nixpkgs/nixos/doc/manual/from_md/administration/service-mgmt.chapter.xml

<chapter xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xml:id="sec-systemctl">
  <title>Service Management</title>
  <para>
    In NixOS, all system services are started and monitored using the
    systemd program. systemd is the <quote>init</quote> process of the
    system (i.e. PID 1), the parent of all other processes. It manages a
    set of so-called <quote>units</quote>, which can be things like
    system services (programs), but also mount points, swap files,
    devices, targets (groups of units) and more. Units can have complex
    dependencies; for instance, one unit can require that another unit
    must be successfully started before the first unit can be started.
    When the system boots, it starts a unit named
    <literal>default.target</literal>; the dependencies of this unit
    cause all system services to be started, file systems to be mounted,
    swap files to be activated, and so on.
  </para>
  <section xml:id="sect-nixos-systemd-general">
    <title>Interacting with a running systemd</title>
    <para>
      The command <literal>systemctl</literal> is the main way to
      interact with <literal>systemd</literal>. The following paragraphs
      demonstrate ways to interact with any OS running systemd as init
      system. NixOS is of no exception. The
      <link linkend="sect-nixos-systemd-nixos">next section </link>
      explains NixOS specific things worth knowing.
    </para>
    <para>
      Without any arguments, <literal>systemctl</literal> the status of
      active units:
    </para>
    <programlisting>
$ systemctl
-.mount          loaded active mounted   /
swapfile.swap    loaded active active    /swapfile
sshd.service     loaded active running   SSH Daemon
graphical.target loaded active active    Graphical Interface
...
</programlisting>
    <para>
      You can ask for detailed status information about a unit, for
      instance, the PostgreSQL database service:
    </para>
    <programlisting>
$ systemctl status postgresql.service
postgresql.service - PostgreSQL Server
          Loaded: loaded (/nix/store/pn3q73mvh75gsrl8w7fdlfk3fq5qm5mw-unit/postgresql.service)
          Active: active (running) since Mon, 2013-01-07 15:55:57 CET; 9h ago
        Main PID: 2390 (postgres)
          CGroup: name=systemd:/system/postgresql.service
                  ├─2390 postgres
                  ├─2418 postgres: writer process
                  ├─2419 postgres: wal writer process
                  ├─2420 postgres: autovacuum launcher process
                  ├─2421 postgres: stats collector process
                  └─2498 postgres: zabbix zabbix [local] idle

Jan 07 15:55:55 hagbard postgres[2394]: [1-1] LOG:  database system was shut down at 2013-01-07 15:55:05 CET
Jan 07 15:55:57 hagbard postgres[2390]: [1-1] LOG:  database system is ready to accept connections
Jan 07 15:55:57 hagbard postgres[2420]: [1-1] LOG:  autovacuum launcher started
Jan 07 15:55:57 hagbard systemd[1]: Started PostgreSQL Server.
</programlisting>
    <para>
      Note that this shows the status of the unit (active and running),
      all the processes belonging to the service, as well as the most
      recent log messages from the service.
    </para>
    <para>
      Units can be stopped, started or restarted:
    </para>
    <programlisting>
# systemctl stop postgresql.service
# systemctl start postgresql.service
# systemctl restart postgresql.service
</programlisting>
    <para>
      These operations are synchronous: they wait until the service has
      finished starting or stopping (or has failed). Starting a unit
      will cause the dependencies of that unit to be started as well (if
      necessary).
    </para>
  </section>
  <section xml:id="sect-nixos-systemd-nixos">
    <title>systemd in NixOS</title>
    <para>
      Packages in Nixpkgs sometimes provide systemd units with them,
      usually in e.g <literal>#pkg-out#/lib/systemd/</literal>. Putting
      such a package in <literal>environment.systemPackages</literal>
      doesn't make the service available to users or the system.
    </para>
    <para>
      In order to enable a systemd <emphasis>system</emphasis> service
      with provided upstream package, use (e.g):
    </para>
    <programlisting language="bash">
systemd.packages = [ pkgs.packagekit ];
</programlisting>
    <para>
      Usually NixOS modules written by the community do the above, plus
      take care of other details. If a module was written for a service
      you are interested in, you'd probably need only to use
      <literal>services.#name#.enable = true;</literal>. These services
      are defined in Nixpkgs'
      <link xlink:href="https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/tree/master/nixos/modules">
      <literal>nixos/modules/</literal> directory </link>. In case the
      service is simple enough, the above method should work, and start
      the service on boot.
    </para>
    <para>
      <emphasis>User</emphasis> systemd services on the other hand,
      should be treated differently. Given a package that has a systemd
      unit file at <literal>#pkg-out#/lib/systemd/user/</literal>, using
      <xref linkend="opt-systemd.packages" /> will make you able to
      start the service via <literal>systemctl --user start</literal>,
      but it won't start automatically on login. However, You can
      imperatively enable it by adding the package's attribute to
      <xref linkend="opt-systemd.packages" /> and then do this (e.g):
    </para>
    <programlisting>
$ mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user/default.target.wants
$ ln -s /run/current-system/sw/lib/systemd/user/syncthing.service ~/.config/systemd/user/default.target.wants/
$ systemctl --user daemon-reload
$ systemctl --user enable syncthing.service
</programlisting>
    <para>
      If you are interested in a timer file, use
      <literal>timers.target.wants</literal> instead of
      <literal>default.target.wants</literal> in the 1st and 2nd
      command.
    </para>
    <para>
      Using <literal>systemctl --user enable syncthing.service</literal>
      instead of the above, will work, but it'll use the absolute path
      of <literal>syncthing.service</literal> for the symlink, and this
      path is in <literal>/nix/store/.../lib/systemd/user/</literal>.
      Hence <link linkend="sec-nix-gc">garbage collection</link> will
      remove that file and you will wind up with a broken symlink in
      your systemd configuration, which in turn will not make the
      service / timer start on login.
    </para>
  </section>
</chapter>