diff --git a/piker/_daemon.py b/piker/_daemon.py
index ae3474c7..e172fe6b 100644
--- a/piker/_daemon.py
+++ b/piker/_daemon.py
@@ -19,11 +19,12 @@ Structured, daemon tree service management.
 
 """
 from typing import Optional, Union, Callable, Any
-from contextlib import asynccontextmanager, AsyncExitStack
+from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
 from collections import defaultdict
 
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 import trio
+from trio_typing import TaskStatus
 import tractor
 
 from .log import get_logger, get_console_log
@@ -49,40 +50,75 @@ class Services(BaseModel):
     actor_n: tractor._trionics.ActorNursery
     service_n: trio.Nursery
     debug_mode: bool  # tractor sub-actor debug mode flag
-    ctx_stack: AsyncExitStack
+    service_tasks: dict[str, tuple[trio.CancelScope, tractor.Portal]] = {}
 
     class Config:
         arbitrary_types_allowed = True
 
-    async def open_remote_ctx(
+    async def start_service_task(
         self,
+        name: str,
         portal: tractor.Portal,
         target: Callable,
         **kwargs,
 
-    ) -> tractor.Context:
+    ) -> (trio.CancelScope, tractor.Context):
         '''
         Open a context in a service sub-actor, add to a stack
-        that gets unwound at ``pikerd`` tearodwn.
+        that gets unwound at ``pikerd`` teardown.
 
         This allows for allocating long-running sub-services in our main
         daemon and explicitly controlling their lifetimes.
 
         '''
-        async def open_context_in_task():
+        async def open_context_in_task(
+            task_status: TaskStatus[
+                trio.CancelScope] = trio.TASK_STATUS_IGNORED,
 
-            async with portal.open_context(
-                target,
-                **kwargs,
-            ) as (ctx, first):
+        ) -> Any:
 
-                await ctx.result()
+            with trio.CancelScope() as cs:
 
-            await portal.result()
+                async with portal.open_context(
+                    target,
+                    **kwargs,
 
-        self.service_n.start_soon(open_context_in_task)
+                ) as (ctx, first):
 
-        return 'yo, dis a daemon yo.'
+                    # unblock once the remote context has started
+                    task_status.started((cs, first))
+
+                    # wait on any context's return value
+                    ctx_res = await ctx.result()
+                    log.info(
+                        f'`pikerd` service {name} started with value {ctx_res}'
+                    )
+
+                # wait on any error from the sub-actor
+                # NOTE: this will block indefinitely until cancelled
+                # either by error from the target context function or
+                # by being cancelled here by the surroundingn cancel
+                # scope
+                return await (portal.result(), ctx_res)
+
+        cs, first = await self.service_n.start(open_context_in_task)
+
+        # store the cancel scope and portal for later cancellation or
+        # retstart if needed.
+        self.service_tasks[name] = (cs, portal)
+
+        return cs, first
+
+    async def cancel_service(
+        self,
+        name: str,
+
+    ) -> Any:
+
+        log.info(f'Cancelling `pikerd` service {name}')
+        cs, portal = self.service_tasks[name]
+        cs.cancel()
+        return await portal.cancel_actor()
 
 
 _services: Optional[Services] = None
@@ -125,22 +161,22 @@ async def open_pikerd(
             # spawn other specialized daemons I think?
             enable_modules=_root_modules,
         ) as _,
+
         tractor.open_nursery() as actor_nursery,
     ):
         async with trio.open_nursery() as service_nursery:
 
-            # setup service mngr singleton instance
-            async with AsyncExitStack() as stack:
+            # # setup service mngr singleton instance
+            # async with AsyncExitStack() as stack:
 
-                # assign globally for future daemon/task creation
-                _services = Services(
-                    actor_n=actor_nursery,
-                    service_n=service_nursery,
-                    debug_mode=debug_mode,
-                    ctx_stack=stack,
-                )
+            # assign globally for future daemon/task creation
+            _services = Services(
+                actor_n=actor_nursery,
+                service_n=service_nursery,
+                debug_mode=debug_mode,
+            )
 
-                yield _services
+            yield _services
 
 
 @asynccontextmanager
@@ -182,16 +218,20 @@ async def maybe_open_pikerd(
 
     # subtle, we must have the runtime up here or portal lookup will fail
     async with maybe_open_runtime(loglevel, **kwargs):
+
         async with tractor.find_actor(_root_dname) as portal:
             # assert portal is not None
             if portal is not None:
                 yield portal
                 return
 
-    # presume pikerd role
+    # presume pikerd role since no daemon could be found at
+    # configured address
     async with open_pikerd(
+
         loglevel=loglevel,
         debug_mode=kwargs.get('debug_mode', False),
+
     ) as _:
         # in the case where we're starting up the
         # tractor-piker runtime stack in **this** process
@@ -217,7 +257,7 @@ class Brokerd:
 async def maybe_spawn_daemon(
 
     service_name: str,
-    spawn_func: Callable,
+    service_task_target: Callable,
     spawn_args: dict[str, Any],
     loglevel: Optional[str] = None,
     **kwargs,
@@ -227,6 +267,13 @@ async def maybe_spawn_daemon(
     If no ``service_name`` daemon-actor can be found,
     spawn one in a local subactor and return a portal to it.
 
+    If this function is called from a non-pikerd actor, the
+    spawned service will persist as long as pikerd does or
+    it is requested to be cancelled.
+
+    This can be seen as a service starting api for remote-actor
+    clients.
+
     """
     if loglevel:
         get_console_log(loglevel)
@@ -254,13 +301,24 @@ async def maybe_spawn_daemon(
     ) as pikerd_portal:
 
         if pikerd_portal is None:
-            # we are root so spawn brokerd directly in our tree
-            # the root nursery is accessed through process global state
-            await spawn_func(**spawn_args)
+            # we are the root and thus are `pikerd`
+            # so spawn the target service directly by calling
+            # the provided target routine.
+            # XXX: this assumes that the target is well formed and will
+            # do the right things to setup both a sub-actor **and** call
+            # the ``_Services`` api from above to start the top level
+            # service task for that actor.
+            await service_task_target(**spawn_args)
 
         else:
+            # tell the remote `pikerd` to start the target,
+            # the target can't return a non-serializable value
+            # since it is expected that service startingn is
+            # non-blocking and the target task will persist running
+            # on `pikerd` after the client requesting it's start
+            # disconnects.
             await pikerd_portal.run(
-                spawn_func,
+                service_task_target,
                 **spawn_args,
             )
 
@@ -275,7 +333,7 @@ async def spawn_brokerd(
     loglevel: Optional[str] = None,
     **tractor_kwargs,
 
-) -> tractor._portal.Portal:
+) -> bool:
 
     log.info(f'Spawning {brokername} broker daemon')
 
@@ -288,6 +346,8 @@ async def spawn_brokerd(
     global _services
     assert _services
 
+    # ask `pikerd` to spawn a new sub-actor and manage it under its
+    # actor nursery
     portal = await _services.actor_n.start_actor(
         dname,
         enable_modules=_data_mods + [brokermod.__name__],
@@ -299,13 +359,13 @@ async def spawn_brokerd(
     # non-blocking setup of brokerd service nursery
     from .data import _setup_persistent_brokerd
 
-    await _services.open_remote_ctx(
+    await _services.start_service_task(
+        dname,
         portal,
         _setup_persistent_brokerd,
         brokername=brokername,
     )
-
-    return dname
+    return True
 
 
 @asynccontextmanager
@@ -322,7 +382,7 @@ async def maybe_spawn_brokerd(
     async with maybe_spawn_daemon(
 
         f'brokerd.{brokername}',
-        spawn_func=spawn_brokerd,
+        service_task_target=spawn_brokerd,
         spawn_args={'brokername': brokername, 'loglevel': loglevel},
         loglevel=loglevel,
         **kwargs,
@@ -336,7 +396,7 @@ async def spawn_emsd(
     loglevel: Optional[str] = None,
     **extra_tractor_kwargs
 
-) -> tractor._portal.Portal:
+) -> bool:
     """
     Start the clearing engine under ``pikerd``.
 
@@ -360,12 +420,12 @@ async def spawn_emsd(
     # non-blocking setup of clearing service
     from .clearing._ems import _setup_persistent_emsd
 
-    await _services.open_remote_ctx(
+    await _services.start_service_task(
+        'emsd',
         portal,
         _setup_persistent_emsd,
     )
-
-    return 'emsd'
+    return True
 
 
 @asynccontextmanager
@@ -380,7 +440,7 @@ async def maybe_open_emsd(
     async with maybe_spawn_daemon(
 
         'emsd',
-        spawn_func=spawn_emsd,
+        service_task_target=spawn_emsd,
         spawn_args={'loglevel': loglevel},
         loglevel=loglevel,
         **kwargs,