Show service status
Show status, recent logs, and the service main PID.
bashANYsystemctlservicestatus
bash
systemctl status nginxNotes
Show status, recent logs, and the service main PID.
Linux systemd and Service Processes
systemd-oriented process inspection, signaling, cgroup views, transient units, and service troubleshooting.
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systemd Service Process Views
Inspect service state and main PIDs under systemd.
bash
systemctl show -p MainPID nginxNotes
Extract the tracked main PID for a unit.
bash
systemctl cat nginxNotes
Print the unit file and drop-ins defining a service.
bash
systemctl list-units --type=service --state=runningNotes
List active services managed by systemd.
Show logs for a service
Read recent logs associated with one systemd unit.
bashANYjournalctlservicelogs
bash
journalctl -u nginx -n 100 --no-pagerNotes
Read recent logs associated with one systemd unit.
bash
journalctl _PID=1234 -n 100 --no-pagerNotes
Filter the journal by process ID.
systemd Service Control
Start, stop, restart, and signal services through systemd.
bash
sudo systemctl start nginxNotes
Start a service unit.
bash
sudo systemctl stop nginxNotes
Stop a service unit gracefully.
bash
sudo systemctl restart nginxNotes
Restart a service unit.
bash
sudo systemctl reload nginxNotes
Ask a service to reload its configuration.
Send signal to service cgroup
Signal all or selected processes in a service cgroup.
bashANYsystemctlkillsignal
bash
sudo systemctl kill -s SIGKILL nginxNotes
Signal all or selected processes in a service cgroup.
bash
sudo systemctl kill --kill-whom=main -s SIGUSR1 nginxNotes
Signal only the service main process.
Reload or restart if reload unsupported
Use reload when available, else restart.
bashANYsystemctlreload-or-restart
bash
sudo systemctl reload-or-restart nginxNotes
Use reload when available, else restart.
Control Groups and Unit Trees
Inspect cgroup-based process organization under systemd.
bash
systemd-cglsNotes
Display control groups and the processes inside them.
bash
systemd-cgtopNotes
Show top cgroups by CPU, memory, and I/O load.
Show user sessions
Inspect active user sessions and seats under systemd-logind.
bashANYloginctlsessions
bash
loginctl list-sessionsNotes
Inspect active user sessions and seats under systemd-logind.
bash
loginctl show-session 2Notes
Inspect one logind session in detail.
bash
systemctl show -p ControlGroup nginxNotes
Reveal the cgroup path tied to a unit.
Transient Units and Resource Controls
Launch processes directly under systemd and constrain them.
Run process in transient scope
Run an interactive process in its own transient scope unit.
bashANYsystemd-runscope
bash
systemd-run --scope htopNotes
Run an interactive process in its own transient scope unit.
Run transient service
Launch a one-off command as a transient service unit.
bashANYsystemd-runservice
bash
systemd-run --unit=myjob --remain-after-exit /usr/bin/sleep 60Notes
Launch a one-off command as a transient service unit.
Set CPU quota on service
Apply runtime resource-control properties to a unit.
bashANYsystemctlresource-control
bash
sudo systemctl set-property myjob.service CPUQuota=50%Notes
Apply runtime resource-control properties to a unit.
Set memory cap on service
Limit service memory through cgroup controls.
bashANYsystemctlmemory-limit
bash
sudo systemctl set-property myjob.service MemoryMax=1GNotes
Limit service memory through cgroup controls.
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