How to make a custom systemd service

Last updated: October 20, 2019

Basic systemd commands:

• systemctl status: Show status of all systemd service
• systemctl daemon-reload: Reload systemd if units are modified
• systemctl enable: to enable a new service
• systemctl start: to start a new service
• systemctl restart: to restart a service

Example service file

1. Make new service unit file in /etc/systemd/system/new-service.service:

   [Unit]
   Description = Sensai background service
   After = network.target
   
   [Service]
   ExecStart = /usr/bin/python3 /home/lento/projects/sensai/log.py
   User = lento
   Group = lento
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy = default.target
   

2. Reload systemd and enable the service

   systemctl daemon-reload
   systemctl enable new-service.service
   

3. Start the new service

   systemctl start new-service.service
   

4. Inspect the status

   systectl status new-service.service