SYSTEMD.SPECIAL(7) | systemd.special | SYSTEMD.SPECIAL(7) |
NAME¶
systemd.special - Special systemd units
SYNOPSIS¶
basic.target, bluetooth.target, cryptsetup-pre.target, cryptsetup.target, ctrl-alt-del.target, boot-complete.target, default.target, emergency.target, exit.target, final.target, getty.target, getty-pre.target, graphical.target, halt.target, hibernate.target, hybrid-sleep.target, suspend-then-hibernate.target, initrd-fs.target, initrd-root-device.target, initrd-root-fs.target, kbrequest.target, kexec.target, local-fs-pre.target, local-fs.target, machines.target multi-user.target, network-online.target, network-pre.target, network.target, nss-lookup.target, nss-user-lookup.target, paths.target, poweroff.target, printer.target, reboot.target, remote-cryptsetup.target, remote-fs-pre.target, remote-fs.target, rescue.target, rpcbind.target, runlevel2.target, runlevel3.target, runlevel4.target, runlevel5.target, shutdown.target, sigpwr.target, sleep.target, slices.target, smartcard.target, sockets.target, sound.target, suspend.target, swap.target, sysinit.target, system-update.target, system-update-pre.target, time-sync.target, timers.target, umount.target, -.slice, system.slice, user.slice, machine.slice, -.mount, dbus.service, dbus.socket, display-manager.service, init.scope, syslog.socket, system-update-cleanup.service
DESCRIPTION¶
A few units are treated specially by systemd. Many of them have special internal semantics and cannot be renamed, while others simply have a standard meaning and should be present on all systems.
SPECIAL SYSTEM UNITS¶
-.mount
basic.target
systemd automatically adds dependency of the type After= for this target unit to all services (except for those with DefaultDependencies=no).
Usually, this should pull-in all local mount points plus /var, /tmp and /var/tmp, swap devices, sockets, timers, path units and other basic initialization necessary for general purpose daemons. The mentioned mount points are special cased to allow them to be remote.
This target usually does not pull in any non-target units directly, but rather does so indirectly via other early boot targets. It is instead meant as a synchronization point for late boot services. Refer to bootup(7) for details on the targets involved.
ctrl-alt-del.target
cryptsetup.target
dbus.service
dbus.socket
default.target
The default unit systemd starts at bootup can be overridden with the systemd.unit= kernel command line option.
display-manager.service
emergency.target
Use the "systemd.unit=emergency.target" kernel command line option to boot into this mode. A short alias for this kernel command line option is "emergency", for compatibility with SysV.
In many ways booting into emergency.target is similar to the effect of booting with "init=/bin/sh" on the kernel command line, except that emergency mode provides you with the full system and service manager, and allows starting individual units in order to continue the boot process in steps.
exit.target
systemd will start this unit when it receives the SIGTERM or SIGINT signal when running as user service daemon.
Normally, this (indirectly) pulls in shutdown.target, which in turn should be conflicted by all units that want to be scheduled for shutdown when the service manager starts to exit.
final.target
getty.target
graphical.target
Units that are needed for graphical logins shall add Wants= dependencies for their unit to this unit (or multi-user.target) during installation. This is best configured via WantedBy=graphical.target in the unit's "[Install]" section.
hibernate.target
hybrid-sleep.target
suspend-then-hibernate.target
halt.target
Applications wanting to halt the system should not start this unit directly, but should instead execute systemctl halt (possibly with the --no-block option) or call systemd(1)'s org.freedesktop.systemd1.Manager.Halt D-Bus method directly.
init.scope
initrd-fs.target
initrd-root-device.target
initrd-root-fs.target
kbrequest.target
kexec.target
Applications wanting to reboot the system should not start this unit directly, but should instead execute systemctl kexec (possibly with the --no-block option) or call systemd(1)'s org.freedesktop.systemd1.Manager.KExec D-Bus method directly.
local-fs.target
machines.target
multi-user.target
Units that are needed for a multi-user system shall add Wants= dependencies for their unit to this unit during installation. This is best configured via WantedBy=multi-user.target in the unit's "[Install]" section.
network-online.target
Note the distinction between this unit and network.target. This unit is an active unit (i.e. pulled in by the consumer rather than the provider of this functionality) and pulls in a service which possibly adds substantial delays to further execution. In contrast, network.target is a passive unit (i.e. pulled in by the provider of the functionality, rather than the consumer) that usually does not delay execution much. Usually, network.target is part of the boot of most systems, while network-online.target is not, except when at least one unit requires it. Also see Running Services After the Network is up[1] for more information.
All mount units for remote network file systems automatically pull in this unit, and order themselves after it. Note that networking daemons that simply provide functionality to other hosts generally do not need to pull this in.
systemd automatically adds dependencies of type Wants= and After= for this target unit to all SysV init script service units with an LSB header referring to the "$network" facility.
Note that this unit is only useful during the original system start-up logic. After the system has completed booting up, it will not track the online state of the system anymore. Due to this it cannot be used as a network connection monitor concept, it is purely a one-time system start-up concept.
paths.target
It is recommended that path units installed by applications get pulled in via Wants= dependencies from this unit. This is best configured via a WantedBy=paths.target in the path unit's "[Install]" section.
poweroff.target
Applications wanting to power off the system should not start this unit directly, but should instead execute systemctl poweroff (possibly with the --no-block option) or call systemd-logind(8)'s org.freedesktop.login1.Manager.PowerOff D-Bus method directly.
runlevel0.target is an alias for this target unit, for compatibility with SysV.
reboot.target
Applications wanting to reboot the system should not start this unit directly, but should instead execute systemctl reboot (possibly with the --no-block option) or call systemd-logind(8)'s org.freedesktop.login1.Manager.Reboot D-Bus method directly.
runlevel6.target is an alias for this target unit, for compatibility with SysV.
remote-cryptsetup.target
remote-fs.target
systemd automatically adds dependencies of type After= for this target unit to all SysV init script service units with an LSB header referring to the "$remote_fs" facility.
rescue.target
runlevel1.target is an alias for this target unit, for compatibility with SysV.
Use the "systemd.unit=rescue.target" kernel command line option to boot into this mode. A short alias for this kernel command line option is "1", for compatibility with SysV.
runlevel2.target, runlevel3.target, runlevel4.target, runlevel5.target
shutdown.target
Services that shall be terminated on system shutdown shall add Conflicts= and Before= dependencies to this unit for their service unit, which is implicitly done when DefaultDependencies=yes is set (the default).
sigpwr.target
sleep.target
slices.target
It's a good idea to add WantedBy=slices.target lines to the "[Install]" section of all slices units that may be installed dynamically.
sockets.target
Services that can be socket-activated shall add Wants= dependencies to this unit for their socket unit during installation. This is best configured via a WantedBy=sockets.target in the socket unit's "[Install]" section.
suspend.target
swap.target
sysinit.target
This target pulls in the services required for system initialization. System services pulled in by this target should declare DefaultDependencies=no and specify all their dependencies manually, including access to anything more than a read only root filesystem. For details on the dependencies of this target, refer to bootup(7).
boot-complete.target
syslog.socket
system-update.target, system-update-pre.target, system-update-cleanup.service
Updates should happen before the system-update.target is reached, and the services which implement them should cause the machine to reboot. The main units executing the update should order themselves after system-update-pre.target but not pull it in. Services which want to run during system updates only, but before the actual system update is executed should order themselves before this unit and pull it in. As a safety measure, if this does not happen, and /system-update still exists after system-update.target is reached, system-update-cleanup.service will remove this symlink and reboot the machine.
timers.target
It is recommended that timer units installed by applications get pulled in via Wants= dependencies from this unit. This is best configured via WantedBy=timers.target in the timer unit's "[Install]" section.
umount.target
Mounts that shall be unmounted on system shutdown shall add Conflicts dependencies to this unit for their mount unit, which is implicitly done when DefaultDependencies=yes is set (the default).
SPECIAL SYSTEM UNITS FOR DEVICES¶
Some target units are automatically pulled in as devices of certain kinds show up in the system. These may be used to automatically activate various services based on the specific type of the available hardware.
bluetooth.target
This may be used to pull in Bluetooth management daemons dynamically when Bluetooth hardware is found.
printer.target
This may be used to pull in printer management daemons dynamically when printer hardware is found.
smartcard.target
This may be used to pull in smartcard management daemons dynamically when smartcard hardware is found.
sound.target
This may be used to pull in audio management daemons dynamically when audio hardware is found.
SPECIAL PASSIVE SYSTEM UNITS¶
A number of special system targets are defined that can be used to properly order boot-up of optional services. These targets are generally not part of the initial boot transaction, unless they are explicitly pulled in by one of the implementing services. Note specifically that these passive target units are generally not pulled in by the consumer of a service, but by the provider of the service. This means: a consuming service should order itself after these targets (as appropriate), but not pull it in. A providing service should order itself before these targets (as appropriate) and pull it in (via a Wants= type dependency).
Note that these passive units cannot be started manually, i.e. "systemctl start time-sync.target" will fail with an error. They can only be pulled in by dependency. This is enforced since they exist for ordering purposes only and thus are not useful as only unit within a transaction.
cryptsetup-pre.target
getty-pre.target
local-fs-pre.target
network.target
network-pre.target
nss-lookup.target
nss-user-lookup.target
remote-fs-pre.target
rpcbind.target
time-sync.target
SPECIAL USER UNITS¶
When systemd runs as a user instance, the following special units are available, which have similar definitions as their system counterparts: exit.target, default.target, shutdown.target, sockets.target, timers.target, paths.target, bluetooth.target, printer.target, smartcard.target, sound.target.
SPECIAL PASSIVE USER UNITS¶
graphical-session.target
Which services are started by a session target is determined by the "Wants=" and "Requires=" dependencies. For services that can be enabled independently, symlinks in ".wants/" and ".requires/" should be used, see systemd.unit(5). Those symlinks should either be shipped in packages, or should be added dynamically after installation, for example using "systemctl add-wants", see systemctl(1).
Example 1. Nautilus as part of a GNOME session "gnome-session.target" pulls in Nautilus as top-level service:
[Unit] Description=User systemd services for GNOME graphical session Wants=nautilus.service BindsTo=graphical-session.target
"nautilus.service" gets stopped when the session stops:
[Unit] Description=Render the desktop icons with Nautilus PartOf=graphical-session.target [Service] ...
graphical-session-pre.target
SPECIAL SLICE UNITS¶
There are four ".slice" units which form the basis of the hierarchy for assignment of resources for services, users, and virtual machines or containers. See systemd.slice(7) for details about slice units.
-.slice
system.slice
user.slice
machine.slice
SEE ALSO¶
systemd(1), systemd.unit(5), systemd.service(5), systemd.socket(5), systemd.target(5), systemd.slice(5), bootup(7), systemd-fstab-generator(8)
NOTES¶
- 1.
- Running Services After the Network is up
- 2.
- Syslog Interface
systemd 239 |