Drop-in override

Patch a unit via drop-in without touching the vendor file; use --full to fork the whole unit

systemctl edit <unit> # writes /etc/systemd/system/<unit>.d/override.conf
tool
systemd26 commands
tags
systemdgitopstroubleshooting

More systemd commands

  • Reload unit files
    systemctl daemon-reload

    Reload unit files after editing; note: required after manual edits or systemctl warns of stale config

  • Mask a unit
    systemctl mask <unit> && systemctl unmask <unit>

    Mask symlinks a unit to /dev/null so it cannot start even as a dependency; stronger than disable

  • Recursive dependency tree
    systemctl list-dependencies <unit> --all

    Walk the full Wants/Requires tree to debug why a service pulls in others; --reverse for who needs it

  • Live memory of a unit
    systemctl show -p MainPID,MemoryCurrent,TasksCurrent <unit>

    Read live cgroup metrics straight from systemd without ps; MemoryCurrent is the accounted RSS

  • Clear failed state
    systemctl reset-failed && systemctl list-units --state=failed

    Reset failed counters so units can restart past StartLimitBurst, then list what is still failed

all 26 systemd commands