systemd/FAQ

FAQ

For an up-to-date list of known issues, look at the upstream TODO.

Why do I get log messages on my console?

You must set the kernel loglevel yourself. Historically, /etc/rc.sysinit did this for us and set dmesg's loglevel to 3, which was a reasonably quiet loglevel. Either add or quiet to your kernel parameters.

How do I change the default number of gettys?

Currently, only one getty is launched by default. If you switch to another TTY, a getty will be launched there (socket-activation style). In other words, will launch a new getty on tty2.

By default, the number of auto-activated gettys is capped at six. Thus through will not launch a getty.

If you want to change this behavior, then edit and change the value of . If you want all Fx keys to start a getty, increase the value of to 12. If you are forwarding journald to tty12, increase the value of to (thus leaving tty12 free).

You can also pre-activate gettys which will be running from boot.

To add another pre-activated getty, enable and start .

To remove a getty, disable and stop the relevant .

systemd does not use the file.

How do I get more verbose output during boot?

If you see no output at all in console after the initram message, this means you have the quiet parameter in your kernel line. It is best to remove it, at least the first time you boot with systemd, to see if everything is ok. Then, you will see a list in green or in red.

Any messages are logged to the system log and if you want to find out about the status of your system, use systemctl or look at the boot/system log with journalctl.

How do I avoid clearing the console after boot?

Create a directory called and place in there to override the option to .

/etc/systemd/system/getty@.service.d/nodisallocate.conf

[Service]
TTYVTDisallocate=no

What kernel options are required for systemd?

Kernels prior to 3.0 are unsupported.

If you use a custom kernel, you will need to make sure that systemd's options are selected.

If you are compiling a new kernel for use with an installed version of systemd, the required and recommended options are listed in the systemd README file .

If you are preparing to install a new version of systemd and are running a custom kernel, the most recent version of the file can be found in the systemd GitHub repository.

What other units does a unit depend on?

For example, if you want to figure out which services a target like pulls in, use something like this:

Instead of you might also try , Requires, , , , , After for the respective types of dependencies and their inverse.

My computer shuts down, but the power stays on

Use instead of .

How can I make a script start during the boot process?

Create a new file as and add the following contents:

This example assumes you want your script to start up when the target multi-user is launched. Make sure the script is executable.

Enable to start the service at boot.

Service unit active state is "active (exited)" in green

This is the expected behaviour for oneshot services that also use . See systemd.service(5) § OPTIONS for more information. Some examples of oneshot services that behave this way are , , and iptables.service.

Failure to enable unit due to preexisting symlink

You may encounter the following error when attempting to enable a unit:

Failed to enable unit: File /etc/systemd/system/symlink already exists and is a symlink to file.

This can occur when the created by enabling a unit already exists in . This typically happens when switching from one display manager to another one (for instance GDM to SDDM, which can be enabled with and , respectively) and the corresponding symlink already exists.

To solve this problem, either first disable the relevant display manager before enabling the new one, or use the / option when enabling the new one to overwrite any existing conflicting symlinks (per systemctl(1) § OPTIONS).