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max start launches the Max daemon and keeps it running in the foreground. The daemon is the core of Max: it owns the Copilot SDK client, manages worker sessions, exposes an HTTP API on port 7777, and optionally runs a Telegram bot. 
max start

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Flags

FlagDefaultDescription
--self-editoffAllow Max to modify his own source code. Sets MAX_SELF_EDIT=1 in the process environment.
# Start with self-edit enabled
max start --self-edit
--self-edit lets the orchestrator write to the Max source tree. Only use this if you are actively developing Max itself.

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What it does

max start runs through the following boot sequence, logging each step to stdout:
1

Load config

Reads ~/.max/.env to populate runtime settings: TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN, AUTHORIZED_USER_ID, API_PORT, COPILOT_MODEL, and WORKER_TIMEOUT.
2

Initialize SQLite database

Opens (or creates) ~/.max/max.db. Stores worker sessions, conversation history, memories, and app state.
3

Start Copilot SDK client

Connects to the GitHub Copilot SDK. The client must be authenticated — run copilot login beforehand if you haven’t already.
4

Initialize orchestrator session

Creates or resumes the persistent orchestrator Copilot session. Loads skills from ~/.max/skills/ and ~/.agents/skills/, loads MCP servers from ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json, and injects recent conversation context if recovering from a crash.
5

Start HTTP API

Starts an Express server on port 7777 (or the API_PORT env var). The TUI and any external clients connect here.
6

Start Telegram bot

If TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN and AUTHORIZED_USER_ID are configured, starts the Telegram bot. Messages are gated to the authorized user ID only.
7

Check for updates

Runs a non-blocking check against the npm registry. If a newer version is found, a notice is printed to the terminal — it does not interrupt the daemon.

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Expected terminal output

A successful start looks like this: 
[max] Starting Max daemon...
[max] Database initialized
[max] Starting Copilot SDK client...
[max] Copilot SDK client ready
[max] Creating orchestrator session...
[max] Orchestrator session ready
[max] Max is fully operational.
If Telegram is not configured, you will see: 
[max] Telegram not configured — skipping bot. Run 'max setup' to configure.
Once running, every message flowing through the daemon is logged: 
[max] telegram  ⟶  Start working on the auth bug in ~/dev/myapp
[max] telegram  ⟵  Sure, spinning up a worker session…

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Running in the foreground vs. background

max start occupies the terminal. To keep it running while you work: 
# In a dedicated tmux pane
tmux new-session -d -s max 'max start'

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Stopping the daemon

Press Ctrl+C (or send SIGINT / SIGTERM) to trigger a graceful shutdown. If there are active worker sessions, you will see a warning before shutdown proceeds: 
[max] ⚠ 2 active worker(s) will be destroyed: auth-fix, api-tests
[max] Press Ctrl+C again to shut down, or wait for workers to finish.
Press Ctrl+C a second time to force immediate shutdown. The daemon always forces exit after 3 seconds to prevent hangs. 
[max] Shutting down... (Ctrl+C again to force)
[max] Goodbye.
If the daemon is killed ungracefully (e.g. kill -9), the orchestrator session is preserved in SQLite and automatically resumed on the next max start.

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