endless "Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..." in json-rpc

[LastFreeUserICouldFind]

The problem

Hi,

i am using image: bbernhard/signal-cli-rest-api with json-rpc mode.
Since the last release 0.98 I do get following errors in the logs:

time="2026-04-01T21:10:12+02:00" level=info msg="Started Signal Messenger REST API"
time="2026-04-01T21:10:12+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T21:10:14+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T21:10:16+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T21:10:18+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T21:10:20+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T21:10:22+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T21:10:24+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T21:10:26+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T21:10:28+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T21:10:30+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."

Can someone please help?
I need to register again because of another issue (signal spontaneously said that my number is not registered anymore) and this is only possible with the latest version 0.98

thanks and best regards

Are you using the latest released version?

• Yes

Have you read the troubleshooting page?

• Yes

What type of installation are you running?

signal-cli-rest-api Docker Container

In which mode are you using the docker container?

JSON-RPC Mode

What's the architecture of your host system?

arm64

Additional information

No response

[tiffchros]

Same here: Account unregistered.

time="2026-04-01T19:30:35Z" level=error msg="Couldn't set log level to 'ERROR'. Falling back to the info log level"
time="2026-04-01T19:30:35Z" level=info msg="Started Signal Messenger REST API"
time="2026-04-01T19:30:35Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T19:30:37Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T19:30:39Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T19:30:41Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T19:30:43Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T19:30:45Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T19:30:47Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T19:30:49Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T19:30:51Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T19:30:53Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T19:30:55Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T19:30:57Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T19:30:59Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T19:31:01Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T19:31:03Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-01T19:31:05Z" level=fatal msg="Couldn't init Signal Client: dial tcp 127.0.0.1:6001: connect: connection refused"
``

[bbernhard]

Please run this command and post the output here:

docker exec -it <containerid> cat /etc/supervisor/conf.d/signal-cli-json-rpc-1.conf

The containerid can be obtained by running docker ps

[tiffchros]

# docker exec -it <containerid> cat /etc/supervisor/conf.d/signal-cli-json-rpc-1.conf

[program:signal-cli-json-rpc-1]
process_name=signal-cli-json-rpc-1
command=signal-cli --output=json --config /home/.local/share/signal-cli/ daemon  --tcp 127.0.0.1:6001
autostart=true
autorestart=true
startretries=10
user=signal-api
directory=/usr/bin/
redirect_stderr=true
stdout_logfile=/var/log/signal-cli-json-rpc-1/out.log
stderr_logfile=/var/log/signal-cli-json-rpc-1/err.log
stdout_logfile_maxbytes=50MB
stdout_logfile_backups=10
numprocs=1

[bbernhard]

Please run those commands:

docker exec -it <containerid> /bin/bash to connect inside the container (replace the containerid again with the actual container id)

Once inside the container, run:

• supervisorctl stop all
• su signal-api
• signal-cli --output=json --config /home/.local/share/signal-cli/ daemon --tcp 127.0.0.1:6001

and please post the output of the last command.

Which architecture do you use? Also arm64?

[tiffchros]

It's tricky, there is somewhere a healthcheck restarting the container. Connection was quit:

# docker exec -it <containerid> /bin/bash
WARNING: signal-cli-rest-api runs as signal-api (not as root!)
Run 'su signal-api' before using signal-cli!
If you want to use signal-cli directly, don't forget to specify the config directory. e.g: "signal-cli --config /home/.local/share/signal-cli"
WARNING: signal-cli-rest-api runs as signal-api (not as root!)
Run 'su signal-api' before using signal-cli!
If you want to use signal-cli directly, don't forget to specify the config directory. e.g: "signal-cli --config /home/.local/share/signal-cli"
WARNING: signal-cli-rest-api runs as signal-api (not as root!)
Run 'su signal-api' before using signal-cli!
If you want to use signal-cli directly, don't forget to specify the config directory. e.g: "signal-cli --config /home/.local/share/signal-cli"
WARNING: signal-cli-rest-api runs as signal-api (not as root!)
Run 'su signal-api' before using signal-cli!
If you want to use signal-cli directly, don't forget to specify the config directory. e.g: "signal-cli --config /home/.local/share/signal-cli"
WARNING: signal-cli-rest-api runs as signal-api (not as root!)
Run 'su signal-api' before using signal-cli!
If you want to use signal-cli directly, don't forget to specify the config directory. e.g: "signal-cli --config /home/.local/share/signal-cli"
root@b1645bdc52d4:/# supervisorctl stop all
unix:///var/run/supervisor.sock refused connection
root@b1645bdc52d4:/# su signal-api
signal-api@b1645bdc52d4:/$ signal-cli --output=json --config /home/.local/share/signal-cli/ daemon  --tcp 127.0.0.1:6001
#

Means, I'm at the host again without output...

[bbernhard]

Which architecture do you use? Also arm64?

[tiffchros]

The problematic one on my NAS:

# docker image inspect bbernhard/signal-cli-rest-api:latest --format '{{.Architecture}}'
amd64

Indeed, I have a second instance on my RPi without any issues (up to now):

$ sudo docker image inspect bbernhard/signal-cli-rest-api:latest --format '{{.Architecture}}'
arm64

[bbernhard]

Does this version work bbernhard/signal-cli-rest-api:1775079649-ci?

[LastFreeUserICouldFind]

docker exec -it <containerID> cat /etc/supervisor/conf.d/signal-cli-json-rpc-1.conf

[program:signal-cli-json-rpc-1]
process_name=signal-cli-json-rpc-1
command=signal-cli --output=json --config /home/.local/share/signal-cli/ daemon  --tcp 127.0.0.1:6001
autostart=true
autorestart=true
startretries=10
user=signal-api
directory=/usr/bin/
redirect_stderr=true
stdout_logfile=/var/log/signal-cli-json-rpc-1/out.log
stderr_logfile=/var/log/signal-cli-json-rpc-1/err.log
stdout_logfile_maxbytes=50MB
stdout_logfile_backups=10
numprocs=1

docker image inspect bbernhard/signal-cli-rest-api:0.98 --format '{{.Architecture}}'
arm

test with: bbernhard/signal-cli-rest-api:1775079649-ci seems to work

time="2026-04-02T08:08:26+02:00" level=info msg="Started Signal Messenger REST API"
time="2026-04-02T08:08:26+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:28+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:30+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:32+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:34+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:36+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:38+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:40+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:42+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:44+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:46+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:48+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:50+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:52+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:54+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:56+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:08:58+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:09:00+02:00" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T08:09:02+02:00" level=info msg="Successfully connected to signal-cli in daemon mode"

[tiffchros]

Container bbernhard/signal-cli-rest-api:1775079649-ci seems to work here, too.

time="2026-04-02T07:15:22Z" level=info msg="Started Signal Messenger REST API"
time="2026-04-02T07:15:22Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:24Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:26Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:28Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:30Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:32Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:34Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:36Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:38Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:40Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:42Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:44Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:46Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:48Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:50Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:52Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:54Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:56Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:15:58Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:00Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:02Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:04Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:06Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:08Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:10Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:12Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:14Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:16Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:18Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:20Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:22Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:24Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:26Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:28Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:30Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:32Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:34Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:36Z" level=info msg="Waiting for signal-cli to start up in daemon mode..."
time="2026-04-02T07:16:38Z" level=info msg="Successfully connected to signal-cli in daemon mode"

Registration of the telephone number seems to be lost completely. I try to register later...

[bbernhard]

Ok, then please use the bbernhard/signal-cli-rest-api:1775079649-ci for now. Looks like your machines are rather on the slower side and more time is needed for the Java VM to start - so I've increased the max. wait time a bit. This fix will of course also be part of the next release.

[LastFreeUserICouldFind]

compared to older versions its super slow. sending simple messages takes sometimes more than 100s
I am on a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Rev 1.4,

[bbernhard]

That's strange. Do you see any increased RAM/CPU usage or is it just slow?

[LastFreeUserICouldFind]

no, its just slow
NAME CPU % MEM USAGE / LIMIT
signal-cli 0.25% 111.5MiB / 512MiB

[LastFreeUserICouldFind]

looks like that during message sending the CPU increases significant.
Usually its extremely slow at the first message after a while of silence (first message after 2-3 hours)