diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 326cccaecb..01b8abda9a 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -317,12 +317,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "generic-array",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "boxfnonce"
-version = "0.1.1"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "5988cb1d626264ac94100be357308f29ff7cbdd3b36bda27f450a4ee3f713426"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "bstr"
 version = "1.0.1"
@@ -850,16 +844,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "daemonize"
-version = "0.4.1"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "70c24513e34f53b640819f0ac9f705b673fcf4006d7aab8778bee72ebfc89815"
-dependencies = [
- "boxfnonce",
- "libc",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "darling"
 version = "0.14.1"
@@ -2141,7 +2125,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "crc32c",
  "criterion",
  "crossbeam-utils",
- "daemonize",
  "etcd_broker",
  "fail",
  "futures",
@@ -3088,7 +3071,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "clap 4.0.15",
  "const_format",
  "crc32c",
- "daemonize",
  "etcd_broker",
  "fs2",
  "git-version",
@@ -3096,6 +3078,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "humantime",
  "hyper",
  "metrics",
+ "nix 0.25.0",
  "once_cell",
  "parking_lot 0.12.1",
  "postgres",
diff --git a/control_plane/src/background_process.rs b/control_plane/src/background_process.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2f8098b7c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/control_plane/src/background_process.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,264 @@
+//! Spawns and kills background processes that are needed by Neon CLI.
+//! Applies common set-up such as log and pid files (if needed) to every process.
+//!
+//! Neon CLI does not run in background, so it needs to store the information about
+//! spawned processes, which it does in this module.
+//! We do that by storing the pid of the process in the "${process_name}.pid" file.
+//! The pid file can be created by the process itself
+//! (Neon storage binaries do that and also ensure that a lock is taken onto that file)
+//! or we create such file after starting the process
+//! (non-Neon binaries don't necessarily follow our pidfile conventions).
+//! The pid stored in the file is later used to stop the service.
+//!
+//! See [`lock_file`] module for more info.
+
+use std::ffi::OsStr;
+use std::io::Write;
+use std::path::Path;
+use std::process::{Child, Command};
+use std::time::Duration;
+use std::{fs, io, thread};
+
+use anyhow::{anyhow, bail, Context, Result};
+use nix::errno::Errno;
+use nix::sys::signal::{kill, Signal};
+use nix::unistd::Pid;
+
+use utils::lock_file;
+
+const RETRIES: u32 = 15;
+const RETRY_TIMEOUT_MILLIS: u64 = 500;
+
+/// Argument to `start_process`, to indicate whether it should create pidfile or if the process creates
+/// it itself.
+pub enum InitialPidFile<'t> {
+    /// Create a pidfile, to allow future CLI invocations to manipulate the process.
+    Create(&'t Path),
+    /// The process will create the pidfile itself, need to wait for that event.
+    Expect(&'t Path),
+}
+
+/// Start a background child process using the parameters given.
+pub fn start_process<F, S: AsRef<OsStr>>(
+    process_name: &str,
+    datadir: &Path,
+    command: &Path,
+    args: &[S],
+    initial_pid_file: InitialPidFile,
+    process_status_check: F,
+) -> anyhow::Result<Child>
+where
+    F: Fn() -> anyhow::Result<bool>,
+{
+    let log_path = datadir.join(format!("{process_name}.log"));
+    let process_log_file = fs::OpenOptions::new()
+        .create(true)
+        .write(true)
+        .append(true)
+        .open(&log_path)
+        .with_context(|| {
+            format!("Could not open {process_name} log file {log_path:?} for writing")
+        })?;
+    let same_file_for_stderr = process_log_file.try_clone().with_context(|| {
+        format!("Could not reuse {process_name} log file {log_path:?} for writing stderr")
+    })?;
+
+    let mut command = Command::new(command);
+    let background_command = command
+        .stdout(process_log_file)
+        .stderr(same_file_for_stderr)
+        .args(args);
+    let filled_cmd = fill_aws_secrets_vars(fill_rust_env_vars(background_command));
+
+    let mut spawned_process = filled_cmd.spawn().with_context(|| {
+        format!("Could not spawn {process_name}, see console output and log files for details.")
+    })?;
+    let pid = spawned_process.id();
+    let pid = Pid::from_raw(
+        i32::try_from(pid)
+            .with_context(|| format!("Subprocess {process_name} has invalid pid {pid}"))?,
+    );
+
+    let pid_file_to_check = match initial_pid_file {
+        InitialPidFile::Create(target_pid_file_path) => {
+            match lock_file::create_lock_file(target_pid_file_path, pid.to_string()) {
+                lock_file::LockCreationResult::Created { .. } => {
+                    // We use "lock" file here only to create the pid file. The lock on the pidfile will be dropped as soon
+                    // as this CLI invocation exits, so it's a bit useless, but doesn't any harm either.
+                }
+                lock_file::LockCreationResult::AlreadyLocked { .. } => {
+                    anyhow::bail!("Cannot write pid file for {process_name} at path {target_pid_file_path:?}: file is already locked by another process")
+                }
+                lock_file::LockCreationResult::CreationFailed(e) => {
+                    return Err(e.context(format!(
+                    "Failed to create pid file for {process_name} at path {target_pid_file_path:?}"
+                )))
+                }
+            }
+            None
+        }
+        InitialPidFile::Expect(pid_file_path) => Some(pid_file_path),
+    };
+
+    for retries in 0..RETRIES {
+        match process_started(pid, pid_file_to_check, &process_status_check) {
+            Ok(true) => {
+                println!("\n{process_name} started, pid: {pid}");
+                return Ok(spawned_process);
+            }
+            Ok(false) => {
+                if retries < 5 {
+                    print!(".");
+                    io::stdout().flush().unwrap();
+                } else {
+                    if retries == 5 {
+                        println!() // put a line break after dots for second message
+                    }
+                    println!("{process_name} has not started yet, retrying ({retries})...");
+                }
+                thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(RETRY_TIMEOUT_MILLIS));
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                println!("{process_name} failed to start: {e:#}");
+                if let Err(e) = spawned_process.kill() {
+                    println!("Could not stop {process_name} subprocess: {e:#}")
+                };
+                return Err(e);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    anyhow::bail!("{process_name} could not start in {RETRIES} attempts");
+}
+
+/// Stops the process, using the pid file given. Returns Ok also if the process is already not running.
+pub fn stop_process(immediate: bool, process_name: &str, pid_file: &Path) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    if !pid_file.exists() {
+        println!("{process_name} is already stopped: no pid file {pid_file:?} is present");
+        return Ok(());
+    }
+    let pid = read_pidfile(pid_file)?;
+
+    let sig = if immediate {
+        print!("Stopping {process_name} with pid {pid} immediately..");
+        Signal::SIGQUIT
+    } else {
+        print!("Stopping {process_name} with pid {pid} gracefully..");
+        Signal::SIGTERM
+    };
+    io::stdout().flush().unwrap();
+    match kill(pid, sig) {
+        Ok(()) => (),
+        Err(Errno::ESRCH) => {
+            println!(
+                "{process_name} with pid {pid} does not exist, but a pid file {pid_file:?} was found"
+            );
+            return Ok(());
+        }
+        Err(e) => anyhow::bail!("Failed to send signal to {process_name} with pid {pid}: {e}"),
+    }
+
+    // Wait until process is gone
+    for _ in 0..RETRIES {
+        match process_has_stopped(pid) {
+            Ok(true) => {
+                println!("\n{process_name} stopped");
+                if let Err(e) = fs::remove_file(pid_file) {
+                    if e.kind() != io::ErrorKind::NotFound {
+                        eprintln!("Failed to remove pid file {pid_file:?} after stopping the process: {e:#}");
+                    }
+                }
+                return Ok(());
+            }
+            Ok(false) => {
+                print!(".");
+                io::stdout().flush().unwrap();
+                thread::sleep(Duration::from_secs(1))
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                println!("{process_name} with pid {pid} failed to stop: {e:#}");
+                return Err(e);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    anyhow::bail!("{process_name} with pid {pid} failed to stop in {RETRIES} attempts");
+}
+
+fn fill_rust_env_vars(cmd: &mut Command) -> &mut Command {
+    let mut filled_cmd = cmd.env_clear().env("RUST_BACKTRACE", "1");
+
+    let var = "LLVM_PROFILE_FILE";
+    if let Some(val) = std::env::var_os(var) {
+        filled_cmd = filled_cmd.env(var, val);
+    }
+
+    const RUST_LOG_KEY: &str = "RUST_LOG";
+    if let Ok(rust_log_value) = std::env::var(RUST_LOG_KEY) {
+        filled_cmd.env(RUST_LOG_KEY, rust_log_value)
+    } else {
+        filled_cmd
+    }
+}
+
+fn fill_aws_secrets_vars(mut cmd: &mut Command) -> &mut Command {
+    for env_key in [
+        "AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID",
+        "AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY",
+        "AWS_SESSION_TOKEN",
+    ] {
+        if let Ok(value) = std::env::var(env_key) {
+            cmd = cmd.env(env_key, value);
+        }
+    }
+    cmd
+}
+
+fn process_started<F>(
+    pid: Pid,
+    pid_file_to_check: Option<&Path>,
+    status_check: &F,
+) -> anyhow::Result<bool>
+where
+    F: Fn() -> anyhow::Result<bool>,
+{
+    match status_check() {
+        Ok(true) => match pid_file_to_check {
+            Some(pid_file_path) => {
+                if pid_file_path.exists() {
+                    let pid_in_file = read_pidfile(pid_file_path)?;
+                    Ok(pid_in_file == pid)
+                } else {
+                    Ok(false)
+                }
+            }
+            None => Ok(true),
+        },
+        Ok(false) => Ok(false),
+        Err(e) => anyhow::bail!("process failed to start: {e}"),
+    }
+}
+
+/// Read a PID file
+///
+/// We expect a file that contains a single integer.
+fn read_pidfile(pidfile: &Path) -> Result<Pid> {
+    let pid_str = fs::read_to_string(pidfile)
+        .with_context(|| format!("failed to read pidfile {pidfile:?}"))?;
+    let pid: i32 = pid_str
+        .parse()
+        .map_err(|_| anyhow!("failed to parse pidfile {pidfile:?}"))?;
+    if pid < 1 {
+        bail!("pidfile {pidfile:?} contained bad value '{pid}'");
+    }
+    Ok(Pid::from_raw(pid))
+}
+
+fn process_has_stopped(pid: Pid) -> anyhow::Result<bool> {
+    match kill(pid, None) {
+        // Process exists, keep waiting
+        Ok(_) => Ok(false),
+        // Process not found, we're done
+        Err(Errno::ESRCH) => Ok(true),
+        Err(err) => anyhow::bail!("Failed to send signal to process with pid {pid}: {err}"),
+    }
+}
diff --git a/control_plane/src/bin/neon_local.rs b/control_plane/src/bin/neon_local.rs
index 70a2c97a9e..42a9199037 100644
--- a/control_plane/src/bin/neon_local.rs
+++ b/control_plane/src/bin/neon_local.rs
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@ use anyhow::{anyhow, bail, Context, Result};
 use clap::{value_parser, Arg, ArgAction, ArgMatches, Command};
 use control_plane::compute::ComputeControlPlane;
 use control_plane::local_env::{EtcdBroker, LocalEnv};
+use control_plane::pageserver::PageServerNode;
 use control_plane::safekeeper::SafekeeperNode;
-use control_plane::storage::PageServerNode;
 use control_plane::{etcd, local_env};
 use pageserver_api::models::TimelineInfo;
 use pageserver_api::{
diff --git a/control_plane/src/compute.rs b/control_plane/src/compute.rs
index 89e4e85eb0..359948a8c9 100644
--- a/control_plane/src/compute.rs
+++ b/control_plane/src/compute.rs
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ use utils::{
 };
 
 use crate::local_env::{LocalEnv, DEFAULT_PG_VERSION};
+use crate::pageserver::PageServerNode;
 use crate::postgresql_conf::PostgresConf;
-use crate::storage::PageServerNode;
 
 //
 // ComputeControlPlane
diff --git a/control_plane/src/etcd.rs b/control_plane/src/etcd.rs
index ca2df8a50b..4c15914e24 100644
--- a/control_plane/src/etcd.rs
+++ b/control_plane/src/etcd.rs
@@ -1,99 +1,75 @@
-use std::{
-    fs,
-    path::PathBuf,
-    process::{Command, Stdio},
-};
+use std::{fs, path::PathBuf};
 
 use anyhow::Context;
-use nix::{
-    sys::signal::{kill, Signal},
-    unistd::Pid,
-};
 
-use crate::{local_env, read_pidfile};
+use crate::{background_process, local_env};
 
 pub fn start_etcd_process(env: &local_env::LocalEnv) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let etcd_broker = &env.etcd_broker;
     println!(
-        "Starting etcd broker using {}",
-        etcd_broker.etcd_binary_path.display()
+        "Starting etcd broker using {:?}",
+        etcd_broker.etcd_binary_path
     );
 
     let etcd_data_dir = env.base_data_dir.join("etcd");
-    fs::create_dir_all(&etcd_data_dir).with_context(|| {
-        format!(
-            "Failed to create etcd data dir: {}",
-            etcd_data_dir.display()
-        )
-    })?;
+    fs::create_dir_all(&etcd_data_dir)
+        .with_context(|| format!("Failed to create etcd data dir {etcd_data_dir:?}"))?;
 
-    let etcd_stdout_file =
-        fs::File::create(etcd_data_dir.join("etcd.stdout.log")).with_context(|| {
-            format!(
-                "Failed to create etcd stout file in directory {}",
-                etcd_data_dir.display()
-            )
-        })?;
-    let etcd_stderr_file =
-        fs::File::create(etcd_data_dir.join("etcd.stderr.log")).with_context(|| {
-            format!(
-                "Failed to create etcd stderr file in directory {}",
-                etcd_data_dir.display()
-            )
-        })?;
     let client_urls = etcd_broker.comma_separated_endpoints();
+    let args = [
+        format!("--data-dir={}", etcd_data_dir.display()),
+        format!("--listen-client-urls={client_urls}"),
+        format!("--advertise-client-urls={client_urls}"),
+        // Set --quota-backend-bytes to keep the etcd virtual memory
+        // size smaller. Our test etcd clusters are very small.
+        // See https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/issues/7910
+        "--quota-backend-bytes=100000000".to_string(),
+        // etcd doesn't compact (vacuum) with default settings,
+        // enable it to prevent space exhaustion.
+        "--auto-compaction-mode=revision".to_string(),
+        "--auto-compaction-retention=1".to_string(),
+    ];
 
-    let etcd_process = Command::new(&etcd_broker.etcd_binary_path)
-        .args(&[
-            format!("--data-dir={}", etcd_data_dir.display()),
-            format!("--listen-client-urls={client_urls}"),
-            format!("--advertise-client-urls={client_urls}"),
-            // Set --quota-backend-bytes to keep the etcd virtual memory
-            // size smaller. Our test etcd clusters are very small.
-            // See https://github.com/etcd-io/etcd/issues/7910
-            "--quota-backend-bytes=100000000".to_string(),
-            // etcd doesn't compact (vacuum) with default settings,
-            // enable it to prevent space exhaustion.
-            "--auto-compaction-mode=revision".to_string(),
-            "--auto-compaction-retention=1".to_string(),
-        ])
-        .stdout(Stdio::from(etcd_stdout_file))
-        .stderr(Stdio::from(etcd_stderr_file))
-        .spawn()
-        .context("Failed to spawn etcd subprocess")?;
-    let pid = etcd_process.id();
+    let pid_file_path = etcd_pid_file_path(env);
 
-    let etcd_pid_file_path = etcd_pid_file_path(env);
-    fs::write(&etcd_pid_file_path, pid.to_string()).with_context(|| {
-        format!(
-            "Failed to create etcd pid file at {}",
-            etcd_pid_file_path.display()
-        )
-    })?;
+    let client = reqwest::blocking::Client::new();
+
+    background_process::start_process(
+        "etcd",
+        &etcd_data_dir,
+        &etcd_broker.etcd_binary_path,
+        &args,
+        background_process::InitialPidFile::Create(&pid_file_path),
+        || {
+            for broker_endpoint in &etcd_broker.broker_endpoints {
+                let request = broker_endpoint
+                    .join("health")
+                    .with_context(|| {
+                        format!(
+                            "Failed to append /health path to broker endopint {}",
+                            broker_endpoint
+                        )
+                    })
+                    .and_then(|url| {
+                        client.get(&url.to_string()).build().with_context(|| {
+                            format!("Failed to construct request to etcd endpoint {url}")
+                        })
+                    })?;
+                if client.execute(request).is_ok() {
+                    return Ok(true);
+                }
+            }
+
+            Ok(false)
+        },
+    )
+    .context("Failed to spawn etcd subprocess")?;
 
     Ok(())
 }
 
 pub fn stop_etcd_process(env: &local_env::LocalEnv) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    let etcd_path = &env.etcd_broker.etcd_binary_path;
-    println!("Stopping etcd broker at {}", etcd_path.display());
-
-    let etcd_pid_file_path = etcd_pid_file_path(env);
-    let pid = Pid::from_raw(read_pidfile(&etcd_pid_file_path).with_context(|| {
-        format!(
-            "Failed to read etcd pid file at {}",
-            etcd_pid_file_path.display()
-        )
-    })?);
-
-    kill(pid, Signal::SIGTERM).with_context(|| {
-        format!(
-            "Failed to stop etcd with pid {pid} at {}",
-            etcd_pid_file_path.display()
-        )
-    })?;
-
-    Ok(())
+    background_process::stop_process(true, "etcd", &etcd_pid_file_path(env))
 }
 
 fn etcd_pid_file_path(env: &local_env::LocalEnv) -> PathBuf {
diff --git a/control_plane/src/lib.rs b/control_plane/src/lib.rs
index f22dce1810..c3b47fe81b 100644
--- a/control_plane/src/lib.rs
+++ b/control_plane/src/lib.rs
@@ -6,60 +6,12 @@
 // Intended to be used in integration tests and in CLI tools for
 // local installations.
 //
-use anyhow::{anyhow, bail, Context, Result};
-use std::fs;
-use std::path::Path;
-use std::process::Command;
 
+mod background_process;
 pub mod compute;
 pub mod connection;
 pub mod etcd;
 pub mod local_env;
+pub mod pageserver;
 pub mod postgresql_conf;
 pub mod safekeeper;
-pub mod storage;
-
-/// Read a PID file
-///
-/// We expect a file that contains a single integer.
-/// We return an i32 for compatibility with libc and nix.
-pub fn read_pidfile(pidfile: &Path) -> Result<i32> {
-    let pid_str = fs::read_to_string(pidfile)
-        .with_context(|| format!("failed to read pidfile {:?}", pidfile))?;
-    let pid: i32 = pid_str
-        .parse()
-        .map_err(|_| anyhow!("failed to parse pidfile {:?}", pidfile))?;
-    if pid < 1 {
-        bail!("pidfile {:?} contained bad value '{}'", pidfile, pid);
-    }
-    Ok(pid)
-}
-
-fn fill_rust_env_vars(cmd: &mut Command) -> &mut Command {
-    let cmd = cmd.env_clear().env("RUST_BACKTRACE", "1");
-
-    let var = "LLVM_PROFILE_FILE";
-    if let Some(val) = std::env::var_os(var) {
-        cmd.env(var, val);
-    }
-
-    const RUST_LOG_KEY: &str = "RUST_LOG";
-    if let Ok(rust_log_value) = std::env::var(RUST_LOG_KEY) {
-        cmd.env(RUST_LOG_KEY, rust_log_value)
-    } else {
-        cmd
-    }
-}
-
-fn fill_aws_secrets_vars(mut cmd: &mut Command) -> &mut Command {
-    for env_key in [
-        "AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID",
-        "AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY",
-        "AWS_SESSION_TOKEN",
-    ] {
-        if let Ok(value) = std::env::var(env_key) {
-            cmd = cmd.env(env_key, value);
-        }
-    }
-    cmd
-}
diff --git a/control_plane/src/local_env.rs b/control_plane/src/local_env.rs
index 10b2db6396..ac4ebd0d1e 100644
--- a/control_plane/src/local_env.rs
+++ b/control_plane/src/local_env.rs
@@ -226,12 +226,12 @@ impl LocalEnv {
         }
     }
 
-    pub fn pageserver_bin(&self) -> anyhow::Result<PathBuf> {
-        Ok(self.neon_distrib_dir.join("pageserver"))
+    pub fn pageserver_bin(&self) -> PathBuf {
+        self.neon_distrib_dir.join("pageserver")
     }
 
-    pub fn safekeeper_bin(&self) -> anyhow::Result<PathBuf> {
-        Ok(self.neon_distrib_dir.join("safekeeper"))
+    pub fn safekeeper_bin(&self) -> PathBuf {
+        self.neon_distrib_dir.join("safekeeper")
     }
 
     pub fn pg_data_dirs_path(&self) -> PathBuf {
diff --git a/control_plane/src/storage.rs b/control_plane/src/pageserver.rs
similarity index 80%
rename from control_plane/src/storage.rs
rename to control_plane/src/pageserver.rs
index 4b705690f0..fa6d1e496a 100644
--- a/control_plane/src/storage.rs
+++ b/control_plane/src/pageserver.rs
@@ -1,17 +1,13 @@
 use std::collections::HashMap;
-use std::fs::File;
+use std::fs::{self, File};
 use std::io::{BufReader, Write};
 use std::num::NonZeroU64;
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
-use std::process::Command;
-use std::time::Duration;
-use std::{io, result, thread};
+use std::process::Child;
+use std::{io, result};
 
 use crate::connection::PgConnectionConfig;
 use anyhow::{bail, Context};
-use nix::errno::Errno;
-use nix::sys::signal::{kill, Signal};
-use nix::unistd::Pid;
 use pageserver_api::models::{
     TenantConfigRequest, TenantCreateRequest, TenantInfo, TimelineCreateRequest, TimelineInfo,
 };
@@ -25,8 +21,7 @@ use utils::{
     postgres_backend::AuthType,
 };
 
-use crate::local_env::LocalEnv;
-use crate::{fill_aws_secrets_vars, fill_rust_env_vars, read_pidfile};
+use crate::{background_process, local_env::LocalEnv};
 
 #[derive(Error, Debug)]
 pub enum PageserverHttpError {
@@ -160,7 +155,15 @@ impl PageServerNode {
             init_config_overrides.push("auth_validation_public_key_path='auth_public_key.pem'");
         }
 
-        self.start_node(&init_config_overrides, &self.env.base_data_dir, true)?;
+        let mut pageserver_process = self
+            .start_node(&init_config_overrides, &self.env.base_data_dir, true)
+            .with_context(|| {
+                format!(
+                    "Failed to start a process for pageserver {}",
+                    self.env.pageserver.id,
+                )
+            })?;
+
         let init_result = self
             .try_init_timeline(create_tenant, initial_timeline_id, pg_version)
             .context("Failed to create initial tenant and timeline for pageserver");
@@ -170,7 +173,29 @@ impl PageServerNode {
             }
             Err(e) => eprintln!("{e:#}"),
         }
-        self.stop(false)?;
+        match pageserver_process.kill() {
+            Err(e) => {
+                eprintln!(
+                    "Failed to stop pageserver {} process with pid {}: {e:#}",
+                    self.env.pageserver.id,
+                    pageserver_process.id(),
+                )
+            }
+            Ok(()) => {
+                println!(
+                    "Stopped pageserver {} process with pid {}",
+                    self.env.pageserver.id,
+                    pageserver_process.id(),
+                );
+                // cleanup after pageserver startup, since we do not call regular `stop_process` during init
+                let pid_file = self.pid_file();
+                if let Err(e) = fs::remove_file(&pid_file) {
+                    if e.kind() != io::ErrorKind::NotFound {
+                        eprintln!("Failed to remove pid file {pid_file:?} after stopping the process: {e:#}");
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
         init_result
     }
 
@@ -195,11 +220,14 @@ impl PageServerNode {
         self.env.pageserver_data_dir()
     }
 
-    pub fn pid_file(&self) -> PathBuf {
+    /// The pid file is created by the pageserver process, with its pid stored inside.
+    /// Other pageservers cannot lock the same file and overwrite it for as long as the current
+    /// pageserver runs. (Unless someone removes the file manually; never do that!)
+    fn pid_file(&self) -> PathBuf {
         self.repo_path().join("pageserver.pid")
     }
 
-    pub fn start(&self, config_overrides: &[&str]) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    pub fn start(&self, config_overrides: &[&str]) -> anyhow::Result<Child> {
         self.start_node(config_overrides, &self.repo_path(), false)
     }
 
@@ -208,7 +236,7 @@ impl PageServerNode {
         config_overrides: &[&str],
         datadir: &Path,
         update_config: bool,
-    ) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    ) -> anyhow::Result<Child> {
         println!(
             "Starting pageserver at '{}' in '{}'",
             self.pg_connection_config.raw_address(),
@@ -219,10 +247,7 @@ impl PageServerNode {
         let mut args = vec![
             "-D",
             datadir.to_str().with_context(|| {
-                format!(
-                    "Datadir path '{}' cannot be represented as a unicode string",
-                    datadir.display()
-                )
+                format!("Datadir path {datadir:?} cannot be represented as a unicode string")
             })?,
         ];
 
@@ -234,48 +259,18 @@ impl PageServerNode {
             args.extend(["-c", config_override]);
         }
 
-        let mut cmd = Command::new(self.env.pageserver_bin()?);
-        let mut filled_cmd = fill_rust_env_vars(cmd.args(&args).arg("--daemonize"));
-        filled_cmd = fill_aws_secrets_vars(filled_cmd);
-
-        if !filled_cmd.status()?.success() {
-            bail!(
-                "Pageserver failed to start. See console output and '{}' for details.",
-                datadir.join("pageserver.log").display()
-            );
-        }
-
-        // It takes a while for the page server to start up. Wait until it is
-        // open for business.
-        const RETRIES: i8 = 15;
-        for retries in 1..RETRIES {
-            match self.check_status() {
-                Ok(()) => {
-                    println!("\nPageserver started");
-                    return Ok(());
-                }
-                Err(err) => {
-                    match err {
-                        PageserverHttpError::Transport(err) => {
-                            if err.is_connect() && retries < 5 {
-                                print!(".");
-                                io::stdout().flush().unwrap();
-                            } else {
-                                if retries == 5 {
-                                    println!() // put a line break after dots for second message
-                                }
-                                println!("Pageserver not responding yet, err {err} retrying ({retries})...");
-                            }
-                        }
-                        PageserverHttpError::Response(msg) => {
-                            bail!("pageserver failed to start: {msg} ")
-                        }
-                    }
-                    thread::sleep(Duration::from_secs(1));
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        bail!("pageserver failed to start in {RETRIES} seconds");
+        background_process::start_process(
+            "pageserver",
+            datadir,
+            &self.env.pageserver_bin(),
+            &args,
+            background_process::InitialPidFile::Expect(&self.pid_file()),
+            || match self.check_status() {
+                Ok(()) => Ok(true),
+                Err(PageserverHttpError::Transport(_)) => Ok(false),
+                Err(e) => Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to check node status: {e}")),
+            },
+        )
     }
 
     ///
@@ -287,58 +282,7 @@ impl PageServerNode {
     /// If the server is not running, returns success
     ///
     pub fn stop(&self, immediate: bool) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-        let pid_file = self.pid_file();
-        if !pid_file.exists() {
-            println!("Pageserver is already stopped");
-            return Ok(());
-        }
-        let pid = Pid::from_raw(read_pidfile(&pid_file)?);
-
-        let sig = if immediate {
-            print!("Stopping pageserver immediately..");
-            Signal::SIGQUIT
-        } else {
-            print!("Stopping pageserver gracefully..");
-            Signal::SIGTERM
-        };
-        io::stdout().flush().unwrap();
-        match kill(pid, sig) {
-            Ok(_) => (),
-            Err(Errno::ESRCH) => {
-                println!("Pageserver with pid {pid} does not exist, but a PID file was found");
-                return Ok(());
-            }
-            Err(err) => bail!(
-                "Failed to send signal to pageserver with pid {pid}: {}",
-                err.desc()
-            ),
-        }
-
-        // Wait until process is gone
-        for i in 0..600 {
-            let signal = None; // Send no signal, just get the error code
-            match kill(pid, signal) {
-                Ok(_) => (), // Process exists, keep waiting
-                Err(Errno::ESRCH) => {
-                    // Process not found, we're done
-                    println!("done!");
-                    return Ok(());
-                }
-                Err(err) => bail!(
-                    "Failed to send signal to pageserver with pid {}: {}",
-                    pid,
-                    err.desc()
-                ),
-            };
-
-            if i % 10 == 0 {
-                print!(".");
-                io::stdout().flush().unwrap();
-            }
-            thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(100));
-        }
-
-        bail!("Failed to stop pageserver with pid {pid}");
+        background_process::stop_process(immediate, "pageserver", &self.pid_file())
     }
 
     pub fn page_server_psql(&self, sql: &str) -> Vec<postgres::SimpleQueryMessage> {
diff --git a/control_plane/src/safekeeper.rs b/control_plane/src/safekeeper.rs
index 91cedeca23..0bc35b3680 100644
--- a/control_plane/src/safekeeper.rs
+++ b/control_plane/src/safekeeper.rs
@@ -1,23 +1,21 @@
 use std::io::Write;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
-use std::process::Command;
+use std::process::Child;
 use std::sync::Arc;
-use std::time::Duration;
-use std::{io, result, thread};
+use std::{io, result};
 
-use anyhow::bail;
-use nix::errno::Errno;
-use nix::sys::signal::{kill, Signal};
-use nix::unistd::Pid;
+use anyhow::Context;
 use reqwest::blocking::{Client, RequestBuilder, Response};
 use reqwest::{IntoUrl, Method};
 use thiserror::Error;
 use utils::{http::error::HttpErrorBody, id::NodeId};
 
 use crate::connection::PgConnectionConfig;
-use crate::local_env::{LocalEnv, SafekeeperConf};
-use crate::storage::PageServerNode;
-use crate::{fill_aws_secrets_vars, fill_rust_env_vars, read_pidfile};
+use crate::pageserver::PageServerNode;
+use crate::{
+    background_process,
+    local_env::{LocalEnv, SafekeeperConf},
+};
 
 #[derive(Error, Debug)]
 pub enum SafekeeperHttpError {
@@ -95,7 +93,7 @@ impl SafekeeperNode {
     }
 
     pub fn datadir_path_by_id(env: &LocalEnv, sk_id: NodeId) -> PathBuf {
-        env.safekeeper_data_dir(format!("sk{}", sk_id).as_ref())
+        env.safekeeper_data_dir(&format!("sk{sk_id}"))
     }
 
     pub fn datadir_path(&self) -> PathBuf {
@@ -106,7 +104,7 @@ impl SafekeeperNode {
         self.datadir_path().join("safekeeper.pid")
     }
 
-    pub fn start(&self) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    pub fn start(&self) -> anyhow::Result<Child> {
         print!(
             "Starting safekeeper at '{}' in '{}'",
             self.pg_connection_config.raw_address(),
@@ -116,81 +114,68 @@ impl SafekeeperNode {
 
         let listen_pg = format!("127.0.0.1:{}", self.conf.pg_port);
         let listen_http = format!("127.0.0.1:{}", self.conf.http_port);
+        let id = self.id;
+        let datadir = self.datadir_path();
 
-        let mut cmd = Command::new(self.env.safekeeper_bin()?);
-        fill_rust_env_vars(
-            cmd.args(&["-D", self.datadir_path().to_str().unwrap()])
-                .args(&["--id", self.id.to_string().as_ref()])
-                .args(&["--listen-pg", &listen_pg])
-                .args(&["--listen-http", &listen_http])
-                .arg("--daemonize"),
-        );
+        let id_string = id.to_string();
+        let mut args = vec![
+            "-D",
+            datadir.to_str().with_context(|| {
+                format!("Datadir path {datadir:?} cannot be represented as a unicode string")
+            })?,
+            "--id",
+            &id_string,
+            "--listen-pg",
+            &listen_pg,
+            "--listen-http",
+            &listen_http,
+        ];
         if !self.conf.sync {
-            cmd.arg("--no-sync");
+            args.push("--no-sync");
         }
 
         let comma_separated_endpoints = self.env.etcd_broker.comma_separated_endpoints();
         if !comma_separated_endpoints.is_empty() {
-            cmd.args(&["--broker-endpoints", &comma_separated_endpoints]);
+            args.extend(["--broker-endpoints", &comma_separated_endpoints]);
         }
         if let Some(prefix) = self.env.etcd_broker.broker_etcd_prefix.as_deref() {
-            cmd.args(&["--broker-etcd-prefix", prefix]);
+            args.extend(["--broker-etcd-prefix", prefix]);
         }
+
+        let mut backup_threads = String::new();
         if let Some(threads) = self.conf.backup_threads {
-            cmd.args(&["--backup-threads", threads.to_string().as_ref()]);
+            backup_threads = threads.to_string();
+            args.extend(["--backup-threads", &backup_threads]);
+        } else {
+            drop(backup_threads);
         }
+
         if let Some(ref remote_storage) = self.conf.remote_storage {
-            cmd.args(&["--remote-storage", remote_storage]);
+            args.extend(["--remote-storage", remote_storage]);
         }
+
+        let key_path = self.env.base_data_dir.join("auth_public_key.pem");
         if self.conf.auth_enabled {
-            cmd.arg("--auth-validation-public-key-path");
-            // PathBuf is better be passed as is, not via `String`.
-            cmd.arg(self.env.base_data_dir.join("auth_public_key.pem"));
+            args.extend([
+                "--auth-validation-public-key-path",
+                key_path.to_str().with_context(|| {
+                    format!("Key path {key_path:?} cannot be represented as a unicode string")
+                })?,
+            ]);
         }
 
-        fill_aws_secrets_vars(&mut cmd);
-
-        if !cmd.status()?.success() {
-            bail!(
-                "Safekeeper failed to start. See '{}' for details.",
-                self.datadir_path().join("safekeeper.log").display()
-            );
-        }
-
-        // It takes a while for the safekeeper to start up. Wait until it is
-        // open for business.
-        const RETRIES: i8 = 15;
-        for retries in 1..RETRIES {
-            match self.check_status() {
-                Ok(_) => {
-                    println!("\nSafekeeper started");
-                    return Ok(());
-                }
-                Err(err) => {
-                    match err {
-                        SafekeeperHttpError::Transport(err) => {
-                            if err.is_connect() && retries < 5 {
-                                print!(".");
-                                io::stdout().flush().unwrap();
-                            } else {
-                                if retries == 5 {
-                                    println!() // put a line break after dots for second message
-                                }
-                                println!(
-                                    "Safekeeper not responding yet, err {} retrying ({})...",
-                                    err, retries
-                                );
-                            }
-                        }
-                        SafekeeperHttpError::Response(msg) => {
-                            bail!("safekeeper failed to start: {} ", msg)
-                        }
-                    }
-                    thread::sleep(Duration::from_secs(1));
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        bail!("safekeeper failed to start in {} seconds", RETRIES);
+        background_process::start_process(
+            &format!("safekeeper {id}"),
+            &datadir,
+            &self.env.safekeeper_bin(),
+            &args,
+            background_process::InitialPidFile::Expect(&self.pid_file()),
+            || match self.check_status() {
+                Ok(()) => Ok(true),
+                Err(SafekeeperHttpError::Transport(_)) => Ok(false),
+                Err(e) => Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to check node status: {e}")),
+            },
+        )
     }
 
     ///
@@ -202,63 +187,11 @@ impl SafekeeperNode {
     /// If the server is not running, returns success
     ///
     pub fn stop(&self, immediate: bool) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-        let pid_file = self.pid_file();
-        if !pid_file.exists() {
-            println!("Safekeeper {} is already stopped", self.id);
-            return Ok(());
-        }
-        let pid = read_pidfile(&pid_file)?;
-        let pid = Pid::from_raw(pid);
-
-        let sig = if immediate {
-            print!("Stopping safekeeper {} immediately..", self.id);
-            Signal::SIGQUIT
-        } else {
-            print!("Stopping safekeeper {} gracefully..", self.id);
-            Signal::SIGTERM
-        };
-        io::stdout().flush().unwrap();
-        match kill(pid, sig) {
-            Ok(_) => (),
-            Err(Errno::ESRCH) => {
-                println!(
-                    "Safekeeper with pid {} does not exist, but a PID file was found",
-                    pid
-                );
-                return Ok(());
-            }
-            Err(err) => bail!(
-                "Failed to send signal to safekeeper with pid {}: {}",
-                pid,
-                err.desc()
-            ),
-        }
-
-        // Wait until process is gone
-        for i in 0..600 {
-            let signal = None; // Send no signal, just get the error code
-            match kill(pid, signal) {
-                Ok(_) => (), // Process exists, keep waiting
-                Err(Errno::ESRCH) => {
-                    // Process not found, we're done
-                    println!("done!");
-                    return Ok(());
-                }
-                Err(err) => bail!(
-                    "Failed to send signal to pageserver with pid {}: {}",
-                    pid,
-                    err.desc()
-                ),
-            };
-
-            if i % 10 == 0 {
-                print!(".");
-                io::stdout().flush().unwrap();
-            }
-            thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(100));
-        }
-
-        bail!("Failed to stop safekeeper with pid {}", pid);
+        background_process::stop_process(
+            immediate,
+            &format!("safekeeper {}", self.id),
+            &self.pid_file(),
+        )
     }
 
     fn http_request<U: IntoUrl>(&self, method: Method, url: U) -> RequestBuilder {
diff --git a/libs/utils/src/lib.rs b/libs/utils/src/lib.rs
index aff86c8076..6f51465609 100644
--- a/libs/utils/src/lib.rs
+++ b/libs/utils/src/lib.rs
@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@ pub mod sock_split;
 // common log initialisation routine
 pub mod logging;
 
+pub mod lock_file;
+
 // Misc
 pub mod accum;
 pub mod shutdown;
diff --git a/libs/utils/src/lock_file.rs b/libs/utils/src/lock_file.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4fef65852b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/utils/src/lock_file.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+//! A module to create and read lock files. A lock file ensures that only one
+//! process is running at a time, in a particular directory.
+//!
+//! File locking is done using [`fcntl::flock`], which means that holding the
+//! lock on file only prevents acquiring another lock on it; all other
+//! operations are still possible on files. Other process can still open, read,
+//! write, or remove the file, for example.
+//! If the file is removed while a process is holding a lock on it,
+//! the process that holds the lock does not get any error or notification.
+//! Furthermore, you can create a new file with the same name and lock the new file,
+//! while the old process is still running.
+//! Deleting the lock file while the locking process is still running is a bad idea!
+
+use std::{fs, os::unix::prelude::AsRawFd, path::Path};
+
+use anyhow::Context;
+use nix::fcntl;
+
+use crate::crashsafe;
+
+pub enum LockCreationResult {
+    Created {
+        new_lock_contents: String,
+        file: fs::File,
+    },
+    AlreadyLocked {
+        existing_lock_contents: String,
+    },
+    CreationFailed(anyhow::Error),
+}
+
+/// Creates a lock file in the path given and writes the given contents into the file.
+/// Note: The lock is automatically released when the file closed. You might want to use Box::leak to make sure it lives until the end of the program.
+pub fn create_lock_file(lock_file_path: &Path, contents: String) -> LockCreationResult {
+    let lock_file = match fs::OpenOptions::new()
+        .create(true) // O_CREAT
+        .write(true)
+        .open(lock_file_path)
+        .context("Failed to open lock file")
+    {
+        Ok(file) => file,
+        Err(e) => return LockCreationResult::CreationFailed(e),
+    };
+
+    match fcntl::flock(
+        lock_file.as_raw_fd(),
+        fcntl::FlockArg::LockExclusiveNonblock,
+    ) {
+        Ok(()) => {
+            match lock_file
+                .set_len(0)
+                .context("Failed to truncate lockfile")
+                .and_then(|()| {
+                    fs::write(lock_file_path, &contents).with_context(|| {
+                        format!("Failed to write '{contents}' contents into lockfile")
+                    })
+                })
+                .and_then(|()| {
+                    crashsafe::fsync_file_and_parent(lock_file_path)
+                        .context("Failed to fsync lockfile")
+                }) {
+                Ok(()) => LockCreationResult::Created {
+                    new_lock_contents: contents,
+                    file: lock_file,
+                },
+                Err(e) => LockCreationResult::CreationFailed(e),
+            }
+        }
+        Err(nix::errno::Errno::EAGAIN) => {
+            match fs::read_to_string(lock_file_path).context("Failed to read lockfile contents") {
+                Ok(existing_lock_contents) => LockCreationResult::AlreadyLocked {
+                    existing_lock_contents,
+                },
+                Err(e) => LockCreationResult::CreationFailed(e),
+            }
+        }
+        Err(e) => {
+            LockCreationResult::CreationFailed(anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to lock lockfile: {e}"))
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/libs/utils/src/logging.rs b/libs/utils/src/logging.rs
index 31c0e02f98..3b1a1f5aff 100644
--- a/libs/utils/src/logging.rs
+++ b/libs/utils/src/logging.rs
@@ -1,10 +1,6 @@
-use std::{
-    fs::{File, OpenOptions},
-    path::Path,
-    str::FromStr,
-};
+use std::str::FromStr;
 
-use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+use anyhow::Context;
 use strum_macros::{EnumString, EnumVariantNames};
 
 #[derive(EnumString, EnumVariantNames, Eq, PartialEq, Debug, Clone, Copy)]
@@ -25,19 +21,8 @@ impl LogFormat {
         })
     }
 }
-pub fn init(
-    log_filename: impl AsRef<Path>,
-    daemonize: bool,
-    log_format: LogFormat,
-) -> Result<File> {
-    // Don't open the same file for output multiple times;
-    // the different fds could overwrite each other's output.
-    let log_file = OpenOptions::new()
-        .create(true)
-        .append(true)
-        .open(&log_filename)
-        .with_context(|| format!("failed to open {:?}", log_filename.as_ref()))?;
 
+pub fn init(log_format: LogFormat) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let default_filter_str = "info";
 
     // We fall back to printing all spans at info-level or above if
@@ -45,50 +30,16 @@ pub fn init(
     let env_filter = tracing_subscriber::EnvFilter::try_from_default_env()
         .unwrap_or_else(|_| tracing_subscriber::EnvFilter::new(default_filter_str));
 
-    let x: File = log_file.try_clone().unwrap();
     let base_logger = tracing_subscriber::fmt()
         .with_env_filter(env_filter)
         .with_target(false)
         .with_ansi(false)
-        .with_writer(move || -> Box<dyn std::io::Write> {
-            // we are cloning and returning log file in order to allow redirecting daemonized stdout and stderr to it
-            // if we do not use daemonization (e.g. in docker) it is better to log to stdout directly
-            // for example to be in line with docker log command which expects logs comimg from stdout
-            if daemonize {
-                Box::new(x.try_clone().unwrap())
-            } else {
-                Box::new(std::io::stdout())
-            }
-        });
+        .with_writer(std::io::stdout);
 
     match log_format {
         LogFormat::Json => base_logger.json().init(),
         LogFormat::Plain => base_logger.init(),
     }
 
-    Ok(log_file)
-}
-
-// #[cfg(test)]
-// Due to global logger, can't run tests in same process.
-// So until there's a non-global one, the tests are in ../tests/ as separate files.
-#[macro_export(local_inner_macros)]
-macro_rules! test_init_file_logger {
-    ($log_level:expr, $log_format:expr) => {{
-        use std::str::FromStr;
-        std::env::set_var("RUST_LOG", $log_level);
-
-        let tmp_dir = tempfile::TempDir::new().unwrap();
-        let log_file_path = tmp_dir.path().join("logfile");
-
-        let log_format = $crate::logging::LogFormat::from_str($log_format).unwrap();
-        let _log_file = $crate::logging::init(&log_file_path, true, log_format).unwrap();
-
-        let log_file = std::fs::OpenOptions::new()
-            .read(true)
-            .open(&log_file_path)
-            .unwrap();
-
-        log_file
-    }};
+    Ok(())
 }
diff --git a/libs/utils/tests/logger_json_test.rs b/libs/utils/tests/logger_json_test.rs
deleted file mode 100644
index 5d63b9b004..0000000000
--- a/libs/utils/tests/logger_json_test.rs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,36 +0,0 @@
-// This could be in ../src/logging.rs but since the logger is global, these
-// can't be run in threads of the same process
-use std::fs::File;
-use std::io::{BufRead, BufReader, Lines};
-use tracing::*;
-use utils::test_init_file_logger;
-
-fn read_lines(file: File) -> Lines<BufReader<File>> {
-    BufReader::new(file).lines()
-}
-
-#[test]
-fn test_json_format_has_message_and_custom_field() {
-    std::env::set_var("RUST_LOG", "info");
-
-    let log_file = test_init_file_logger!("info", "json");
-
-    let custom_field: &str = "hi";
-    trace!(custom = %custom_field, "test log message");
-    debug!(custom = %custom_field, "test log message");
-    info!(custom = %custom_field, "test log message");
-    warn!(custom = %custom_field, "test log message");
-    error!(custom = %custom_field, "test log message");
-
-    let lines = read_lines(log_file);
-    for line in lines {
-        let content = line.unwrap();
-        let json_object = serde_json::from_str::<serde_json::Value>(&content).unwrap();
-
-        assert_eq!(json_object["fields"]["custom"], "hi");
-        assert_eq!(json_object["fields"]["message"], "test log message");
-
-        assert_ne!(json_object["level"], "TRACE");
-        assert_ne!(json_object["level"], "DEBUG");
-    }
-}
diff --git a/libs/utils/tests/logger_plain_test.rs b/libs/utils/tests/logger_plain_test.rs
deleted file mode 100644
index bc5abf45dd..0000000000
--- a/libs/utils/tests/logger_plain_test.rs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,36 +0,0 @@
-// This could be in ../src/logging.rs but since the logger is global, these
-// can't be run in threads of the same process
-use std::fs::File;
-use std::io::{BufRead, BufReader, Lines};
-use tracing::*;
-use utils::test_init_file_logger;
-
-fn read_lines(file: File) -> Lines<BufReader<File>> {
-    BufReader::new(file).lines()
-}
-
-#[test]
-fn test_plain_format_has_message_and_custom_field() {
-    std::env::set_var("RUST_LOG", "warn");
-
-    let log_file = test_init_file_logger!("warn", "plain");
-
-    let custom_field: &str = "hi";
-    trace!(custom = %custom_field, "test log message");
-    debug!(custom = %custom_field, "test log message");
-    info!(custom = %custom_field, "test log message");
-    warn!(custom = %custom_field, "test log message");
-    error!(custom = %custom_field, "test log message");
-
-    let lines = read_lines(log_file);
-    for line in lines {
-        let content = line.unwrap();
-        serde_json::from_str::<serde_json::Value>(&content).unwrap_err();
-        assert!(content.contains("custom=hi"));
-        assert!(content.contains("test log message"));
-
-        assert!(!content.contains("TRACE"));
-        assert!(!content.contains("DEBUG"));
-        assert!(!content.contains("INFO"));
-    }
-}
diff --git a/pageserver/Cargo.toml b/pageserver/Cargo.toml
index b075b86aa1..4262ca9820 100644
--- a/pageserver/Cargo.toml
+++ b/pageserver/Cargo.toml
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ hex = "0.4.3"
 hyper = "0.14"
 itertools = "0.10.3"
 clap = { version = "4.0", features = ["string"] }
-daemonize = "0.4.1"
 tokio = { version = "1.17", features = ["process", "sync", "macros", "fs", "rt", "io-util", "time"] }
 tokio-util = { version = "0.7.3", features = ["io", "io-util"] }
 postgres-types = { git = "https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git", rev="d052ee8b86fff9897c77b0fe89ea9daba0e1fa38" }
diff --git a/pageserver/src/bin/pageserver.rs b/pageserver/src/bin/pageserver.rs
index 802352be90..62119b51c6 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/bin/pageserver.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/bin/pageserver.rs
@@ -1,17 +1,14 @@
 //! Main entry point for the Page Server executable.
 
-use remote_storage::GenericRemoteStorage;
 use std::{env, ops::ControlFlow, path::Path, str::FromStr};
+
+use anyhow::{anyhow, Context};
+use clap::{Arg, ArgAction, Command};
+use fail::FailScenario;
+use nix::unistd::Pid;
 use tracing::*;
 
-use anyhow::{anyhow, bail, Context, Result};
-
-use clap::{Arg, ArgAction, Command};
-use daemonize::Daemonize;
-
-use fail::FailScenario;
 use metrics::set_build_info_metric;
-
 use pageserver::{
     config::{defaults::*, PageServerConf},
     http, page_cache, page_service, profiling, task_mgr,
@@ -19,20 +16,22 @@ use pageserver::{
     task_mgr::{
         BACKGROUND_RUNTIME, COMPUTE_REQUEST_RUNTIME, MGMT_REQUEST_RUNTIME, WALRECEIVER_RUNTIME,
     },
-    tenant_mgr, virtual_file, LOG_FILE_NAME,
+    tenant_mgr, virtual_file,
 };
+use remote_storage::GenericRemoteStorage;
 use utils::{
     auth::JwtAuth,
-    logging,
+    lock_file, logging,
     postgres_backend::AuthType,
     project_git_version,
-    shutdown::exit_now,
     signals::{self, Signal},
     tcp_listener,
 };
 
 project_git_version!(GIT_VERSION);
 
+const PID_FILE_NAME: &str = "pageserver.pid";
+
 const FEATURES: &[&str] = &[
     #[cfg(feature = "testing")]
     "testing",
@@ -65,6 +64,7 @@ fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let workdir = workdir
         .canonicalize()
         .with_context(|| format!("Error opening workdir '{}'", workdir.display()))?;
+
     let cfg_file_path = workdir.join("pageserver.toml");
 
     // Set CWD to workdir for non-daemon modes
@@ -75,8 +75,6 @@ fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         )
     })?;
 
-    let daemonize = arg_matches.get_flag("daemonize");
-
     let conf = match initialize_config(&cfg_file_path, arg_matches, &workdir)? {
         ControlFlow::Continue(conf) => conf,
         ControlFlow::Break(()) => {
@@ -102,7 +100,7 @@ fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     virtual_file::init(conf.max_file_descriptors);
     page_cache::init(conf.page_cache_size);
 
-    start_pageserver(conf, daemonize).context("Failed to start pageserver")?;
+    start_pageserver(conf).context("Failed to start pageserver")?;
 
     scenario.teardown();
     Ok(())
@@ -197,12 +195,34 @@ fn initialize_config(
     })
 }
 
-fn start_pageserver(conf: &'static PageServerConf, daemonize: bool) -> Result<()> {
-    // Initialize logger
-    let log_file = logging::init(LOG_FILE_NAME, daemonize, conf.log_format)?;
-
+fn start_pageserver(conf: &'static PageServerConf) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    logging::init(conf.log_format)?;
     info!("version: {}", version());
 
+    let lock_file_path = conf.workdir.join(PID_FILE_NAME);
+    let lock_file = match lock_file::create_lock_file(&lock_file_path, Pid::this().to_string()) {
+        lock_file::LockCreationResult::Created {
+            new_lock_contents,
+            file,
+        } => {
+            info!("Created lock file at {lock_file_path:?} with contenst {new_lock_contents}");
+            file
+        }
+        lock_file::LockCreationResult::AlreadyLocked {
+            existing_lock_contents,
+        } => anyhow::bail!(
+            "Could not lock pid file; pageserver is already running in {:?} with PID {}",
+            conf.workdir,
+            existing_lock_contents
+        ),
+        lock_file::LockCreationResult::CreationFailed(e) => {
+            return Err(e.context(format!("Failed to create lock file at {lock_file_path:?}")))
+        }
+    };
+    // ensure that the lock file is held even if the main thread of the process is panics
+    // we need to release the lock file only when the current process is gone
+    let _ = Box::leak(Box::new(lock_file));
+
     // TODO: Check that it looks like a valid repository before going further
 
     // bind sockets before daemonizing so we report errors early and do not return until we are listening
@@ -218,33 +238,6 @@ fn start_pageserver(conf: &'static PageServerConf, daemonize: bool) -> Result<()
     );
     let pageserver_listener = tcp_listener::bind(conf.listen_pg_addr.clone())?;
 
-    // NB: Don't spawn any threads before daemonizing!
-    if daemonize {
-        info!("daemonizing...");
-
-        // There shouldn't be any logging to stdin/stdout. Redirect it to the main log so
-        // that we will see any accidental manual fprintf's or backtraces.
-        let stdout = log_file
-            .try_clone()
-            .with_context(|| format!("Failed to clone log file '{:?}'", log_file))?;
-        let stderr = log_file;
-
-        let daemonize = Daemonize::new()
-            .pid_file("pageserver.pid")
-            .working_directory(".")
-            .stdout(stdout)
-            .stderr(stderr);
-
-        // XXX: The parent process should exit abruptly right after
-        // it has spawned a child to prevent coverage machinery from
-        // dumping stats into a `profraw` file now owned by the child.
-        // Otherwise, the coverage data will be damaged.
-        match daemonize.exit_action(|| exit_now(0)).start() {
-            Ok(_) => info!("Success, daemonized"),
-            Err(err) => bail!("{err}. could not daemonize. bailing."),
-        }
-    }
-
     let signals = signals::install_shutdown_handlers()?;
 
     // start profiler (if enabled)
@@ -347,14 +340,6 @@ fn cli() -> Command {
     Command::new("Neon page server")
         .about("Materializes WAL stream to pages and serves them to the postgres")
         .version(version())
-        .arg(
-
-            Arg::new("daemonize")
-                .short('d')
-                .long("daemonize")
-                .action(ArgAction::SetTrue)
-                .help("Run in the background"),
-        )
         .arg(
             Arg::new("init")
                 .long("init")
diff --git a/pageserver/src/lib.rs b/pageserver/src/lib.rs
index 52a4cb0381..11be649e9f 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/lib.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/lib.rs
@@ -43,8 +43,6 @@ pub const DEFAULT_PG_VERSION: u32 = 14;
 pub const IMAGE_FILE_MAGIC: u16 = 0x5A60;
 pub const DELTA_FILE_MAGIC: u16 = 0x5A61;
 
-pub const LOG_FILE_NAME: &str = "pageserver.log";
-
 static ZERO_PAGE: bytes::Bytes = bytes::Bytes::from_static(&[0u8; 8192]);
 
 /// Config for the Repository checkpointer
@@ -81,7 +79,6 @@ pub async fn shutdown_pageserver(exit_code: i32) {
 
     // There should be nothing left, but let's be sure
     task_mgr::shutdown_tasks(None, None, None).await;
-
     info!("Shut down successfully completed");
     std::process::exit(exit_code);
 }
diff --git a/pageserver/src/walredo.rs b/pageserver/src/walredo.rs
index 39dccf2eba..e21ec4d742 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/walredo.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/walredo.rs
@@ -671,10 +671,6 @@ impl PostgresRedoProcess {
             // The Rust standard library makes sure to mark any file descriptors with
             // as close-on-exec by default, but that's not enough, since we use
             // libraries that directly call libc open without setting that flag.
-            //
-            // One example is the pidfile of the daemonize library, which doesn't
-            // currently mark file descriptors as close-on-exec. Either way, we
-            // want to be on the safe side and prevent accidental regression.
             .close_fds()
             .spawn()
             .map_err(|e| {
diff --git a/poetry.lock b/poetry.lock
index dfcb16107f..fdfe88acf1 100644
--- a/poetry.lock
+++ b/poetry.lock
@@ -1568,7 +1568,7 @@ testing = ["func-timeout", "jaraco.itertools", "pytest (>=6)", "pytest-black (>=
 [metadata]
 lock-version = "1.1"
 python-versions = "^3.9"
-content-hash = "17cdbfe90f1b06dffaf24c3e076384ec08dd4a2dce5a05e50565f7364932eb2d"
+content-hash = "9352a89d49d34807f6a58f6c3f898acbd8cf3570e0f45ede973673644bde4d0e"
 
 [metadata.files]
 aiopg = [
@@ -1978,6 +1978,7 @@ prometheus-client = [
 psycopg2-binary = [
     {file = "psycopg2-binary-2.9.3.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:761df5313dc15da1502b21453642d7599d26be88bff659382f8f9747c7ebea4e"},
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp310-cp310-macosx_10_14_x86_64.macosx_10_9_intel.macosx_10_9_x86_64.macosx_10_10_intel.macosx_10_10_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:539b28661b71da7c0e428692438efbcd048ca21ea81af618d845e06ebfd29478"},
+    {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp310-cp310-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:2f2534ab7dc7e776a263b463a16e189eb30e85ec9bbe1bff9e78dae802608932"},
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_17_i686.manylinux2014_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:6e82d38390a03da28c7985b394ec3f56873174e2c88130e6966cb1c946508e65"},
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:57804fc02ca3ce0dbfbef35c4b3a4a774da66d66ea20f4bda601294ad2ea6092"},
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_24_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:083a55275f09a62b8ca4902dd11f4b33075b743cf0d360419e2051a8a5d5ff76"},
@@ -2011,6 +2012,7 @@ psycopg2-binary = [
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp37-cp37m-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:adf20d9a67e0b6393eac162eb81fb10bc9130a80540f4df7e7355c2dd4af9fba"},
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp37-cp37m-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:2f9ffd643bc7349eeb664eba8864d9e01f057880f510e4681ba40a6532f93c71"},
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp38-cp38-macosx_10_14_x86_64.macosx_10_9_intel.macosx_10_9_x86_64.macosx_10_10_intel.macosx_10_10_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:def68d7c21984b0f8218e8a15d514f714d96904265164f75f8d3a70f9c295667"},
+    {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp38-cp38-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:e6aa71ae45f952a2205377773e76f4e3f27951df38e69a4c95440c779e013560"},
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp38-cp38-manylinux_2_17_i686.manylinux2014_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:dffc08ca91c9ac09008870c9eb77b00a46b3378719584059c034b8945e26b272"},
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp38-cp38-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:280b0bb5cbfe8039205c7981cceb006156a675362a00fe29b16fbc264e242834"},
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp38-cp38-manylinux_2_24_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:af9813db73395fb1fc211bac696faea4ca9ef53f32dc0cfa27e4e7cf766dcf24"},
@@ -2022,6 +2024,7 @@ psycopg2-binary = [
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp38-cp38-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:6472a178e291b59e7f16ab49ec8b4f3bdada0a879c68d3817ff0963e722a82ce"},
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp38-cp38-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:35168209c9d51b145e459e05c31a9eaeffa9a6b0fd61689b48e07464ffd1a83e"},
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp39-cp39-macosx_10_14_x86_64.macosx_10_9_intel.macosx_10_9_x86_64.macosx_10_10_intel.macosx_10_10_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:47133f3f872faf28c1e87d4357220e809dfd3fa7c64295a4a148bcd1e6e34ec9"},
+    {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp39-cp39-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:b3a24a1982ae56461cc24f6680604fffa2c1b818e9dc55680da038792e004d18"},
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp39-cp39-manylinux_2_17_i686.manylinux2014_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:91920527dea30175cc02a1099f331aa8c1ba39bf8b7762b7b56cbf54bc5cce42"},
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp39-cp39-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:887dd9aac71765ac0d0bac1d0d4b4f2c99d5f5c1382d8b770404f0f3d0ce8a39"},
     {file = "psycopg2_binary-2.9.3-cp39-cp39-manylinux_2_24_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:1f14c8b0942714eb3c74e1e71700cbbcb415acbc311c730370e70c578a44a25c"},
@@ -2038,18 +2041,7 @@ py = [
     {file = "py-1.11.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:51c75c4126074b472f746a24399ad32f6053d1b34b68d2fa41e558e6f4a98719"},
 ]
 pyasn1 = [
-    {file = "pyasn1-0.4.8-py2.4.egg", hash = "sha256:fec3e9d8e36808a28efb59b489e4528c10ad0f480e57dcc32b4de5c9d8c9fdf3"},
-    {file = "pyasn1-0.4.8-py2.5.egg", hash = "sha256:0458773cfe65b153891ac249bcf1b5f8f320b7c2ce462151f8fa74de8934becf"},
-    {file = "pyasn1-0.4.8-py2.6.egg", hash = "sha256:5c9414dcfede6e441f7e8f81b43b34e834731003427e5b09e4e00e3172a10f00"},
-    {file = "pyasn1-0.4.8-py2.7.egg", hash = "sha256:6e7545f1a61025a4e58bb336952c5061697da694db1cae97b116e9c46abcf7c8"},
     {file = "pyasn1-0.4.8-py2.py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:39c7e2ec30515947ff4e87fb6f456dfc6e84857d34be479c9d4a4ba4bf46aa5d"},
-    {file = "pyasn1-0.4.8-py3.1.egg", hash = "sha256:78fa6da68ed2727915c4767bb386ab32cdba863caa7dbe473eaae45f9959da86"},
-    {file = "pyasn1-0.4.8-py3.2.egg", hash = "sha256:08c3c53b75eaa48d71cf8c710312316392ed40899cb34710d092e96745a358b7"},
-    {file = "pyasn1-0.4.8-py3.3.egg", hash = "sha256:03840c999ba71680a131cfaee6fab142e1ed9bbd9c693e285cc6aca0d555e576"},
-    {file = "pyasn1-0.4.8-py3.4.egg", hash = "sha256:7ab8a544af125fb704feadb008c99a88805126fb525280b2270bb25cc1d78a12"},
-    {file = "pyasn1-0.4.8-py3.5.egg", hash = "sha256:e89bf84b5437b532b0803ba5c9a5e054d21fec423a89952a74f87fa2c9b7bce2"},
-    {file = "pyasn1-0.4.8-py3.6.egg", hash = "sha256:014c0e9976956a08139dc0712ae195324a75e142284d5f87f1a87ee1b068a359"},
-    {file = "pyasn1-0.4.8-py3.7.egg", hash = "sha256:99fcc3c8d804d1bc6d9a099921e39d827026409a58f2a720dcdb89374ea0c776"},
     {file = "pyasn1-0.4.8.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:aef77c9fb94a3ac588e87841208bdec464471d9871bd5050a287cc9a475cd0ba"},
 ]
 pycodestyle = [
@@ -2159,6 +2151,13 @@ pyyaml = [
     {file = "PyYAML-6.0-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_5_x86_64.manylinux1_x86_64.manylinux_2_12_x86_64.manylinux2010_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:f84fbc98b019fef2ee9a1cb3ce93e3187a6df0b2538a651bfb890254ba9f90b5"},
     {file = "PyYAML-6.0-cp310-cp310-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:2cd5df3de48857ed0544b34e2d40e9fac445930039f3cfe4bcc592a1f836d513"},
     {file = "PyYAML-6.0-cp310-cp310-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:daf496c58a8c52083df09b80c860005194014c3698698d1a57cbcfa182142a3a"},
+    {file = "PyYAML-6.0-cp311-cp311-macosx_10_9_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:d4b0ba9512519522b118090257be113b9468d804b19d63c71dbcf4a48fa32358"},
+    {file = "PyYAML-6.0-cp311-cp311-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:81957921f441d50af23654aa6c5e5eaf9b06aba7f0a19c18a538dc7ef291c5a1"},
+    {file = "PyYAML-6.0-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:afa17f5bc4d1b10afd4466fd3a44dc0e245382deca5b3c353d8b757f9e3ecb8d"},
+    {file = "PyYAML-6.0-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_17_s390x.manylinux2014_s390x.whl", hash = "sha256:dbad0e9d368bb989f4515da330b88a057617d16b6a8245084f1b05400f24609f"},
+    {file = "PyYAML-6.0-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:432557aa2c09802be39460360ddffd48156e30721f5e8d917f01d31694216782"},
+    {file = "PyYAML-6.0-cp311-cp311-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:bfaef573a63ba8923503d27530362590ff4f576c626d86a9fed95822a8255fd7"},
+    {file = "PyYAML-6.0-cp311-cp311-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:01b45c0191e6d66c470b6cf1b9531a771a83c1c4208272ead47a3ae4f2f603bf"},
     {file = "PyYAML-6.0-cp36-cp36m-macosx_10_9_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:897b80890765f037df3403d22bab41627ca8811ae55e9a722fd0392850ec4d86"},
     {file = "PyYAML-6.0-cp36-cp36m-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:50602afada6d6cbfad699b0c7bb50d5ccffa7e46a3d738092afddc1f9758427f"},
     {file = "PyYAML-6.0-cp36-cp36m-manylinux_2_17_s390x.manylinux2014_s390x.whl", hash = "sha256:48c346915c114f5fdb3ead70312bd042a953a8ce5c7106d5bfb1a5254e47da92"},
diff --git a/safekeeper/Cargo.toml b/safekeeper/Cargo.toml
index 64c541ddef..0c0ca2ff9f 100644
--- a/safekeeper/Cargo.toml
+++ b/safekeeper/Cargo.toml
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ fs2 = "0.4.3"
 serde_json = "1"
 tracing = "0.1.27"
 clap = "4.0"
-daemonize = "0.4.1"
+nix = "0.25"
 tokio = { version = "1.17", features = ["macros", "fs"] }
 postgres-protocol = { git = "https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git", rev="d052ee8b86fff9897c77b0fe89ea9daba0e1fa38" }
 postgres = { git = "https://github.com/neondatabase/rust-postgres.git", rev="d052ee8b86fff9897c77b0fe89ea9daba0e1fa38" }
diff --git a/safekeeper/src/bin/safekeeper.rs b/safekeeper/src/bin/safekeeper.rs
index 67c2c62f73..42f8188d6a 100644
--- a/safekeeper/src/bin/safekeeper.rs
+++ b/safekeeper/src/bin/safekeeper.rs
@@ -4,8 +4,7 @@
 use anyhow::{bail, Context, Result};
 use clap::{value_parser, Arg, ArgAction, Command};
 use const_format::formatcp;
-use daemonize::Daemonize;
-use fs2::FileExt;
+use nix::unistd::Pid;
 use remote_storage::RemoteStorageConfig;
 use std::fs::{self, File};
 use std::io::{ErrorKind, Write};
@@ -16,6 +15,7 @@ use tokio::sync::mpsc;
 use toml_edit::Document;
 use tracing::*;
 use url::{ParseError, Url};
+use utils::lock_file;
 
 use metrics::set_build_info_metric;
 use safekeeper::broker;
@@ -35,12 +35,10 @@ use utils::{
     http::endpoint,
     id::NodeId,
     logging::{self, LogFormat},
-    project_git_version,
-    shutdown::exit_now,
-    signals, tcp_listener,
+    project_git_version, signals, tcp_listener,
 };
 
-const LOCK_FILE_NAME: &str = "safekeeper.lock";
+const PID_FILE_NAME: &str = "safekeeper.pid";
 const ID_FILE_NAME: &str = "safekeeper.id";
 project_git_version!(GIT_VERSION);
 
@@ -65,10 +63,6 @@ fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         conf.no_sync = true;
     }
 
-    if arg_matches.get_flag("daemonize") {
-        conf.daemonize = true;
-    }
-
     if let Some(addr) = arg_matches.get_one::<String>("listen-pg") {
         conf.listen_pg_addr = addr.to_string();
     }
@@ -143,19 +137,33 @@ fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
 }
 
 fn start_safekeeper(mut conf: SafeKeeperConf, given_id: Option<NodeId>, init: bool) -> Result<()> {
-    let log_file = logging::init("safekeeper.log", conf.daemonize, conf.log_format)?;
-
+    logging::init(conf.log_format)?;
     info!("version: {GIT_VERSION}");
 
     // Prevent running multiple safekeepers on the same directory
-    let lock_file_path = conf.workdir.join(LOCK_FILE_NAME);
-    let lock_file = File::create(&lock_file_path).context("failed to open lockfile")?;
-    lock_file.try_lock_exclusive().with_context(|| {
-        format!(
-            "control file {} is locked by some other process",
-            lock_file_path.display()
-        )
-    })?;
+    let lock_file_path = conf.workdir.join(PID_FILE_NAME);
+    let lock_file = match lock_file::create_lock_file(&lock_file_path, Pid::this().to_string()) {
+        lock_file::LockCreationResult::Created {
+            new_lock_contents,
+            file,
+        } => {
+            info!("Created lock file at {lock_file_path:?} with contenst {new_lock_contents}");
+            file
+        }
+        lock_file::LockCreationResult::AlreadyLocked {
+            existing_lock_contents,
+        } => anyhow::bail!(
+            "Could not lock pid file; safekeeper is already running in {:?} with PID {}",
+            conf.workdir,
+            existing_lock_contents
+        ),
+        lock_file::LockCreationResult::CreationFailed(e) => {
+            return Err(e.context(format!("Failed to create lock file at {lock_file_path:?}")))
+        }
+    };
+    // ensure that the lock file is held even if the main thread of the process is panics
+    // we need to release the lock file only when the current process is gone
+    let _ = Box::leak(Box::new(lock_file));
 
     // Set or read our ID.
     set_id(&mut conf, given_id)?;
@@ -187,31 +195,6 @@ fn start_safekeeper(mut conf: SafeKeeperConf, given_id: Option<NodeId>, init: bo
         }
     };
 
-    // XXX: Don't spawn any threads before daemonizing!
-    if conf.daemonize {
-        info!("daemonizing...");
-
-        // There should'n be any logging to stdin/stdout. Redirect it to the main log so
-        // that we will see any accidental manual fprintf's or backtraces.
-        let stdout = log_file.try_clone().unwrap();
-        let stderr = log_file;
-
-        let daemonize = Daemonize::new()
-            .pid_file("safekeeper.pid")
-            .working_directory(Path::new("."))
-            .stdout(stdout)
-            .stderr(stderr);
-
-        // XXX: The parent process should exit abruptly right after
-        // it has spawned a child to prevent coverage machinery from
-        // dumping stats into a `profraw` file now owned by the child.
-        // Otherwise, the coverage data will be damaged.
-        match daemonize.exit_action(|| exit_now(0)).start() {
-            Ok(_) => info!("Success, daemonized"),
-            Err(err) => bail!("Error: {err}. could not daemonize. bailing."),
-        }
-    }
-
     // Register metrics collector for active timelines. It's important to do this
     // after daemonizing, otherwise process collector will be upset.
     let timeline_collector = safekeeper::metrics::TimelineCollector::new();
@@ -384,13 +367,6 @@ fn cli() -> Command {
                 .short('p')
                 .long("pageserver"),
         )
-        .arg(
-            Arg::new("daemonize")
-                .short('d')
-                .long("daemonize")
-                .action(ArgAction::SetTrue)
-                .help("Run in the background"),
-        )
         .arg(
             Arg::new("no-sync")
                 .short('n')
diff --git a/safekeeper/src/lib.rs b/safekeeper/src/lib.rs
index c3b8227e17..395a29c9ed 100644
--- a/safekeeper/src/lib.rs
+++ b/safekeeper/src/lib.rs
@@ -54,7 +54,6 @@ pub struct SafeKeeperConf {
     // data directories to avoid clashing with each other.
     pub workdir: PathBuf,
 
-    pub daemonize: bool,
     pub no_sync: bool,
     pub listen_pg_addr: String,
     pub listen_http_addr: String,
@@ -88,7 +87,6 @@ impl Default for SafeKeeperConf {
             // command line, so that when the server is running, all paths are relative
             // to that.
             workdir: PathBuf::from("./"),
-            daemonize: false,
             no_sync: false,
             listen_pg_addr: defaults::DEFAULT_PG_LISTEN_ADDR.to_string(),
             listen_http_addr: defaults::DEFAULT_HTTP_LISTEN_ADDR.to_string(),
diff --git a/test_runner/fixtures/neon_fixtures.py b/test_runner/fixtures/neon_fixtures.py
index e7e0e4ce56..b62c80824a 100644
--- a/test_runner/fixtures/neon_fixtures.py
+++ b/test_runner/fixtures/neon_fixtures.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from enum import Flag, auto
 from functools import cached_property
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, Iterator, List, Optional, Tuple, TypeVar, Union, cast
+from typing import Any, Dict, Iterator, List, Optional, Tuple, Union, cast
 
 import asyncpg
 import backoff  # type: ignore
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ from psycopg2.extensions import connection as PgConnection
 from psycopg2.extensions import make_dsn, parse_dsn
 from typing_extensions import Literal
 
-from .utils import allure_attach_from_dir, etcd_path, get_self_dir, subprocess_capture
+from .utils import Fn, allure_attach_from_dir, etcd_path, get_self_dir, subprocess_capture
 
 """
 This file contains pytest fixtures. A fixture is a test resource that can be
@@ -56,7 +56,6 @@ put directly-importable functions into utils.py or another separate file.
 """
 
 Env = Dict[str, str]
-Fn = TypeVar("Fn", bound=Callable[..., Any])
 
 DEFAULT_OUTPUT_DIR = "test_output"
 DEFAULT_BRANCH_NAME = "main"
@@ -965,11 +964,11 @@ def neon_env_builder(
         yield builder
 
 
-class NeonPageserverApiException(Exception):
+class PageserverApiException(Exception):
     pass
 
 
-class NeonPageserverHttpClient(requests.Session):
+class PageserverHttpClient(requests.Session):
     def __init__(self, port: int, is_testing_enabled_or_skip: Fn, auth_token: Optional[str] = None):
         super().__init__()
         self.port = port
@@ -987,7 +986,7 @@ class NeonPageserverHttpClient(requests.Session):
                 msg = res.json()["msg"]
             except:  # noqa: E722
                 msg = ""
-            raise NeonPageserverApiException(msg) from e
+            raise PageserverApiException(msg) from e
 
     def check_status(self):
         self.get(f"http://localhost:{self.port}/v1/status").raise_for_status()
@@ -1624,8 +1623,6 @@ class ComputeCtl(AbstractNeonCli):
 class NeonPageserver(PgProtocol):
     """
     An object representing a running pageserver.
-
-    Initializes the repository via `neon init`.
     """
 
     TEMP_FILE_SUFFIX = "___temp"
@@ -1674,8 +1671,8 @@ class NeonPageserver(PgProtocol):
         if '"profiling"' not in self.version:
             pytest.skip("pageserver was built without 'profiling' feature")
 
-    def http_client(self, auth_token: Optional[str] = None) -> NeonPageserverHttpClient:
-        return NeonPageserverHttpClient(
+    def http_client(self, auth_token: Optional[str] = None) -> PageserverHttpClient:
+        return PageserverHttpClient(
             port=self.service_port.http,
             auth_token=auth_token,
             is_testing_enabled_or_skip=self.is_testing_enabled_or_skip,
@@ -2260,11 +2257,6 @@ class PostgresFactory:
         return self
 
 
-def read_pid(path: Path) -> int:
-    """Read content of file into number"""
-    return int(path.read_text())
-
-
 @dataclass
 class SafekeeperPort:
     pg: int
@@ -2688,26 +2680,8 @@ def check_restored_datadir_content(
     assert (mismatch, error) == ([], [])
 
 
-def wait_until(number_of_iterations: int, interval: float, func):
-    """
-    Wait until 'func' returns successfully, without exception. Returns the
-    last return value from the function.
-    """
-    last_exception = None
-    for i in range(number_of_iterations):
-        try:
-            res = func()
-        except Exception as e:
-            log.info("waiting for %s iteration %s failed", func, i + 1)
-            last_exception = e
-            time.sleep(interval)
-            continue
-        return res
-    raise Exception("timed out while waiting for %s" % func) from last_exception
-
-
 def assert_no_in_progress_downloads_for_tenant(
-    pageserver_http_client: NeonPageserverHttpClient,
+    pageserver_http_client: PageserverHttpClient,
     tenant: TenantId,
 ):
     tenant_status = pageserver_http_client.tenant_status(tenant)
@@ -2715,7 +2689,7 @@ def assert_no_in_progress_downloads_for_tenant(
 
 
 def remote_consistent_lsn(
-    pageserver_http_client: NeonPageserverHttpClient, tenant: TenantId, timeline: TimelineId
+    pageserver_http_client: PageserverHttpClient, tenant: TenantId, timeline: TimelineId
 ) -> Lsn:
     detail = pageserver_http_client.timeline_detail(tenant, timeline)
 
@@ -2730,7 +2704,7 @@ def remote_consistent_lsn(
 
 
 def wait_for_upload(
-    pageserver_http_client: NeonPageserverHttpClient,
+    pageserver_http_client: PageserverHttpClient,
     tenant: TenantId,
     timeline: TimelineId,
     lsn: Lsn,
@@ -2754,7 +2728,7 @@ def wait_for_upload(
 
 
 def last_record_lsn(
-    pageserver_http_client: NeonPageserverHttpClient, tenant: TenantId, timeline: TimelineId
+    pageserver_http_client: PageserverHttpClient, tenant: TenantId, timeline: TimelineId
 ) -> Lsn:
     detail = pageserver_http_client.timeline_detail(tenant, timeline)
 
@@ -2764,7 +2738,7 @@ def last_record_lsn(
 
 
 def wait_for_last_record_lsn(
-    pageserver_http_client: NeonPageserverHttpClient,
+    pageserver_http_client: PageserverHttpClient,
     tenant: TenantId,
     timeline: TimelineId,
     lsn: Lsn,
diff --git a/test_runner/fixtures/utils.py b/test_runner/fixtures/utils.py
index 5fb91344ad..1242305ec3 100644
--- a/test_runner/fixtures/utils.py
+++ b/test_runner/fixtures/utils.py
@@ -4,13 +4,16 @@ import re
 import shutil
 import subprocess
 import tarfile
+import time
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Any, List, Tuple
+from typing import Any, Callable, List, Tuple, TypeVar
 
 import allure  # type: ignore
 from fixtures.log_helper import log
 from psycopg2.extensions import cursor
 
+Fn = TypeVar("Fn", bound=Callable[..., Any])
+
 
 def get_self_dir() -> str:
     """Get the path to the directory where this script lives."""
@@ -188,3 +191,57 @@ def allure_attach_from_dir(dir: Path):
                 extension = attachment.suffix.removeprefix(".")
 
             allure.attach.file(source, name, attachment_type, extension)
+
+
+def start_in_background(
+    command: list[str], cwd: Path, log_file_name: str, is_started: Fn
+) -> subprocess.Popen[bytes]:
+    """Starts a process, creates the logfile and redirects stderr and stdout there. Runs the start checks before the process is started, or errors."""
+
+    log.info(f'Running command "{" ".join(command)}"')
+
+    with open(cwd / log_file_name, "wb") as log_file:
+        spawned_process = subprocess.Popen(command, stdout=log_file, stderr=log_file, cwd=cwd)
+        error = None
+        try:
+            return_code = spawned_process.poll()
+            if return_code is not None:
+                error = f"expected subprocess to run but it exited with code {return_code}"
+            else:
+                attempts = 10
+                try:
+                    wait_until(
+                        number_of_iterations=attempts,
+                        interval=1,
+                        func=is_started,
+                    )
+                except Exception:
+                    error = f"Failed to get correct status from subprocess in {attempts} attempts"
+        except Exception as e:
+            error = f"expected subprocess to start but it failed with exception: {e}"
+
+        if error is not None:
+            log.error(error)
+            spawned_process.kill()
+            raise Exception(f"Failed to run subprocess as {command}, reason: {error}")
+
+        log.info("subprocess spawned")
+        return spawned_process
+
+
+def wait_until(number_of_iterations: int, interval: float, func: Fn):
+    """
+    Wait until 'func' returns successfully, without exception. Returns the
+    last return value from the function.
+    """
+    last_exception = None
+    for i in range(number_of_iterations):
+        try:
+            res = func()
+        except Exception as e:
+            log.info("waiting for %s iteration %s failed", func, i + 1)
+            last_exception = e
+            time.sleep(interval)
+            continue
+        return res
+    raise Exception("timed out while waiting for %s" % func) from last_exception
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_auth.py b/test_runner/regress/test_auth.py
index ce4a8ffa9e..8443aa029f 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_auth.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_auth.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 from contextlib import closing
 
 import pytest
-from fixtures.neon_fixtures import NeonEnvBuilder, NeonPageserverApiException
+from fixtures.neon_fixtures import NeonEnvBuilder, PageserverApiException
 from fixtures.types import TenantId
 
 
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ def test_pageserver_auth(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
 
     # fail to create branch using token with different tenant_id
     with pytest.raises(
-        NeonPageserverApiException, match="Forbidden: Tenant id mismatch. Permission denied"
+        PageserverApiException, match="Forbidden: Tenant id mismatch. Permission denied"
     ):
         invalid_tenant_http_client.timeline_create(
             tenant_id=env.initial_tenant, ancestor_timeline_id=new_timeline_id
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ def test_pageserver_auth(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
 
     # fail to create tenant using tenant token
     with pytest.raises(
-        NeonPageserverApiException,
+        PageserverApiException,
         match="Forbidden: Attempt to access management api with tenant scope. Permission denied",
     ):
         tenant_http_client.tenant_create()
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_compatibility.py b/test_runner/regress/test_compatibility.py
index 0487cd8f2c..1f0940cab7 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_compatibility.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_compatibility.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import toml
 from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
     NeonCli,
     NeonEnvBuilder,
-    NeonPageserverHttpClient,
+    PageserverHttpClient,
     PgBin,
     PortDistributor,
     wait_for_last_record_lsn,
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ def test_backward_compatibility(
     timeline_id = dict(snapshot_config["branch_name_mappings"]["main"])[tenant_id]
     pageserver_port = snapshot_config["pageserver"]["listen_http_addr"].split(":")[-1]
     auth_token = snapshot_config["pageserver"]["auth_token"]
-    pageserver_http = NeonPageserverHttpClient(
+    pageserver_http = PageserverHttpClient(
         port=pageserver_port,
         is_testing_enabled_or_skip=lambda: True,  # TODO: check if testing really enabled
         auth_token=auth_token,
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_neon_cli.py b/test_runner/regress/test_neon_cli.py
index a9dc63dd50..d146f78c3a 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_neon_cli.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_neon_cli.py
@@ -5,13 +5,13 @@ from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
     DEFAULT_BRANCH_NAME,
     NeonEnv,
     NeonEnvBuilder,
-    NeonPageserverHttpClient,
+    PageserverHttpClient,
 )
 from fixtures.types import TenantId, TimelineId
 
 
 def helper_compare_timeline_list(
-    pageserver_http_client: NeonPageserverHttpClient, env: NeonEnv, initial_tenant: TenantId
+    pageserver_http_client: PageserverHttpClient, env: NeonEnv, initial_tenant: TenantId
 ):
     """
     Compare timelines list returned by CLI and directly via API.
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ def test_cli_timeline_list(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv):
     assert nested_timeline_id in timelines_cli
 
 
-def helper_compare_tenant_list(pageserver_http_client: NeonPageserverHttpClient, env: NeonEnv):
+def helper_compare_tenant_list(pageserver_http_client: PageserverHttpClient, env: NeonEnv):
     tenants = pageserver_http_client.tenant_list()
     tenants_api = sorted(map(lambda t: cast(str, t["id"]), tenants))
 
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_normal_work.py b/test_runner/regress/test_normal_work.py
index 73918ee476..73933021a4 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_normal_work.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_normal_work.py
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 import pytest
 from fixtures.log_helper import log
-from fixtures.neon_fixtures import NeonEnv, NeonEnvBuilder, NeonPageserverHttpClient
+from fixtures.neon_fixtures import NeonEnv, NeonEnvBuilder, PageserverHttpClient
 
 
-def check_tenant(env: NeonEnv, pageserver_http: NeonPageserverHttpClient):
+def check_tenant(env: NeonEnv, pageserver_http: PageserverHttpClient):
     tenant_id, timeline_id = env.neon_cli.create_tenant()
     pg = env.postgres.create_start("main", tenant_id=tenant_id)
     # we rely upon autocommit after each statement
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_pageserver_api.py b/test_runner/regress/test_pageserver_api.py
index bab96cff4f..f5e02af8dd 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_pageserver_api.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_pageserver_api.py
@@ -6,12 +6,12 @@ from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
     DEFAULT_BRANCH_NAME,
     NeonEnv,
     NeonEnvBuilder,
-    NeonPageserverHttpClient,
+    PageserverHttpClient,
     neon_binpath,
     pg_distrib_dir,
-    wait_until,
 )
 from fixtures.types import Lsn, TenantId, TimelineId
+from fixtures.utils import wait_until
 
 
 # test that we cannot override node id after init
@@ -29,8 +29,9 @@ def test_pageserver_init_node_id(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv):
             stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
         )
 
-    # remove initial config
+    # remove initial config and stop existing pageserver
     pageserver_config.unlink()
+    neon_simple_env.pageserver.stop()
 
     bad_init = run_pageserver(["--init", "-c", f'pg_distrib_dir="{pg_distrib_dir}"'])
     assert (
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ def test_pageserver_init_node_id(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv):
     assert "has node id already, it cannot be overridden" in bad_update.stderr
 
 
-def check_client(client: NeonPageserverHttpClient, initial_tenant: TenantId):
+def check_client(client: PageserverHttpClient, initial_tenant: TenantId):
     client.check_status()
 
     # check initial tenant is there
@@ -116,7 +117,7 @@ def test_pageserver_http_get_wal_receiver_not_found(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv):
 
 
 def expect_updated_msg_lsn(
-    client: NeonPageserverHttpClient,
+    client: PageserverHttpClient,
     tenant_id: TenantId,
     timeline_id: TimelineId,
     prev_msg_lsn: Optional[Lsn],
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_remote_storage.py b/test_runner/regress/test_remote_storage.py
index 56b14dc42b..4fb5a5406d 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_remote_storage.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_remote_storage.py
@@ -15,10 +15,9 @@ from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
     available_remote_storages,
     wait_for_last_record_lsn,
     wait_for_upload,
-    wait_until,
 )
 from fixtures.types import Lsn, TenantId, TimelineId
-from fixtures.utils import query_scalar
+from fixtures.utils import query_scalar, wait_until
 
 
 #
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_detach.py b/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_detach.py
index a310eac1f7..dc4cd2e37e 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_detach.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_detach.py
@@ -2,16 +2,12 @@ from threading import Thread
 
 import pytest
 from fixtures.log_helper import log
-from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
-    NeonEnvBuilder,
-    NeonPageserverApiException,
-    NeonPageserverHttpClient,
-)
+from fixtures.neon_fixtures import NeonEnvBuilder, PageserverApiException, PageserverHttpClient
 from fixtures.types import TenantId, TimelineId
 
 
 def do_gc_target(
-    pageserver_http: NeonPageserverHttpClient, tenant_id: TenantId, timeline_id: TimelineId
+    pageserver_http: PageserverHttpClient, tenant_id: TenantId, timeline_id: TimelineId
 ):
     """Hack to unblock main, see https://github.com/neondatabase/neon/issues/2211"""
     try:
@@ -27,7 +23,7 @@ def test_tenant_detach_smoke(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
     # first check for non existing tenant
     tenant_id = TenantId.generate()
     with pytest.raises(
-        expected_exception=NeonPageserverApiException,
+        expected_exception=PageserverApiException,
         match=f"Tenant not found for id {tenant_id}",
     ):
         pageserver_http.tenant_detach(tenant_id)
@@ -49,7 +45,7 @@ def test_tenant_detach_smoke(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
 
     # gc should not try to even start
     with pytest.raises(
-        expected_exception=NeonPageserverApiException, match="gc target timeline does not exist"
+        expected_exception=PageserverApiException, match="gc target timeline does not exist"
     ):
         bogus_timeline_id = TimelineId.generate()
         pageserver_http.timeline_gc(tenant_id, bogus_timeline_id, 0)
@@ -78,6 +74,6 @@ def test_tenant_detach_smoke(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
     assert not (env.repo_dir / "tenants" / str(tenant_id)).exists()
 
     with pytest.raises(
-        expected_exception=NeonPageserverApiException, match=f"Tenant {tenant_id} not found"
+        expected_exception=PageserverApiException, match=f"Tenant {tenant_id} not found"
     ):
         pageserver_http.timeline_gc(tenant_id, timeline_id, 0)
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_relocation.py b/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_relocation.py
index e14434ffdc..2c11812a7b 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_relocation.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_relocation.py
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 import os
 import pathlib
-import signal
-import subprocess
 import threading
 from contextlib import closing, contextmanager
 from typing import Any, Dict, Optional, Tuple
@@ -12,7 +10,7 @@ from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
     Etcd,
     NeonEnv,
     NeonEnvBuilder,
-    NeonPageserverHttpClient,
+    PageserverHttpClient,
     PortDistributor,
     Postgres,
     assert_no_in_progress_downloads_for_tenant,
@@ -21,10 +19,9 @@ from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
     pg_distrib_dir,
     wait_for_last_record_lsn,
     wait_for_upload,
-    wait_until,
 )
 from fixtures.types import Lsn, TenantId, TimelineId
-from fixtures.utils import query_scalar, subprocess_capture
+from fixtures.utils import query_scalar, start_in_background, subprocess_capture, wait_until
 
 
 def assert_abs_margin_ratio(a: float, b: float, margin_ratio: float):
@@ -32,7 +29,7 @@ def assert_abs_margin_ratio(a: float, b: float, margin_ratio: float):
 
 
 @contextmanager
-def new_pageserver_helper(
+def new_pageserver_service(
     new_pageserver_dir: pathlib.Path,
     pageserver_bin: pathlib.Path,
     remote_storage_mock_path: pathlib.Path,
@@ -49,7 +46,6 @@ def new_pageserver_helper(
         str(pageserver_bin),
         "--workdir",
         str(new_pageserver_dir),
-        "--daemonize",
         "--update-config",
         f"-c listen_pg_addr='localhost:{pg_port}'",
         f"-c listen_http_addr='localhost:{http_port}'",
@@ -61,16 +57,26 @@ def new_pageserver_helper(
         cmd.append(
             f"-c broker_endpoints=['{broker.client_url()}']",
         )
-
-    log.info("starting new pageserver %s", cmd)
-    out = subprocess.check_output(cmd, text=True)
-    log.info("started new pageserver %s", out)
+    pageserver_client = PageserverHttpClient(
+        port=http_port,
+        auth_token=None,
+        is_testing_enabled_or_skip=lambda: True,  # TODO: check if testing really enabled
+    )
     try:
-        yield
+        pageserver_process = start_in_background(
+            cmd, new_pageserver_dir, "pageserver.log", pageserver_client.check_status
+        )
+    except Exception as e:
+        log.error(e)
+        pageserver_process.kill()
+        raise Exception(f"Failed to start pageserver as {cmd}, reason: {e}")
+
+    log.info("new pageserver started")
+    try:
+        yield pageserver_process
     finally:
         log.info("stopping new pageserver")
-        pid = int((new_pageserver_dir / "pageserver.pid").read_text())
-        os.kill(pid, signal.SIGQUIT)
+        pageserver_process.kill()
 
 
 @contextmanager
@@ -113,7 +119,7 @@ def load(pg: Postgres, stop_event: threading.Event, load_ok_event: threading.Eve
 def populate_branch(
     pg: Postgres,
     tenant_id: TenantId,
-    ps_http: NeonPageserverHttpClient,
+    ps_http: PageserverHttpClient,
     create_table: bool,
     expected_sum: Optional[int],
 ) -> Tuple[TimelineId, Lsn]:
@@ -146,7 +152,7 @@ def populate_branch(
 
 
 def ensure_checkpoint(
-    pageserver_http: NeonPageserverHttpClient,
+    pageserver_http: PageserverHttpClient,
     tenant_id: TenantId,
     timeline_id: TimelineId,
     current_lsn: Lsn,
@@ -159,7 +165,7 @@ def ensure_checkpoint(
 
 
 def check_timeline_attached(
-    new_pageserver_http_client: NeonPageserverHttpClient,
+    new_pageserver_http_client: PageserverHttpClient,
     tenant_id: TenantId,
     timeline_id: TimelineId,
     old_timeline_detail: Dict[str, Any],
@@ -346,13 +352,13 @@ def test_tenant_relocation(
     log.info("new pageserver ports pg %s http %s", new_pageserver_pg_port, new_pageserver_http_port)
     pageserver_bin = pathlib.Path(neon_binpath) / "pageserver"
 
-    new_pageserver_http = NeonPageserverHttpClient(
+    new_pageserver_http = PageserverHttpClient(
         port=new_pageserver_http_port,
         auth_token=None,
         is_testing_enabled_or_skip=env.pageserver.is_testing_enabled_or_skip,
     )
 
-    with new_pageserver_helper(
+    with new_pageserver_service(
         new_pageserver_dir,
         pageserver_bin,
         remote_storage_mock_path,
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_tasks.py b/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_tasks.py
index 97a13bbcb0..a6e935035c 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_tasks.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_tenant_tasks.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from fixtures.log_helper import log
-from fixtures.neon_fixtures import NeonEnvBuilder, wait_until
+from fixtures.neon_fixtures import NeonEnvBuilder
 from fixtures.types import TenantId, TimelineId
+from fixtures.utils import wait_until
 
 
 def get_only_element(l):  # noqa: E741
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_tenants_with_remote_storage.py b/test_runner/regress/test_tenants_with_remote_storage.py
index 96c1fc25db..9a4cbe135b 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_tenants_with_remote_storage.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_tenants_with_remote_storage.py
@@ -25,10 +25,9 @@ from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
     available_remote_storages,
     wait_for_last_record_lsn,
     wait_for_upload,
-    wait_until,
 )
 from fixtures.types import Lsn, TenantId, TimelineId
-from fixtures.utils import query_scalar
+from fixtures.utils import query_scalar, wait_until
 
 
 async def tenant_workload(env: NeonEnv, pg: Postgres):
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_delete.py b/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_delete.py
index 4a78a2746e..450f7f2381 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_delete.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_delete.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import pytest
-from fixtures.neon_fixtures import NeonEnv, NeonPageserverApiException, wait_until
+from fixtures.neon_fixtures import NeonEnv, PageserverApiException
 from fixtures.types import TenantId, TimelineId
+from fixtures.utils import wait_until
 
 
 def test_timeline_delete(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv):
@@ -11,13 +12,13 @@ def test_timeline_delete(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv):
     # first try to delete non existing timeline
     # for existing tenant:
     invalid_timeline_id = TimelineId.generate()
-    with pytest.raises(NeonPageserverApiException, match="timeline not found"):
+    with pytest.raises(PageserverApiException, match="timeline not found"):
         ps_http.timeline_delete(tenant_id=env.initial_tenant, timeline_id=invalid_timeline_id)
 
     # for non existing tenant:
     invalid_tenant_id = TenantId.generate()
     with pytest.raises(
-        NeonPageserverApiException,
+        PageserverApiException,
         match=f"Tenant {invalid_tenant_id} not found in the local state",
     ):
         ps_http.timeline_delete(tenant_id=invalid_tenant_id, timeline_id=invalid_timeline_id)
@@ -32,7 +33,7 @@ def test_timeline_delete(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv):
 
     ps_http = env.pageserver.http_client()
     with pytest.raises(
-        NeonPageserverApiException, match="Cannot delete timeline which has child timelines"
+        PageserverApiException, match="Cannot delete timeline which has child timelines"
     ):
 
         timeline_path = (
@@ -64,7 +65,7 @@ def test_timeline_delete(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv):
 
     # check 404
     with pytest.raises(
-        NeonPageserverApiException,
+        PageserverApiException,
         match=f"Timeline {env.initial_tenant}/{leaf_timeline_id} was not found",
     ):
         ps_http.timeline_detail(env.initial_tenant, leaf_timeline_id)
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_size.py b/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_size.py
index d783f897f9..c87e9a6720 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_size.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_size.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ from fixtures.log_helper import log
 from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
     NeonEnv,
     NeonEnvBuilder,
-    NeonPageserverHttpClient,
+    PageserverHttpClient,
     PgBin,
     PortDistributor,
     Postgres,
@@ -462,7 +462,7 @@ def assert_physical_size(env: NeonEnv, tenant_id: TenantId, timeline_id: Timelin
 # Timeline logical size initialization is an asynchronous background task that runs once,
 # try a few times to ensure it's activated properly
 def wait_for_timeline_size_init(
-    client: NeonPageserverHttpClient, tenant: TenantId, timeline: TimelineId
+    client: PageserverHttpClient, tenant: TenantId, timeline: TimelineId
 ):
     for i in range(10):
         timeline_details = client.timeline_detail(
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor.py b/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor.py
index 79adfb7b68..09f6f4b9f9 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor.py
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
     RemoteStorageKind,
     RemoteStorageUsers,
     Safekeeper,
+    SafekeeperHttpClient,
     SafekeeperPort,
     available_remote_storages,
     neon_binpath,
@@ -34,7 +35,7 @@ from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
     wait_for_upload,
 )
 from fixtures.types import Lsn, TenantId, TimelineId
-from fixtures.utils import get_dir_size, query_scalar
+from fixtures.utils import get_dir_size, query_scalar, start_in_background
 
 
 def wait_lsn_force_checkpoint(
@@ -841,7 +842,7 @@ class SafekeeperEnv:
         safekeeper_dir = self.repo_dir / f"sk{i}"
         safekeeper_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
 
-        args = [
+        cmd = [
             self.bin_safekeeper,
             "-l",
             f"127.0.0.1:{port.pg}",
@@ -853,11 +854,22 @@ class SafekeeperEnv:
             str(i),
             "--broker-endpoints",
             self.broker.client_url(),
-            "--daemonize",
         ]
+        log.info(f'Running command "{" ".join(cmd)}"')
 
-        log.info(f'Running command "{" ".join(args)}"')
-        return subprocess.run(args, check=True)
+        safekeeper_client = SafekeeperHttpClient(
+            port=port.http,
+            auth_token=None,
+        )
+        try:
+            safekeeper_process = start_in_background(
+                cmd, safekeeper_dir, "safekeeper.log", safekeeper_client.check_status
+            )
+            return safekeeper_process
+        except Exception as e:
+            log.error(e)
+            safekeeper_process.kill()
+            raise Exception(f"Failed to start safekepeer as {cmd}, reason: {e}")
 
     def get_safekeeper_connstrs(self):
         return ",".join([sk_proc.args[2] for sk_proc in self.safekeepers])