How to add new systemd services in Linux
Min Yang Jung | 05 Apr 2021Basics on Systemd Services
Some articles on the basics of the systemd services in Linux:
- Understanding Systemd Units and Unit Files
- How To Use Systemctl to Manage Systemd Services and Units
- systemd.service — Service unit configuration
- How To Use Journalctl to View and Manipulate Systemd Logs
- Use systemd to Start a Linux Service at Boot
Notes
Location of Service Unit Files
/lib/systemd/system: The default place where service unit files are installed on the system. Lowest priority./run/systemd/system: The location for run-time unit definitions. Higher priority than/lib/systemd/systembut lower than/etc/systemd/system./etc/systemd/system: The system-wide unit definitions with the highest priority. Can override unit files in the other locations on the filesystem.
Editing and Testing Service Files
Check if a new service is enabled:
systemctl is-enabled my_new_app.service
Start a new service and verify it is successfully started:
sudo systemctl start my_new_app.service
systemctl status my_new_app.service
If it fails to start, use journalctl for detailed logs:
sudo journalctl -xe
After modifying a service file, the systemd process should be reloaded:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload