart it

What it means

Error "%s is already running (pid %v). Use 'daemon restart' to restart it" thrown in multica-ai/multica.

Source

Thrown at server/cmd/multica/cmd_daemon.go:574

	// Check if daemon is already running.
	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 2*time.Second)
	defer cancel()
	health := checkDaemonHealthOnPort(ctx, healthPort)
	if daemonAlive(health) {
		// A live daemon on our port that belongs to someone else is a
		// collision, not an "already running" — starting would fail to bind
		// and "already running" would send the user looking for a daemon of
		// theirs that does not exist.
		if err := daemonIdentityMismatch(health, profile, healthPort); err != nil {
			return err
		}
		label := "daemon"
		if profile != "" {
			label = fmt.Sprintf("daemon [%s]", profile)
		}
		pid, _ := health["pid"].(float64)
		return fmt.Errorf("%s is already running (pid %v). Use 'daemon restart' to restart it", label, int(pid))
	}

	if err := requireDaemonAuth(profile); err != nil {
		return err
	}

	// Resolve current executable so the foreground child reuses this binary.
	exePath, err := daemonExecutable()
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("resolve executable path: %w", err)
	}

	// Build child args: daemon start --foreground + forwarded flags.
	args := buildDaemonStartArgs(cmd)

	// Ensure daemon directory exists.
	dir := daemonDirForProfile(profile)
	if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0o755); err != nil {

View on GitHub (pinned to 2c0912b6ec)

Solutions

The daemon is already running; use 'multica daemon restart' or stop it first.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at server/cmd/multica/cmd_daemon.go:574 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of multica-ai/multica@2c0912b6ec (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c664371a6cd9c454. Report an issue: GitHub.