Running The Servers - Asyncroscopy Documentation

startup_scripts/run_servers.py starts the Tango/device side of asyncroscopy. It clears stale processes, starts the Tango database, registers devices, launches device servers, starts the DATA-managed Tiled HTTP server, and starts the microscope or digital twin last.

MCP is started separately with startup_scripts/run_mcp.py; see mcp_server.md.

TL;DR¶

uv run startup_scripts/run_servers.py
uv run startup_scripts/run_servers.py --microscope dt

uv run startup_scripts/run_servers.py --yaml configs/Spectra300.yaml
uv run startup_scripts/run_servers.py --yaml configs/Spectra300.yaml --microscope dt
uv run startup_scripts/run_servers.py --yaml configs/ThinkPad-utkarsh-covalent-setup.yaml

GUI:

uv run python startup_guis/server_gui.py

Press Enter at prompts to accept the value in brackets.
Leave the terminal open while you work. Press Ctrl+C to stop the managed processes and the managed Tiled server.
Start MCP in a second terminal or on another computer:

uv run startup_scripts/run_mcp.py --yaml configs/mcp.yaml

What It Starts¶

Order	Device(s)	Tango name
1	support devices	`asyncroscopy/{camera,corrector,data,eds,flucam,scan,stage}/default`
2	Tiled HTTP server	started through the `data` device
3	microscope or digital twin	`asyncroscopy/microscope/default`

The microscope starts last because it depends on the support devices. The runner writes support-device addresses into Tango database properties before the microscope starts. In real mode it also writes the AutoScript host and port.

Server GUI¶

startup_guis/server_gui.py is a small YAML launcher for the server stack. It does not start servers directly. It formats the current selections into YAML, writes that YAML to outputs/startup_configs/server_gui.yaml, and runs:

uv run python startup_scripts/run_servers.py --yaml outputs/startup_configs/server_gui.yaml --microscope <real-or-dt>

The GUI includes:

YAML preview generated from the current selections.
Terminal output from the running process.
Start and Stop controls.
Save current config to write a YAML file you can reuse later.

Configs¶

Server startup configs live in configs/:

File	For
configs/Spectra300.yaml	The real Spectra 300 stack. This is the default config.
configs/ThinkPad-utkarsh-covalent-setup.yaml	A localhost-everywhere setup for local testing.

Each server config has:

microscope: for the real microscope.
digital_twin: for --microscope dt.
devices: for support device modules.
tango: for the Tango database host, port, and optional database-file reset.
tiled: for the DATA-managed Tiled HTTP server.
device_timeout_seconds: for device readiness waits.

Device class_name defaults to the upper-cased key (scan becomes SCAN). microscope.host and microscope.port become the microscope device’s autoscript_host_ip and autoscript_host_port properties.

Set tango.reset_database_file: true to delete a stale local tango_database.db / Tango_database.db before starting the Tango database. The GUI exposes the same setting as Delete tango_database.db before start.

MCP¶

MCP has its own config: configs/mcp.yaml.

Start the server stack first. Then, from the MCP machine:

uv run startup_scripts/run_mcp.py --yaml configs/mcp.yaml

If MCP runs on a different computer, edit configs/mcp.yaml:

tango.host should point to the machine running the Tango database.
mcp.http_host should be 127.0.0.1 for local-only clients or 0.0.0.0 when other machines need to connect.

Prompts¶

Interactive mode is used only when --yaml is omitted. The defaults come from configs/Spectra300.yaml.

Prompt	What it controls
Tango database host / port	`TANGO_HOST` for Tango clients and servers.
Tiled HTTP host / port	Where the DATA device starts Tiled.
Acquisition save path	Directory written and served by Tiled.
Start Tiled HTTP server	Whether DATA starts its managed Tiled server.
Clear old processes first	Frees stale Tango/Tiled ports and old device servers.
Start Tango database	Starts the DB or waits for an existing one.
Register devices	Adds device entries and microscope properties to the DB.
Device startup timeout seconds	How long to wait for each device to answer `ping()`.
AutoScript host IP / port	Real microscope mode only.

Startup Stages¶

Clearing old processes frees the database/Tiled ports and kills old device server process groups.
Starting Tango database starts or waits for the database server.
Registering devices writes device entries and microscope properties.
Starting device servers starts support devices, Tiled, and then the microscope or digital twin.
Startup summary prints TANGO_HOST, PIDs, ready times, and the Tiled URI.

Manual Fallback¶

The runner automates this database-mode flow:

TANGO_HOST=localhost:9094 uv run python -m tango.databaseds.database 2

export TANGO_HOST=localhost:9094
uv run python -m asyncroscopy.instruments.electron_microscope.hardware.scan scan_instance
uv run python -m asyncroscopy.instruments.electron_microscope.auto_script microscope_instance

Manual device startup requires the devices to already be registered in Tango. Let run_servers.py do registration once, then stop and relaunch individual servers as needed.