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Service Management with systemd

Systemd manages system services, their lifecycle, logging, and dependency handling.

Creating a New Service​

Systemd service units define how a process starts, stops, and restarts.

Input:

sudo vi /etc/systemd/system/example.service

Example content:

[Unit]
Description=Example Service

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/example --flag
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and reload units:

Input:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Input:

sudo systemctl enable example.service

Checking Service Logs​

Systemd stores logs in the journal, viewable per unit.

Input:

journalctl -u example.service -n 20

Output:

Jan 01 10:00:00 host example[1234]: Service started
Jan 01 10:00:05 host example[1234]: Running

Shows the last 20 log entries for the service.

Starting or Stopping a Service​

Basic lifecycle control for systemd units.

Input:

sudo systemctl start example.service

Input:

sudo systemctl stop example.service

Checking Service Status​

Status displays active state, PID, and recent logs.

Input:

systemctl status example.service

Output:

● example.service - Example Service
   Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/example.service; enabled)
   Active: active (running) since Tue 2025-01-01 10:00:00 UTC; 5min ago
 Main PID: 1234 (example)
    Tasks: 1
   Memory: 5.0M
   CGroup: /system.slice/example.service
           └─1234 /usr/bin/example --flag

Shows operational state, start time, and resource usage.

References: