MCPInstall

systemd-services

Create and manage systemd services and timers. Configure service dependencies and resource limits. Use when managing system services.

Installs
509
Last 24h
—
Trending rank
—
Security
Not audited

Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/bagelhole/devops-security-agent-skills --skill systemd-services
  1. 01

    Install

    Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.

  2. 02

    Describe the task

    Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads systemd-services automatically when relevant.

  3. 03

    Review the result

    The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

Systemd Services

Create, manage, and monitor systemd services and timers. Covers unit file authoring, dependency management, socket activation, resource limits, journalctl log analysis, and production hardening.

When to Use

  • Deploying an application as a managed background service
  • Replacing cron jobs with systemd timers for better logging and dependency control
  • Setting up socket activation for on-demand service startup
  • Configuring resource limits (CPU, memory, I/O) for services
  • Debugging service startup failures and runtime crashes
  • Managing service dependencies and ordering

Prerequisites

  • Linux system running systemd (most modern distributions)
  • Root or sudo access for creating system-level unit files
  • Application binary or script to run as a service
  • Understanding of the application's start/stop lifecycle

Service Unit File -- Complete Example

# /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service
[Unit]
Description=MyApp Production Server
Documentation=https://docs.example.com/myapp
After=network-online.target postgresql.service
Wants=network-online.target
Requires=postgresql.service

[Service]
Type=notify
User=myapp
Group=myapp
WorkingDirectory=/opt/myapp

# Environment configuration
EnvironmentFile=/etc/myapp/env
Environment=NODE_ENV=production
Environment=PORT=8080

# Execution
ExecStartPre=/opt/myapp/bin/migrate --check
ExecStart=/opt/myapp/bin/server --config /etc/myapp/config.yaml
ExecStartPost=/opt/myapp/bin/healthcheck.sh
ExecReload=/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID
ExecStop=/opt/myapp/bin/graceful-stop.sh

# Restart behavior
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5
StartLimitIntervalSec=300
StartLimitBurst=5

# Timeouts
TimeoutStartSec=30
TimeoutStopSec=30
WatchdogSec=60

# Security hardening
NoNewPrivileges=true
ProtectSystem=strict
ProtectHome=true
PrivateTmp=true
ReadWritePaths=/var/lib/myapp /var/log/myapp
CapabilityBoundingSet=
AmbientCapabilities=

# Logging
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal
SyslogIdentifier=myapp

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Service Management Commands

# Reload systemd after creating or modifying unit files
systemctl daemon-reload

# Start, stop, restart a service
systemctl start myapp
systemctl stop myapp
systemctl restart myapp

# Reload service configuration without restart (if supported)
systemctl reload myapp

# Enable service to start on boot
systemctl enable myapp

# Enable and start in one command
systemctl enable --now myapp

# Disable and stop
systemctl disable --now myapp

# Check service status
systemctl status myapp

# Check if a service is active, enabled, or failed
systemctl is-active myapp
systemctl is-enabled myapp
systemctl is-failed myapp

# List all running services
systemctl list-units --type=service --state=running

# List all failed services
systemctl list-units --type=service --state=failed

# Show all properties of a service
systemctl show myapp

# Show specific property values
systemctl show myapp -p MainPID,MemoryCurrent,CPUUsageNSec

# Mask a service (prevent it from being started at all)
systemctl mask myapp

# Unmask
systemctl unmask myapp

# Reset a failed service state
systemctl reset-failed myapp

Timer Units (Cron Replacement)

Timer File

# /etc/systemd/system/backup.timer
[Unit]
Description=Daily backup timer

[Timer]
# Run daily at 2:30 AM
OnCalendar=*-*-* 02:30:00
# If the system was off at the scheduled time, run when it boots
Persistent=true
# Add random delay up to 15 minutes to avoid thundering herd
RandomizedDelaySec=900
# Associate with a specific service (defaults to same name .service)
Unit=backup.service

[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target

Corresponding Service File

# /etc/systemd/system/backup.service
[Unit]
Description=Daily backup job
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=oneshot
User=backup
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/run-backup.sh
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal

Timer Management

# Common OnCalendar expressions:
# minutely, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly
# *-*-* 06:00:00       Daily at 6 AM
# Mon..Fri *-*-* 09:00 Weekdays at 9 AM
# *:0/15               Every 15 minutes

# Validate calendar expressions
systemd-analyze calendar "Mon..Fri *-*-* 09:00"

# List all active timers
systemctl list-timers --all

# Enable and start a timer
systemctl enable --now backup.timer

# Run the associated service immediately (for testing)
systemctl start backup.service

Socket Activation

# /etc/systemd/system/myapp.socket
[Unit]
Description=MyApp Socket

[Socket]
ListenStream=8080
Accept=no
# Optionally bind to a specific IP
# ListenStream=10.0.1.10:8080

[Install]
WantedBy=sockets.target
# /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service
[Unit]
Description=MyApp Server
Requires=myapp.socket

[Service]
Type=notify
User=myapp
ExecStart=/opt/myapp/bin/server
# Service receives the socket file descriptor from systemd

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
# Enable the socket (service starts on first connection)
systemctl enable --now myapp.socket

# Check socket status
systemctl status myapp.socket

# List all listening sockets
systemctl list-sockets

Dependency Management

# Key [Unit] directives for ordering and dependencies:
# After=            Start after these units (ordering only)
# Requires=         Hard dependency -- fail if this unit cannot start
# Wants=            Soft dependency -- try to start, don't fail if unavailable
# PartOf=           Stop this unit when the parent stops
# Conflicts=        Cannot run alongside this unit

# Visualize the dependency tree for a service
systemctl list-dependencies myapp

# Show reverse dependencies (who depends on this unit)
systemctl list-dependencies myapp --reverse

# Analyze boot order for a service
systemd-analyze critical-chain myapp.service

Resource Limits (cgroups v2)

# /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service.d/limits.conf
# (drop-in override file)
[Service]
# Memory limits
MemoryMax=1G
MemoryHigh=768M

# CPU limits
CPUQuota=200%          # Up to 2 full CPU cores
CPUWeight=100          # Relative weight (default=100)

# I/O limits
IOWeight=50
IOReadBandwidthMax=/dev/sda 100M
IOWriteBandwidthMax=/dev/sda 50M

# Process limits
LimitNOFILE=65535
LimitNPROC=4096
TasksMax=512

# Disable OOM killer (let the app handle it)
OOMPolicy=continue
# Apply drop-in overrides without editing the main unit file
mkdir -p /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service.d/

cat <<'EOF' > /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service.d/limits.conf
[Service]
MemoryMax=1G
CPUQuota=200%
EOF

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl restart myapp

# View current resource usage for a service
systemctl status myapp                  # Shows Memory and CPU
systemd-cgtop                          # Real-time cgroup resource usage

# Edit a service's overrides interactively
systemctl edit myapp
# This creates a drop-in file automatically

Journalctl Log Analysis

# Follow logs for a service in real time
journalctl -u myapp -f

# Show logs since last boot
journalctl -u myapp -b

# Show logs for a specific time range
journalctl -u myapp --since "2025-01-15 08:00" --until "2025-01-15 12:00"

# Show only error and above
journalctl -u myapp -p err

# Show the last 100 lines with full messages (no truncation)
journalctl -u myapp -n 100 --no-pager -l

# Show logs in JSON format (for parsing)
journalctl -u myapp -o json-pretty --no-pager | head -50

# Check journal disk usage and vacuum old entries
journalctl --disk-usage
journalctl --rotate
journalctl --vacuum-time=7d
journalctl --vacuum-size=500M

Troubleshooting

SymptomDiagnostic CommandCommon Fix
Service fails to startsystemctl status myapp, journalctl -u myapp -n 50Check ExecStart path, permissions, config syntax
Service keeps restartingjournalctl -u myapp --since "5 min ago"Check StartLimitBurst; look for crash in logs
"Main process exited, code=exited, status=217"journalctl -u myappUser or group in unit file does not exist
"Failed to set up mount namespacing"Check ProtectSystem/PrivateTmpKernel too old or SELinux blocking; relax directives
Timer not firingsystemctl list-timers, systemctl status backup.timerEnsure timer is enabled; validate OnCalendar expression
Service starts before dependencyCheck After= and Requires=Add After=dependency.service for ordering
OOM killedjournalctl -k | grep oom, dmesgIncrease MemoryMax or optimize application memory
Cannot bind to port 80Check AmbientCapabilitiesAdd CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE or use a higher port

Related Skills

  • linux-administration -- General system administration context
  • performance-tuning -- Kernel tuning and resource optimization
  • user-management -- Service accounts and permissions
  • backup-recovery -- Scheduling backups with systemd timers

FAQ

What does the systemd-services skill do?

Create and manage systemd services and timers. Configure service dependencies and resource limits. Use when managing system services.

How do I install systemd-services?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/bagelhole/devops-security-agent-skills --skill systemd-services in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/systemd-services/ (personal) or .claude/skills/systemd-services/ (project).

Which AI agents can use systemd-services?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is systemd-services safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Who maintains systemd-services?

It is published by bagelhole in bagelhole/devops-security-agent-skills. It has 509 recorded installs.

More from bagelhole/devops-security-agent-skills

View all →

linux-hardening

bagelhole/devops-security-agent-skills

Apply CIS benchmarks and secure Linux servers. Configure SSH, manage users, implement firewall rules, and enable security features. Use when hardening Linux systems for production or meeting security compliance requirements.

DevOps & Cloud773 installs

linux-administration

bagelhole/devops-security-agent-skills

System administration for Linux servers. Manage packages, services, and system configuration. Use when administering Linux systems.

DevOps & Cloud771 installs

docker-compose

bagelhole/devops-security-agent-skills

Define and run multi-container Docker applications using Docker Compose. Create compose files, manage service dependencies, configure networks and volumes, and orchestrate local development environments. Use when setting up multi-service applications or development environments.

DevOps & Cloud552 installs

docker-management

bagelhole/devops-security-agent-skills

Build, optimize, and troubleshoot Docker containers and images. Create efficient Dockerfiles, manage container lifecycle, configure networking and volumes, and debug container issues. Use when working with Docker, containerization, or container troubleshooting.

DevOps & Cloud514 installs

reverse-proxy

bagelhole/devops-security-agent-skills

Configure nginx and Traefik as reverse proxies. Implement SSL termination and routing. Use when setting up application gateways.

AI & Agents477 installs

firewall-config

bagelhole/devops-security-agent-skills

Open the skill to read its SKILL.md instructions.

AI & Agents461 installs

Popular ai & agents skills

View category →

google-agents-cli-publish

google/agents-cli

This skill should be used when the user wants to "publish an agent", "publish my ADK agent", "register an agent with Gemini", "publish to Gemini" (formerly Gemini Enterprise), or needs guidance on the agents-cli publish gemini command. Also use when the user wants to "manage agents in Agent Registry", "list/update/delete registered agents", or "register an MCP server". Covers ADK vs A2A registration modes, programmatic and interactive usage, flag reference, auto-detection from deployment metadata, Agent Registry fleet management, and troubleshooting. Part of the agents-cli skills suite. Do NOT use for deployment (use google-agents-cli-deploy).

AI & Agents513.9K installs

google-agents-cli-eval

google/agents-cli

This skill should be used when the user wants to "run an evaluation", "evaluate my agent", "evaluate my ADK agent", "write an eval dataset", "analyze eval failures", "compare eval results", "optimize agent", or needs guidance on the Gemini platform eval methodology and the Quality Flywheel. Covers eval metrics, dataset schema, LLM-as-judge scoring, and common failure causes. Applies to any agents-cli project, whatever framework the agent is written in. Do NOT use for agent API code patterns (ADK: use google-agents-cli-adk-code), deployment (use google-agents-cli-deploy), or project scaffolding (use google-agents-cli-scaffold).

AI & Agents513.5K installs

skill-creator

anthropics/skills

Create new skills, modify and improve existing skills, and measure skill performance. Use when users want to create a skill from scratch, edit, or optimize an existing skill, run evals to test a skill, benchmark skill performance with variance analysis, or optimize a skill's description for better triggering accuracy.

OfficialAI & Agents416.4K installs

codex-pet

prime-skills/runcomfy-agent-skills

Codex Pet generator on RunComfy. Build a Codex-compatible Codex Pet spritesheet.webp + pet.json from a single reference image, drop it into ${CODEXHOME:-$HOME/.codex}/pets/ / and Codex picks it up as a custom Codex Pet next to the 8 built-ins. This skill produces the exact Codex Pet atlas Codex expects (1536x1872 PNG/WebP, 8 cols x 9 rows, 192x208 cells, 9 animation states — idle, running-right, running-left, waving, jumping, failed, waiting, running, review). Calls OpenAI GPT Image 2 edit ONCE via the local RunComfy CLI as runcomfy run openai/gpt-image-2/edit to produce a canonical Codex Pet pose, then assembles all 9 animation rows programmatically with ImageMagick micro-transforms — no Codex Pro, no $imagegen, no OPENAIAPIKEY required, only RUNCOMFYTOKEN. Triggers on "codex pet", "create codex pet", "make codex pet", "hatch codex pet", "/hatch image", "desktop pet codex", "codex pets", "spritesheet.webp", or any explicit ask to build a custom pet for OpenAI Codex.

AI & Agents402.1K installs

full-output-enforcement

leonxlnx/taste-skill

Overrides default LLM truncation behavior. Enforces complete code generation, bans placeholder patterns, and handles token-limit splits cleanly. Apply to any task requiring exhaustive, unabridged output.

AI & Agents401K installs

executing-plans

obra/superpowers

Use when executing an implementation plan in the current session as the implementer yourself — your human partner chose inline execution, or no subagent tool is available

AI & Agents245.7K installs