systemd is a Linux init system and system manager that’s used by most modern Linux distributions. Due to its popularity, familiarizing yourself with systemd is time well spent, as it makes administering Linux machines much easier. Learning about and using the tools and daemons that comprise systemd will also help you understand what it can do.
The fundamental purpose of an init system is to boot the system, start and manage services and handle various aspects of system state, including device management, networking, and logging.
In systemd, the target of most actions are “units”, which are resources that systemd knows how to manage. Units are categorized by the type of resource they represent and they are defined with files known as unit files. The type of each unit can be inferred from the suffix on the end of the file. A unit file contains configuration directives that describe the unit and define its behavior. Several systemctl commands work with unit files in the background.
This article picks some useful CLI and TUI tools that make configuring systemd much easier.
Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion here.
Click the links in the table below to learn more about each tool.
| systemd CLI/TUI Configuration Tools | |
|---|---|
| systemd-analyse | Helps uncover performance problems |
| systemctl-tui | Interact with systemd services |
| systemctl | Manage and monitor the systemd system |
| isd | Interactive systemd |
| Systemd manager tui | Manage systemd services |
| ServiceMaster | Powerful terminal-based tool for managing systemd units |
| lsu | View systemd service units |
| systemd_commander | Manage systemd services and browse journal logs with an ncurses TUI |
| sdtop | systemd TUI Manager |
| sdctl | Security-focused manager with polkit authentication and log browsing |
| chkservice | Terminal-based tool for managing systemd units |
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