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Managing Targets

This guide covers day-to-day target management operations in Mantis.

Viewing Targets

Section titled “Viewing Targets”

Target List

Section titled “Target List”

Navigate to Targets in the sidebar to see all registered targets:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Targets                                    [+ New]     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────┤
│  Filter: [All        ▼]  Search: [        ] │ 12 total  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┴───────────┤
│                                                         │
│  ┌─────────────────┬────────┬──────────┬────────────┐   │
│  │ Name            │ Status │ Mode     │ Last Seen  │   │
│  ├─────────────────┼────────┼──────────┼────────────┤   │
│  │ web-prod-01     │ ● Online│ Listen  │ Just now   │   │
│  │ web-prod-02     │ ● Online│ Listen  │ 2 min ago  │   │
│  │ web-prod-03     │ ◐ Stale │ Listen  │ 15 min ago │   │
│  │ db-prod-01      │ ● Online│ Poll    │ 30 sec ago │   │
│  │ worker-01       │ ○ Offline│ Listen │ 2 hours ago│   │
│  └─────────────────┴────────┴──────────┴────────────┘   │
│                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Filtering

Section titled “Filtering”

Filter targets by:

FilterOptions
StatusAll, Online, Stale, Offline
Section titled “Search”

Search by:

  • Target name
  • Hostname

Target Details

Section titled “Target Details”

Click a target to view details:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Target: web-prod-01                                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  Status:       ● Online                                 │
│  Mode:         Listen                                   │
│  Hostname:     web-prod-01.company.com                  │
│  Port:         9342                                    │
│  Last Seen:    Just now                                 │
│                                                         │
│  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────  │
│                                                         │
│  Environments:                                          │
│    Production (Priority: 1)                             │
│                                                         │
│  Tags:                                                  │
│    role: web                                            │
│    region: us-east-1                                    │
│    tier: frontend                                       │
│                                                         │
│  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────  │
│                                                         │
│  [Edit]  [Remove from Environment]  [Delete]            │
│                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Creating Targets

Section titled “Creating Targets”

Targets are typically created automatically when Tarsus agents register. To create manually:

Manual Creation

Section titled “Manual Creation”
  1. Click New Target
  2. Enter target details:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Create Target                                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  Name:         [web-staging-01                  ]       │
│  Hostname:     [web-staging-01.company.com      ]       │
│  Port:         [9342                           ]       │
│                                                         │
│  Mode:         ● Listen  ○ Poll                         │
│                                                         │
│                           [Cancel]  [Create]            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

From Registration

Section titled “From Registration”

When a Tarsus agent registers:

  1. Check Registrations page
  2. Review pending registrations
  3. Click Approve to create the target

Editing Targets

Section titled “Editing Targets”

Editable Properties

Section titled “Editable Properties”
PropertyCan EditNotes
NameYesMust be unique
HostnameYesUpdate if IP changes
PortYesMatch Tarsus config
ModeYesMay require Tarsus restart

Update Process

Section titled “Update Process”
  1. Open target details
  2. Click Edit
  3. Modify properties
  4. Click Save

Environment Assignment

Section titled “Environment Assignment”

Adding to Environment

Section titled “Adding to Environment”
  1. Open target details
  2. Or open environment details
  3. Click Add to Environment
  4. Select environment
  5. Set priority
  6. Save
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Add to Environment                                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  Target:       web-staging-01                           │
│                                                         │
│  Environment:  [Staging                          ▼]     │
│  Priority:     [1                                ]      │
│                                                         │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │ Priority determines deployment order.            │  │
│  │ Lower values deploy first.                       │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│                                                         │
│                           [Cancel]  [Add]               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Removing from Environment

Section titled “Removing from Environment”
  1. Open target or environment details
  2. Click Remove next to the assignment
  3. Confirm removal

Priority Management

Section titled “Priority Management”

Lower priority values = earlier deployment order:

TargetPriorityOrder
web-011First
web-021First (tied)
web-032After web-01/02
db-0110Last

Tag Management

Section titled “Tag Management”

Adding Tags

Section titled “Adding Tags”
  1. Open the target detail page
  2. Click Attach Tags
  3. Select one or more existing tags from the list
  4. Click Attach

New tags must first be created on the Tags page.

Common Tag Patterns

Section titled “Common Tag Patterns”
KeyExample ValuesPurpose
roleweb, api, worker, dbServer role
regionus-east, eu-westGeographic location
tierfrontend, backendApplication tier
teamplatform, paymentsOwning team
environmentproduction, stagingLegacy env tracking

Deleting Targets

Section titled “Deleting Targets”

Delete

Section titled “Delete”

Permanently removes the target:

  1. Open target details
  2. Click Delete
  3. Confirm deletion

Deleted targets:

  • Are removed from all environments
  • No longer receive deployments

What Happens to the Agent

Section titled “What Happens to the Agent”

After target deletion:

  • Tarsus agent continues running
  • Agent will re-register on restart
  • New registration enters pending state

Monitoring Target Health

Section titled “Monitoring Target Health”

Health Dashboard

Section titled “Health Dashboard”

The dashboard shows overall health:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Target Health                                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐     │
│  │   Online    │  │    Stale    │  │   Offline   │     │
│  │     10      │  │      1      │  │      1      │     │
│  │   (83%)     │  │    (8%)     │  │    (8%)     │     │
│  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘     │
│                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Status Transitions

Section titled “Status Transitions”

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

Target Shows Offline

Section titled “Target Shows Offline”
  1. Check Tarsus agent is running on the machine
  2. Verify network connectivity
  3. Check firewall rules
  4. Review Tarsus logs

Target Shows Stale

Section titled “Target Shows Stale”
  • Usually temporary during network issues
  • Will return to Online when heartbeat received
  • If persistent, investigate network path

Cannot Delete Target

Section titled “Cannot Delete Target”

Cause: Target may be in active deployment

Solution: Wait for deployment to complete, then delete

Tags Not Saving

Section titled “Tags Not Saving”

Cause: Validation error on tag format

Solution: Use lowercase alphanumeric keys, avoid special characters

Best Practices

Section titled “Best Practices”

1. Consistent Naming

Section titled “1. Consistent Naming”

Use a naming convention:

{role}-{environment}-{number}
web-prod-01
db-staging-01
worker-dev-01

2. Tag Everything

Section titled “2. Tag Everything”

Apply tags systematically for filtering:

role: web
region: us-east-1
team: platform
tier: frontend

3. Regular Health Checks

Section titled “3. Regular Health Checks”

Monitor target health:

  • Review offline targets daily
  • Investigate stale targets
  • Clean up unused targets

4. Document Environment Assignments

Section titled “4. Document Environment Assignments”

Track which targets belong where:

TargetDevelopmentStagingProduction
web-01--Priority 1
web-02--Priority 2
web-staging-Priority 1-
web-devPriority 1--

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”