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Petrus Maas
Petrus Maas

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Creating and managing Systemd services

#linux #tutorial #automation #devops

This is a guide on how to create, manage and persist your own systemd service.

But first — what is a system service?

  • A system service is a background process managed by the operating system.
  • It typically handles essential tasks like networking, logging, or scheduling.
  • Services are controlled by a service manager — on most Linux systems, that's systemd.
  • They can start automatically at boot, on demand, or based on specific triggers.
  • You can use system services to automate tasks, such as running scripts at startup or restarting failed processes.

By the end of this guide you'll be able to:

  • ✅ Create a simple bash script that runs continuously in the background
  • ✅ Set up a systemd service to manage and automate that script
  • ✅ Configure service behavior, including auto-restart on failure
  • ✅ Redirect service output to a log file for monitoring
  • ✅ Control the service using systemctl commands (start, stop, enable, disable, status)
  • ✅ Ensure your service starts automatically at boot
  • ✅ Use systemd to automate tasks and maintain persistent background processes

🔧 Step by Step Guide

1. Create the Dummy Script

Create a file called dummy.sh and add the following content:

#!/bin/bash

while true; do
  echo "$(date) | Dummy service is running..." >> /var/log/dummy-service.log
  sleep 10
done
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Save the file and make it executable:

chmod +x dummy.sh
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Copy the file to the proper directory:

sudo mv dummy.sh /usr/local/bin/dummy.sh
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2. Create the Systemd Service File

Create a new systemd service file:

sudo vi /etc/systemd/system/dummy.service
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Add the following content:

[Unit]
Description=Dummy service
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/dummy.sh
Restart=always
User=root
StandardOutput=append:/var/log/dummy-service.log
StandardError=append:/var/log/dummy-service.log

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
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Also make sure to set the log file permissions properly to avoid systemd errors:

sudo touch /var/log/dummy-service.log
sudo chmod 644 /var/log/dummy-service.log
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3. Reload Systemd and Enable the Service

Run these commands to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable dummy
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4. Manage the Service

You can interact with the service using:

sudo systemctl start dummy     # Start the service
sudo systemctl stop dummy      # Stop the service
sudo systemctl enable dummy    # Enable the service to start on boot
sudo systemctl disable dummy   # Disable the service
sudo systemctl status dummy    # Check the service status
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5. Check Logs

Check your log file:

cat /var/log/dummy-service.log
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6. Ensure the Service Auto-Restarts

If the service crashes, Restart=always ensures it restarts.

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