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<refentry id="systemd.service">

<refentryinfo>

<title>systemd.service</title>

<productname>systemd</productname>

<authorgroup>

<author>

<contrib>Developer</contrib>

<firstname>Lennart</firstname>

<surname>Poettering</surname>

<email>lennart@poettering.net</email>

</author>

</authorgroup>

</refentryinfo>

<refmeta>

<refentrytitle>systemd.service</refentrytitle>

<manvolnum>5</manvolnum>

</refmeta>

<refnamediv>

<refname>systemd.service</refname>

<refpurpose>systemd service configuration files</refpurpose>

</refnamediv>

<refsynopsisdiv>

<para><filename>systemd.service</filename></para>

</refsynopsisdiv>

<refsect1>

<title>Description</title>

<para>A configuration file ending in .service encodes

information about a process controlled and supervised

by systemd.</para>

<para>This man page lists the configuration options

specific to this unit type. See

<citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.unit</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>

for the common options of all unit configuration

files.</para>

</refsect1>

<refsect1>

<title>Options</title>

<variablelist>

<varlistentry>

<term><varname>Type=</varname></term>

<listitem>

<para>One of

<literal>forking</literal>,

<literal>simple</literal>,

<literal>finish</literal>,

<literal>dbus</literal>.</para>

<para>If set to

<literal>forking</literal>

(the default) it is expected

that the process configured

with

<varname>ExecStart=</varname>

will start up and call

<function>fork()</function>. The

parent process is expected to

finish when start-up is

complete and all communication

channels set up. The child

continues to run as the main

daemon process. This is the

behaviour of traditional UNIX

daemons. If this setting is

used, it is recommended to also

use the

<varname>PIDFile=</varname>

option, so that systemd can

identify the main process of

the daemon. systemd will proceed

starting follow-up units as soon

as the parent process exits.</para>

<para>If set to

<literal>simple</literal> (the

recommended value) it is

expected that the process

configured with

<varname>ExecStart=</varname>

is the main process of the

daemon. In this mode,

communication channels must be

available before the daemon is

started up (sockets set up by systemd),

as systemd will immediately proceed

starting follow-up units.</para>

<para>Behaviour of

<literal>finish</literal> is

similar to

<literal>simple</literal>,

however it is expected that

the process has to exit before

systemd starts follow-up

units. <varname>ValidNoProcess=</varname>

is particularly useful for

this type of service.</para>

<para>Behaviour of

<literal>dbus</literal> is

similar to

<literal>simple</literal>,

however it is expected that

the daemon acquires a name on

the D-Bus bus, as configured

by

<varname>BusName=</varname>. Systemd will

proceed starting follow-up

units after the D-Bus bus name has been

acquired.</para>

</listitem>

</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>

<term><varname>ValidNoProcess=</varname></term>

<listitem>

<para>Takes a boolean value

that specifies whether the service

shall be considered active

even when all its processes

exited. Defaults to <literal>no</literal>.</para>

</listitem>

</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>

<term><varname>PIDFile=</varname></term>

<listitem>

<para>Takes an absolute file

name pointing to the PID file

of this daemon. Use of this

option is recommended for

services where

<varname>Type=</varname> is

set to

<literal>forking</literal>.</para>

</listitem>

</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>

<term><varname>BusName=</varname></term>

<listitem>

<para>Takes a D-Bus bus name,

where this service is reachable

as. This option is mandatory

for services where

<varname>Type=</varname> is

set to

<literal>dbus</literal>, but

its use is otherwise

recommended as well if the

process takes a name on the

D-Bus bus.</para>

</listitem>

</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>

<term><varname>ExecStart=</varname></term>

<listitem>

<para>Takes a command line

that is executed when this

service shall be started

up. The first word of the

command line must be an

absolute file name. It is

mandatory to set this option

for all services.</para>

</listitem>

</varlistentry>

</variablelist>

</refsect1>

<refsect1>

<title>See Also</title>

<para>

<citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry>,

<citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemctl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry>

<citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.unit</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>

</para>

</refsect1>

</refentry>