Create a simple service unit

Minimal systemd service unit template

cat > /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service <<EOF [Unit] Description=My App After=network.target [Service] ExecStart=/usr/bin/myapp Restart=always RestartSec=5 User=appuser [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target EOF
tool
systemd26 commands
tags
systemd

More systemd commands

  • Run one-shot as another user
    systemd-run --uid=1000 --gid=1000 --wait /usr/bin/myapp --task

    Run a transient one-shot unit under a specific user

  • Create systemd timer
    cat > /etc/systemd/system/backup.timer <<EOF [Unit] Description=Daily backup [Timer] OnCalendar=daily Persistent=true [Install] WantedBy=timers.target EOF

    Replacement for cron with Persistent=true for missed runs

  • Set memory limit on service
    systemctl set-property myapp.service MemoryMax=512M CPUQuota=50%

    Apply cgroup limits without editing unit file

  • Show service resource usage
    systemctl status myapp.service | grep -E 'Memory:|CPU:|Tasks:'

    Current memory, CPU, and task counts from cgroup

  • List all socket units
    systemctl list-units --type=socket --all

    All socket-activated units and their state

all 26 systemd commands