ness-core-service
Main service (orchestrator) of the NESS agent.
Commands are run by name (the installer adds the binaries to PATH). On Windows, run them in PowerShell as administrator (recommended; required where marked "Yes"). On macOS and Linux, with sudo.
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
Service management
| Argument | Description | Example | Requires admin |
|---|---|---|---|
--install | Installs the Core service. | ness-core-service --install | Yes |
--uninstall | Uninstalls everything: Core, Web Filter, DLP, CIS and protection. | ness-core-service --uninstall | Yes |
--start | Starts the Core service. | ness-core-service --start | Recommended |
--stop | Stops the Core service. | ness-core-service --stop | Yes |
--restart | Restarts the Core service. | ness-core-service --restart | Yes |
--status | Shows agent status (token, interval, last sync). | ness-core-service --status | Recommended |
Diagnostics
| Argument | Description | Example | Requires admin |
|---|---|---|---|
--doctor | Full health check (Core, Web Filter, DLP and CIS). | ness-core-service --doctor | Recommended |
--fix-all | Conservatively repairs agent services that are down (leaves healthy ones untouched). | ness-core-service --fix-all | Recommended |
--logs | Analyzes logs: errors, alerts and summary. | ness-core-service --logs | Recommended |
--logs --find | Searches the logs. | ness-core-service --logs --find | Recommended |
--ping | Measures latency to the NESS cloud. | ness-core-service --ping | Recommended |
Web Filter
| Argument | Description | Example | Requires admin |
|---|---|---|---|
--enable-filter | Configures the Web Filter proxy, firewall and root CA. | ness-core-service --enable-filter | Recommended |
--disable-filter | Removes the proxy and stops Web Filter. | ness-core-service --disable-filter | Recommended |
--sync-webfilter | Forces Web Filter policy sync. | ness-core-service --sync-webfilter | Recommended |
--install-webfilter | Installs Web Filter. | ness-core-service --install-webfilter | Yes |
--uninstall-webfilter | Uninstalls Web Filter. | ness-core-service --uninstall-webfilter | Yes |
--fix-rootca | Regenerates the root CA (fixes the block page or ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID). | ness-core-service --fix-rootca | Recommended |
Modules
| Argument | Description | Example | Requires admin |
|---|---|---|---|
--install-dlp | Installs the DLP module. | ness-core-service --install-dlp | Yes |
--uninstall-dlp | Uninstalls the DLP module. | ness-core-service --uninstall-dlp | Yes |
--install-patcher | Installs the patch management service (Patch Guard). | ness-core-service --install-patcher | Yes |
Silent installation
| Argument | Description | Example | Requires admin |
|---|---|---|---|
--silent | Configures, installs and starts everything in one step. Requires --token. | ness-core-service --silent --token <TOKEN> --time 15 | Yes |
--token <TOKEN> | Your organization token (required with --silent). | --token <TOKEN> | Yes |
--time 5|15|30|60 | Reporting interval in minutes (default 15). | --time 15 | Yes |
--services | Extra services to monitor, comma-separated (optional). | --services Apache,MySQL | Yes |
Help
| Argument | Description | Example | Requires admin |
|---|---|---|---|
--help, -h | Shows help. | ness-core-service --help | Recommended |
| Argument | Description | Example | Requires admin |
|---|---|---|---|
--install | Installs the service (LaunchDaemon). Normally done by ness-configurator. | sudo ness-core-service --install | Yes (sudo) |
--uninstall | Uninstalls the service. | sudo ness-core-service --uninstall | Yes (sudo) |
--trigger | Sends data to the NESS cloud immediately. | sudo ness-core-service --trigger | Yes (sudo) |
--doctor | Agent health check. | sudo ness-core-service --doctor | Yes (sudo) |
--scan-cis | Runs the CIS macOS Benchmark assessment (about 40 controls). | sudo ness-core-service --scan-cis | Yes (sudo) |
--provision-extensions | Forces installation of the NESS DLP extension in Chromium-based browsers. | sudo ness-core-service --provision-extensions | Yes (sudo) |
To be confirmed: Linux binary name
On Linux the help shows the binary under another name; documented here as ness-core-service until NESS confirms it.
| Argument | Description | Example | Requires admin |
|---|---|---|---|
--status | Shows agent status. | sudo ness-core-service --status | Yes (sudo) |
--stop | Stops the service. | sudo ness-core-service --stop | Yes (sudo) |
--restart | Restarts the service. | sudo ness-core-service --restart | Yes (sudo) |
--trigger | Runs an immediate monitoring cycle. | sudo ness-core-service --trigger | Yes (sudo) |
--doctor | Health check of the 5 services: core, protection, DLP, Patch Guard and Web Filter. | sudo ness-core-service --doctor | Yes (sudo) |
--logs | Analyzes logs. | sudo ness-core-service --logs | Yes (sudo) |
--logs --find | Searches the logs. | sudo ness-core-service --logs --find | Yes (sudo) |
--scan-cis | Runs the CIS assessment. | sudo ness-core-service --scan-cis | Yes (sudo) |
--provision-extensions | Forces installation of the NESS DLP extension in Chromium-based browsers. | sudo ness-core-service --provision-extensions | Yes (sudo) |
--uninstall | Full agent uninstall. | sudo ness-core-service --uninstall | Yes (sudo) |
--version | Shows the version. | ness-core-service --version | Yes (sudo) |
Silent installation example on Windows (mass deployment):
ness-core-service --silent --token <TOKEN> --time 15
Interactive initial setup
For interactive initial setup use ness-configurator.
Source
Agent binaries help (--help) on Windows, macOS and Linux; NESS confirmations (Oct-2026).