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Create and manage systemd services and timers. Configure service dependencies and resource limits. Use when managing system services.
npx skill4agent add bagelhole/devops-security-agent-skills systemd-services# /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service
[Unit]
Description=MyApp Production Server
Documentation=https://docs.example.com/myapp
After=network-online.target postgresql.service
Wants=network-online.target
Requires=postgresql.service
[Service]
Type=notify
User=myapp
Group=myapp
WorkingDirectory=/opt/myapp
# Environment configuration
EnvironmentFile=/etc/myapp/env
Environment=NODE_ENV=production
Environment=PORT=8080
# Execution
ExecStartPre=/opt/myapp/bin/migrate --check
ExecStart=/opt/myapp/bin/server --config /etc/myapp/config.yaml
ExecStartPost=/opt/myapp/bin/healthcheck.sh
ExecReload=/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID
ExecStop=/opt/myapp/bin/graceful-stop.sh
# Restart behavior
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5
StartLimitIntervalSec=300
StartLimitBurst=5
# Timeouts
TimeoutStartSec=30
TimeoutStopSec=30
WatchdogSec=60
# Security hardening
NoNewPrivileges=true
ProtectSystem=strict
ProtectHome=true
PrivateTmp=true
ReadWritePaths=/var/lib/myapp /var/log/myapp
CapabilityBoundingSet=
AmbientCapabilities=
# Logging
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal
SyslogIdentifier=myapp
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target# Reload systemd after creating or modifying unit files
systemctl daemon-reload
# Start, stop, restart a service
systemctl start myapp
systemctl stop myapp
systemctl restart myapp
# Reload service configuration without restart (if supported)
systemctl reload myapp
# Enable service to start on boot
systemctl enable myapp
# Enable and start in one command
systemctl enable --now myapp
# Disable and stop
systemctl disable --now myapp
# Check service status
systemctl status myapp
# Check if a service is active, enabled, or failed
systemctl is-active myapp
systemctl is-enabled myapp
systemctl is-failed myapp
# List all running services
systemctl list-units --type=service --state=running
# List all failed services
systemctl list-units --type=service --state=failed
# Show all properties of a service
systemctl show myapp
# Show specific property values
systemctl show myapp -p MainPID,MemoryCurrent,CPUUsageNSec
# Mask a service (prevent it from being started at all)
systemctl mask myapp
# Unmask
systemctl unmask myapp
# Reset a failed service state
systemctl reset-failed myapp# /etc/systemd/system/backup.timer
[Unit]
Description=Daily backup timer
[Timer]
# Run daily at 2:30 AM
OnCalendar=*-*-* 02:30:00
# If the system was off at the scheduled time, run when it boots
Persistent=true
# Add random delay up to 15 minutes to avoid thundering herd
RandomizedDelaySec=900
# Associate with a specific service (defaults to same name .service)
Unit=backup.service
[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target# /etc/systemd/system/backup.service
[Unit]
Description=Daily backup job
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target
[Service]
Type=oneshot
User=backup
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/run-backup.sh
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal# Common OnCalendar expressions:
# minutely, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly
# *-*-* 06:00:00 Daily at 6 AM
# Mon..Fri *-*-* 09:00 Weekdays at 9 AM
# *:0/15 Every 15 minutes
# Validate calendar expressions
systemd-analyze calendar "Mon..Fri *-*-* 09:00"
# List all active timers
systemctl list-timers --all
# Enable and start a timer
systemctl enable --now backup.timer
# Run the associated service immediately (for testing)
systemctl start backup.service# /etc/systemd/system/myapp.socket
[Unit]
Description=MyApp Socket
[Socket]
ListenStream=8080
Accept=no
# Optionally bind to a specific IP
# ListenStream=10.0.1.10:8080
[Install]
WantedBy=sockets.target# /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service
[Unit]
Description=MyApp Server
Requires=myapp.socket
[Service]
Type=notify
User=myapp
ExecStart=/opt/myapp/bin/server
# Service receives the socket file descriptor from systemd
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target# Enable the socket (service starts on first connection)
systemctl enable --now myapp.socket
# Check socket status
systemctl status myapp.socket
# List all listening sockets
systemctl list-sockets# Key [Unit] directives for ordering and dependencies:
# After= Start after these units (ordering only)
# Requires= Hard dependency -- fail if this unit cannot start
# Wants= Soft dependency -- try to start, don't fail if unavailable
# PartOf= Stop this unit when the parent stops
# Conflicts= Cannot run alongside this unit
# Visualize the dependency tree for a service
systemctl list-dependencies myapp
# Show reverse dependencies (who depends on this unit)
systemctl list-dependencies myapp --reverse
# Analyze boot order for a service
systemd-analyze critical-chain myapp.service# /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service.d/limits.conf
# (drop-in override file)
[Service]
# Memory limits
MemoryMax=1G
MemoryHigh=768M
# CPU limits
CPUQuota=200% # Up to 2 full CPU cores
CPUWeight=100 # Relative weight (default=100)
# I/O limits
IOWeight=50
IOReadBandwidthMax=/dev/sda 100M
IOWriteBandwidthMax=/dev/sda 50M
# Process limits
LimitNOFILE=65535
LimitNPROC=4096
TasksMax=512
# Disable OOM killer (let the app handle it)
OOMPolicy=continue# Apply drop-in overrides without editing the main unit file
mkdir -p /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service.d/
cat <<'EOF' > /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service.d/limits.conf
[Service]
MemoryMax=1G
CPUQuota=200%
EOF
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl restart myapp
# View current resource usage for a service
systemctl status myapp # Shows Memory and CPU
systemd-cgtop # Real-time cgroup resource usage
# Edit a service's overrides interactively
systemctl edit myapp
# This creates a drop-in file automatically# Follow logs for a service in real time
journalctl -u myapp -f
# Show logs since last boot
journalctl -u myapp -b
# Show logs for a specific time range
journalctl -u myapp --since "2025-01-15 08:00" --until "2025-01-15 12:00"
# Show only error and above
journalctl -u myapp -p err
# Show the last 100 lines with full messages (no truncation)
journalctl -u myapp -n 100 --no-pager -l
# Show logs in JSON format (for parsing)
journalctl -u myapp -o json-pretty --no-pager | head -50
# Check journal disk usage and vacuum old entries
journalctl --disk-usage
journalctl --rotate
journalctl --vacuum-time=7d
journalctl --vacuum-size=500M| Symptom | Diagnostic Command | Common Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Service fails to start | | Check ExecStart path, permissions, config syntax |
| Service keeps restarting | | Check StartLimitBurst; look for crash in logs |
| "Main process exited, code=exited, status=217" | | User or group in unit file does not exist |
| "Failed to set up mount namespacing" | Check ProtectSystem/PrivateTmp | Kernel too old or SELinux blocking; relax directives |
| Timer not firing | | Ensure timer is enabled; validate OnCalendar expression |
| Service starts before dependency | Check After= and Requires= | Add |
| OOM killed | | Increase MemoryMax or optimize application memory |
| Cannot bind to port 80 | Check AmbientCapabilities | Add |
linux-administrationperformance-tuninguser-managementbackup-recovery