path: root/man/systemd-run.xml

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<refentry id="systemd-run"
          xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude">

  <refentryinfo>
    <title>systemd-run</title>
    <productname>systemd</productname>

    <authorgroup>
      <author>
        <contrib>Developer</contrib>
        <firstname>Lennart</firstname>
        <surname>Poettering</surname>
        <email>lennart@poettering.net</email>
      </author>
    </authorgroup>
  </refentryinfo>

  <refmeta>
    <refentrytitle>systemd-run</refentrytitle>
    <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
  </refmeta>

  <refnamediv>
    <refname>systemd-run</refname>
    <refpurpose>Run programs in transient scope or service or timer units</refpurpose>
  </refnamediv>

  <refsynopsisdiv>
    <cmdsynopsis>
      <command>systemd-run</command>
      <arg choice="opt" rep="repeat">OPTIONS</arg>
      <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>COMMAND</replaceable>
      <arg choice="opt" rep="repeat">ARGS</arg>
      </arg>
    </cmdsynopsis>
    <cmdsynopsis>
      <command>systemd-run</command>
      <arg choice="opt" rep="repeat">OPTIONS</arg>
      <arg choice="opt" rep="repeat">TIMER OPTIONS</arg>
      <arg choice="req"><replaceable>COMMAND</replaceable></arg>
      <arg choice="opt" rep="repeat">ARGS</arg>
    </cmdsynopsis>
  </refsynopsisdiv>

  <refsect1>
    <title>Description</title>

    <para><command>systemd-run</command> may be used to create and
    start a transient <filename>.service</filename> or
    <filename>.scope</filename> unit and run the specified
    <replaceable>COMMAND</replaceable> in it. It may also be used to
    create and start transient <filename>.timer</filename>
    units.</para>

    <para>If a command is run as transient service unit, it will be
    started and managed by the service manager like any other service,
    and thus shows up in the output of <command>systemctl
    list-units</command> like any other unit. It will run in a clean
    and detached execution environment, with the service manager as
    its parent process. In this mode, <command>systemd-run</command>
    will start the service asynchronously in the background and return
    after the command has begun execution.</para>

    <para>If a command is run as transient scope unit, it will be
    started by <command>systemd-run</command> itself as parent process
    and will thus inherit the execution environment of the
    caller. However, the processes of the command are managed by the
    service manager similar to normal services, and will show up in
    the output of <command>systemctl list-units</command>. Execution
    in this case is synchronous, and will return only when the command
    finishes. This mode is enabled via the <option>--scope</option>
    switch (see below). </para>

    <para>If a command is run with timer options such as
    <option>--on-calendar=</option> (see below), a transient timer
    unit is created alongside the service unit for the specified
    command. Only the transient timer unit is started immediately, the
    transient service unit will be started when the transient timer
    elapses. If the <option>--unit=</option> is specified, the
    <replaceable>COMMAND</replaceable> may be omitted. In this case,
    <command>systemd-run</command> only creates a
    <filename>.timer</filename> unit that invokes the specified unit
    when elapsing.</para>
  </refsect1>

  <refsect1>
    <title>Options</title>

    <para>The following options are understood:</para>

    <variablelist>
      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--no-ask-password</option></term>

        <listitem><para>Do not query the user for authentication for
        privileged operations.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--scope</option></term>

        <listitem>
          <para>Create a transient <filename>.scope</filename> unit instead of
          the default transient <filename>.service</filename> unit.
          </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--unit=</option></term>

        <listitem><para>Use this unit name instead of an automatically
        generated one.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--property=</option></term>
        <term><option>-p</option></term>

        <listitem><para>Sets a unit property for the scope or service
        unit that is created. This takes an assignment in the same
        format as
        <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemctl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>'s
        <command>set-property</command> command.</para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--description=</option></term>

        <listitem><para>Provide a description for the service or scope
        unit. If not specified, the command itself will be used as a
        description. See <varname>Description=</varname> in
        <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.unit</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
        </para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--slice=</option></term>

        <listitem><para>Make the new <filename>.service</filename> or
        <filename>.scope</filename> unit part of the specified slice,
        instead of the <filename>system.slice</filename>.</para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--remain-after-exit</option></term>

        <listitem><para>After the service or scope process has
        terminated, keep the service around until it is explicitly
        stopped. This is useful to collect runtime information about
        the service after it finished running. Also see
        <varname>RemainAfterExit=</varname> in
        <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.service</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--send-sighup</option></term>

        <listitem><para>When terminating the scope or service unit,
        send a SIGHUP immediately after SIGTERM. This is useful to
        indicate to shells and shell-like processes that the
        connection has been severed. Also see
        <varname>SendSIGHUP=</varname> in
        <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.kill</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
        </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--service-type=</option></term>

        <listitem><para>Sets the service type. Also see
        <varname>Type=</varname> in
        <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.service</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>. This
        option has no effect in conjunction with
        <option>--scope</option>. Defaults to
        <constant>simple</constant>.</para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--uid=</option></term>
        <term><option>--gid=</option></term>

        <listitem><para>Runs the service process under the UNIX user
        and group. Also see <varname>User=</varname> and
        <varname>Group=</varname> in
        <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.exec</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.</para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--nice=</option></term>

        <listitem><para>Runs the service process with the specified
        nice level. Also see <varname>Nice=</varname> in
        <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.exec</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.</para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--setenv=</option></term>

        <listitem><para>Runs the service process with the specified
        environment variables set. Also see
        <varname>Environment=</varname> in
        <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.exec</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.</para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--pty</option></term>
        <term><option>-t</option></term>

        <listitem><para>When invoking a command, the service connects
        its standard input and output to the invoking tty via a
        pseudo TTY device. This allows invoking binaries as services
        that expect interactive user input, such as interactive
        command shells.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--quiet</option></term>
        <term><option>-q</option></term>

        <listitem><para>Suppresses additional informational output
        while running. This is particularly useful in combination with
        <option>--pty</option> when it will suppress the initial
        message explaining how to terminate the TTY connection.</para></listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--on-active=</option></term>
        <term><option>--on-boot=</option></term>
        <term><option>--on-startup=</option></term>
        <term><option>--on-unit-active=</option></term>
        <term><option>--on-unit-inactive=</option></term>

        <listitem><para>Defines monotonic timers relative to different
        starting points. Also see <varname>OnActiveSec=</varname>,
        <varname>OnBootSec=</varname>,
        <varname>OnStartupSec=</varname>,
        <varname>OnUnitActiveSec=</varname> and
        <varname>OnUnitInactiveSec=</varname> in
        <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.timer</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>. This
        options have no effect in conjunction with
        <option>--scope</option>.</para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--on-calendar=</option></term>

        <listitem><para>Defines realtime (i.e. wallclock) timers with
        calendar event expressions. Also see
        <varname>OnCalendar=</varname> in
        <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.timer</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>. This
        option has no effect in conjunction with
        <option>--scope</option>.</para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--timer-property=</option></term>

        <listitem><para>Sets a timer unit property for the timer unit
        that is created. It is similar with
        <option>--property</option> but only for created timer
        unit. This option only has effect in conjunction with
        <option>--on-active=</option>, <option>--on-boot=</option>,
        <option>--on-startup=</option>,
        <option>--on-unit-active=</option>,
        <option>--on-unit-inactive=</option>,
        <option>--on-calendar=</option>. This takes an assignment in
        the same format as
        <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemctl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>'s
        <command>set-property</command> command.</para> </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term><option>--no-block</option></term>

        <listitem>
          <para>Do not synchronously wait for the requested operation
          to finish. If this is not specified, the job will be
          verified, enqueued and <command>systemd-run</command> will
          wait until the unit's start-up is completed. By passing this
          argument, it is only verified and enqueued.</para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <xi:include href="user-system-options.xml" xpointer="user" />
      <xi:include href="user-system-options.xml" xpointer="system" />
      <xi:include href="user-system-options.xml" xpointer="host" />
      <xi:include href="user-system-options.xml" xpointer="machine" />

      <xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="help" />
      <xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="version" />
    </variablelist>

    <para>All command line arguments after the first non-option
    argument become part of the command line of the launched
    process. If a command is run as service unit, its first argument
    needs to be an absolute binary path.</para>
  </refsect1>

  <refsect1>
    <title>Exit status</title>

    <para>On success, 0 is returned, a non-zero failure
    code otherwise.</para>
  </refsect1>

  <refsect1>
    <title>Examples</title>

    <example>
      <title>Logging environment variables provided by systemd to services</title>

      <programlisting># systemd-run env
Running as unit: run-19945.service
# journalctl -u run-19945.service
Sep 08 07:37:21 bupkis systemd[1]: Starting /usr/bin/env...
Sep 08 07:37:21 bupkis systemd[1]: Started /usr/bin/env.
Sep 08 07:37:21 bupkis env[19948]: PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin
Sep 08 07:37:21 bupkis env[19948]: LANG=en_US.UTF-8
Sep 08 07:37:21 bupkis env[19948]: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-3.11.0-0.rc5.git6.2.fc20.x86_64</programlisting>
    </example>

    <example>
      <title>Limiting resources available to a command</title>

      <programlisting># systemd-run -p BlockIOWeight=10 updatedb</programlisting>

      <para>This command invokes the
      <citerefentry project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>updatedb</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry>
      tool, but lowers the block I/O weight for it to 10. See
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.resource-control</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>
      for more information on the <varname>BlockIOWeight=</varname>
      property.</para>
    </example>

    <example>
      <title>Running commands at a specified time</title>

      <para>The following command will touch a file after 30 seconds.</para>

      <programlisting># date; systemd-run --on-active=30 --timer-property=AccuracySec=100ms /bin/touch /tmp/foo
Mon Dec  8 20:44:24 KST 2014
Running as unit: run-71.timer
Will run service as unit: run-71.service
# journalctl -b -u run-71.timer
-- Logs begin at Fri 2014-12-05 19:09:21 KST, end at Mon 2014-12-08 20:44:54 KST. --
Dec 08 20:44:38 container systemd[1]: Starting /bin/touch /tmp/foo.
Dec 08 20:44:38 container systemd[1]: Started /bin/touch /tmp/foo.
# journalctl -b -u run-71.service
-- Logs begin at Fri 2014-12-05 19:09:21 KST, end at Mon 2014-12-08 20:44:54 KST. --
Dec 08 20:44:48 container systemd[1]: Starting /bin/touch /tmp/foo...
Dec 08 20:44:48 container systemd[1]: Started /bin/touch /tmp/foo.</programlisting>
    </example>

    <example>
      <title>Allowing access to the tty</title>

      <para>The following command invokes <filename>/bin/bash</filename> as a service
      passing its standard input, output and error to the calling TTY.</para>

      <programlisting># systemd-run -t --send-sighup /bin/bash</programlisting>
    </example>

    <example>
      <title>Start <command>screen</command> as a user service</title>

      <programlisting>$ systemd-run --scope --user screen
Running scope as unit run-r14b0047ab6df45bfb45e7786cc839e76.scope.

$ screen -ls
There is a screen on:
        492..laptop     (Detached)
1 Socket in /var/run/screen/S-fatima.
</programlisting>

      <para>This starts the <command>screen</command> process as a child of the
      <command>systemd --user</command> process that was started by
      <filename>user@.service</filename>, in a scope unit. A
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.scope</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>
      unit is used instead of a
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.service</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>
      unit, because <command>screen</command> will exit when detaching from the terminal,
      and a service unit would be terminated. Running <command>screen</command>
      as a user unit has the advantage that it is not part of the session scope.
      If <varname>KillUserProcesses=yes</varname> is configured in
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>logind.conf</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      the default, the session scope will be terminated when the user logs
      out of that session.</para>

      <para>The <filename>user@.service</filename> is started automatically
      when the user first logs in, and stays around as long as at least one
      login session is open. After the user logs out of the last session,
      <filename>user@.service</filename> and all services underneath it
      are terminated. This behaviour is the default, when "lingering" is
      not enabled for that user. Enabling lingering means that
      <filename>user@.service</filename> is started automatically during
      boot, even if the user is not logged in, and that the service is
      not terminated when the user logs out.</para>

      <para>Enabling lingering allows the user to run processes without being logged in,
      for example to allow <command>screen</command> to persist after the user logs out,
      even if the session scope is terminated. In the default configuration, users can
      enable lingering for themselves:</para>

      <programlisting>$ loginctl enable-linger</programlisting>
    </example>
  </refsect1>

  <refsect1>
    <title>See Also</title>
    <para>
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemctl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.unit</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.service</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.scope</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.slice</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.exec</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.resource-control</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.timer</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>machinectl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
    </para>
  </refsect1>

</refentry>