Listeners
The Listeners section of the dashboard shows all configured agent listeners and their runtime state.
What a listener record shows
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ID | Unique listener identifier |
| Type | Transport protocol: mtls, tcp, or http |
| Address | The bind address and port (e.g. 0.0.0.0:4433) |
| Status | running, stopped, or error |
| Started | Timestamp of when the listener was started |
Confirm runtime status independently. A process restart, port conflict, or firewall rule can prevent an agent from connecting even if the listener record shows "running".
Starting a listener from the CLI
Listeners can be managed from both the dashboard and the CLI:
# mTLS listener (default transport)
sentrava > listeners start mtls 0.0.0.0:4433
# TCP listener with a shared key
sentrava > listeners start tcp 0.0.0.0:5555 <64-char-hex-key>
# HTTP listener with a shared key
sentrava > listeners start http 0.0.0.0:8888 <64-char-hex-key>
When you use generate, the appropriate listener is started automatically.
Stopping a listener
From the CLI:
sentrava > listeners list
sentrava > listeners stop <listener-id>
Stopping a listener does not disconnect agents that already have an established session. It prevents new agents from connecting.
Verification
A running listener shows a socket in ss or netstat:
ss -tlnp | grep 4433
If the port is not listed, the listener may have failed to bind (port conflict, permission denied for ports < 1024, or wrong interface).
Listener and agent alignment
Each agent binary is compiled with a specific server address. If you stop a listener and start a new one on a different address or port, existing deployed agents will fail to connect. Regenerate agents for the new listener address.