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514094f9 1<?xml version='1.0'?>
3a54a157 2<!DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
eea10b26 3 "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.5/docbookx.dtd">
db9ecf05 4<!-- SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later -->
11fcc3ab 5
d8e1613e 6<refentry id="systemd.timer" xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude">
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7 <refentryinfo>
8 <title>systemd.timer</title>
9 <productname>systemd</productname>
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10 </refentryinfo>
11
12 <refmeta>
13 <refentrytitle>systemd.timer</refentrytitle>
14 <manvolnum>5</manvolnum>
15 </refmeta>
16
17 <refnamediv>
18 <refname>systemd.timer</refname>
19 <refpurpose>Timer unit configuration</refpurpose>
20 </refnamediv>
21
22 <refsynopsisdiv>
23 <para><filename><replaceable>timer</replaceable>.timer</filename></para>
24 </refsynopsisdiv>
25
26 <refsect1>
27 <title>Description</title>
28
29 <para>A unit configuration file whose name ends in
30 <literal>.timer</literal> encodes information about a timer
31 controlled and supervised by systemd, for timer-based
32 activation.</para>
33
34 <para>This man page lists the configuration options specific to
35 this unit type. See
36 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.unit</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>
37 for the common options of all unit configuration files. The common
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38 configuration items are configured in the generic [Unit] and
39 [Install] sections. The timer specific configuration options are
40 configured in the [Timer] section.</para>
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41
42 <para>For each timer file, a matching unit file must exist,
43 describing the unit to activate when the timer elapses. By
44 default, a service by the same name as the timer (except for the
45 suffix) is activated. Example: a timer file
46 <filename>foo.timer</filename> activates a matching service
47 <filename>foo.service</filename>. The unit to activate may be
48 controlled by <varname>Unit=</varname> (see below).</para>
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49
50 <para>Note that in case the unit to activate is already active at the time the timer elapses it is not restarted,
51 but simply left running. There is no concept of spawning new service instances in this case. Due to this, services
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52 with <varname>RemainAfterExit=yes</varname> set (which stay around continuously even after the service's main
53 process exited) are usually not suitable for activation via repetitive timers, as they will only be activated
54 once, and then stay around forever. Target units, which by default do not deactivate on their own, can be
55 activated repeatedly by timers by setting <varname>StopWhenUnneeded=yes</varname> on them. This will cause a
56 target unit to be stopped immediately after its activation, if it is not a dependency of another running unit.</para>
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57 </refsect1>
58
45f09f93 59 <refsect1>
aed5cb03 60 <title>Automatic Dependencies</title>
45f09f93 61
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62 <refsect2>
63 <title>Implicit Dependencies</title>
45f09f93 64
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65 <para>The following dependencies are implicitly added:</para>
66
67 <itemizedlist>
68 <listitem><para>Timer units automatically gain a <varname>Before=</varname>
69 dependency on the service they are supposed to activate.</para></listitem>
70 </itemizedlist>
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71 </refsect2>
72
73 <refsect2>
74 <title>Default Dependencies</title>
75
76 <para>The following dependencies are added unless <varname>DefaultDependencies=no</varname> is set:</para>
77
78 <itemizedlist>
79 <listitem><para>Timer units will automatically have dependencies of type <varname>Requires=</varname> and
80 <varname>After=</varname> on <filename>sysinit.target</filename>, a dependency of type <varname>Before=</varname>
81 on <filename>timers.target</filename>, as well as <varname>Conflicts=</varname> and <varname>Before=</varname> on
82 <filename>shutdown.target</filename> to ensure that they are stopped cleanly prior to system shutdown. Only timer
83 units involved with early boot or late system shutdown should disable the
84 <varname>DefaultDependencies=</varname> option.</para></listitem>
85
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86 <listitem><para>Timer units with at least one <varname>OnCalendar=</varname> directive acquire a pair
87 of additional <varname>After=</varname> dependencies on <filename>time-set.target</filename> and
88 <filename>time-sync.target</filename>, in order to avoid being started before the system clock has
89 been correctly set. See
90 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.special</refentrytitle><manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry>
91 for details on these two targets.</para></listitem>
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92 </itemizedlist>
93 </refsect2>
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94 </refsect1>
95
96 <refsect1>
97 <title>Options</title>
98
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99 <para>Timer unit files may include [Unit] and [Install] sections, which are described in
100 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.unit</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
101 </para>
102
103 <para>Timer unit files must include a [Timer] section, which carries
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104 information about the timer it defines. The options specific to
105 the [Timer] section of timer units are the following:</para>
106
107 <variablelist class='unit-directives'>
108 <varlistentry>
109 <term><varname>OnActiveSec=</varname></term>
110 <term><varname>OnBootSec=</varname></term>
111 <term><varname>OnStartupSec=</varname></term>
112 <term><varname>OnUnitActiveSec=</varname></term>
113 <term><varname>OnUnitInactiveSec=</varname></term>
114
115 <listitem><para>Defines monotonic timers relative to different
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116 starting points:</para>
117
118 <table>
119 <title>Settings and their starting points</title>
120
121 <tgroup cols='2'>
122 <thead>
123 <row>
124 <entry>Setting</entry>
125 <entry>Meaning</entry>
126 </row>
127 </thead>
128 <tbody>
129 <row>
130 <entry><varname>OnActiveSec=</varname></entry>
131 <entry>Defines a timer relative to the moment the timer unit itself is activated.</entry>
132 </row>
133 <row>
134 <entry><varname>OnBootSec=</varname></entry>
65aeb9d4 135 <entry>Defines a timer relative to when the machine was booted up. In containers, for the system manager instance, this is mapped to <varname>OnStartupSec=</varname>, making both equivalent.</entry>
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136 </row>
137 <row>
138 <entry><varname>OnStartupSec=</varname></entry>
139 <entry>Defines a timer relative to when the service manager was first started. For system timer units this is very similar to <varname>OnBootSec=</varname> as the system service manager is generally started very early at boot. It's primarily useful when configured in units running in the per-user service manager, as the user service manager is generally started on first login only, not already during boot.</entry>
140 </row>
141 <row>
142 <entry><varname>OnUnitActiveSec=</varname></entry>
143 <entry>Defines a timer relative to when the unit the timer unit is activating was last activated.</entry>
144 </row>
145 <row>
146 <entry><varname>OnUnitInactiveSec=</varname></entry>
147 <entry>Defines a timer relative to when the unit the timer unit is activating was last deactivated.</entry>
148 </row>
149 </tbody>
150 </tgroup>
151 </table>
798d3a52 152
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153 <para>Multiple directives may be combined of the same and of different types, in which case the timer
154 unit will trigger whenever any of the specified timer expressions elapse. For example, by combining
155 <varname>OnBootSec=</varname> and <varname>OnUnitActiveSec=</varname>, it is possible to define a
156 timer that elapses in regular intervals and activates a specific service each time. Moreover, both
157 monotonic time expressions and <varname>OnCalendar=</varname> calendar expressions may be combined in
158 the same timer unit.</para>
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159
160 <para>The arguments to the directives are time spans
161 configured in seconds. Example: "OnBootSec=50" means 50s after
162 boot-up. The argument may also include time units. Example:
163 "OnBootSec=5h 30min" means 5 hours and 30 minutes after
164 boot-up. For details about the syntax of time spans, see
9905e698 165 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.time</refentrytitle><manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry>.</para>
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166
167 <para>If a timer configured with <varname>OnBootSec=</varname>
168 or <varname>OnStartupSec=</varname> is already in the past
169 when the timer unit is activated, it will immediately elapse
170 and the configured unit is started. This is not the case for
171 timers defined in the other directives.</para>
172
58031d99 173 <para>These are monotonic timers, independent of wall-clock time and timezones. If the computer is
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174 temporarily suspended, the monotonic clock generally pauses, too. Note that if
175 <varname>WakeSystem=</varname> is used, a different monotonic clock is selected that continues to
176 advance while the system is suspended and thus can be used as the trigger to resume the
177 system.</para>
798d3a52 178
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179 <para>If the empty string is assigned to any of these options, the list of timers is reset (both
180 monotonic timers and <varname>OnCalendar=</varname> timers, see below), and all prior assignments
181 will have no effect.</para>
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182
183 <para>Note that timers do not necessarily expire at the
184 precise time configured with these settings, as they are
185 subject to the <varname>AccuracySec=</varname> setting
186 below.</para></listitem>
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187 </varlistentry>
188
189 <varlistentry>
190 <term><varname>OnCalendar=</varname></term>
191
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192 <listitem><para>Defines realtime (i.e. wallclock) timers with calendar event expressions. See
193 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.time</refentrytitle><manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry> for
194 more information on the syntax of calendar event expressions. Otherwise, the semantics are similar to
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195 <varname>OnActiveSec=</varname> and related settings.</para>
196
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197 <para>Note that timers do not necessarily expire at the precise time configured with this setting, as
198 it is subject to the <varname>AccuracySec=</varname> setting below.</para>
192fa38b 199
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200 <para>May be specified more than once, in which case the timer unit will trigger whenever any of the
201 specified expressions elapse. Moreover calendar timers and monotonic timers (see above) may be
202 combined within the same timer unit.</para>
203
204 <para>If the empty string is assigned to any of these options, the list of timers is reset (both
205 <varname>OnCalendar=</varname> timers and monotonic timers, see above), and all prior assignments
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206 will have no effect.</para>
207
208 <para>Note that calendar timers might be triggered at unexpected times if the system's realtime clock
209 is not set correctly. Specifically, on systems that lack a battery-buffered Realtime Clock (RTC) it
210 might be wise to enable <filename>systemd-time-wait-sync.service</filename> to ensure the clock is
211 adjusted to a network time source <emphasis>before</emphasis> the timer event is set up. Timer units
212 with at least one <varname>OnCalendar=</varname> expression are automatically ordered after
213 <filename>time-sync.target</filename>, which <filename>systemd-time-wait-sync.service</filename> is
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214 ordered before.</para>
215
216 <para>When a system is temporarily put to sleep (i.e. system suspend or hibernation) the realtime
217 clock does not pause. When a calendar timer elapses while the system is sleeping it will not be acted
218 on immediately, but once the system is later resumed it will catch up and process all timers that
219 triggered while the system was sleeping. Note that if a calendar timer elapsed more than once while
9a27ef09 220 the system was continuously sleeping the timer will only result in a single service activation. If
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221 <varname>WakeSystem=</varname> (see below) is enabled a calendar time event elapsing while the system
222 is suspended will cause the system to wake up (under the condition the system's hardware supports
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223 time-triggered wake-up functionality).</para>
224
225 <xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v197"/></listitem>
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226 </varlistentry>
227
228 <varlistentry>
229 <term><varname>AccuracySec=</varname></term>
230
231 <listitem><para>Specify the accuracy the timer shall elapse
232 with. Defaults to 1min. The timer is scheduled to elapse
233 within a time window starting with the time specified in
234 <varname>OnCalendar=</varname>,
235 <varname>OnActiveSec=</varname>,
236 <varname>OnBootSec=</varname>,
237 <varname>OnStartupSec=</varname>,
238 <varname>OnUnitActiveSec=</varname> or
239 <varname>OnUnitInactiveSec=</varname> and ending the time
240 configured with <varname>AccuracySec=</varname> later. Within
241 this time window, the expiry time will be placed at a
744c7693 242 host-specific, randomized, but stable position that is
798d3a52 243 synchronized between all local timer units. This is done in
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244 order to optimize power consumption to suppress unnecessary
245 CPU wake-ups. To get best accuracy, set this option to
246 1us. Note that the timer is still subject to the timer slack
247 configured via
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248 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-system.conf</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>'s
249 <varname>TimerSlackNSec=</varname> setting. See
250 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>prctl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>2</manvolnum></citerefentry>
251 for details. To optimize power consumption, make sure to set
252 this value as high as possible and as low as
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253 necessary.</para>
254
255 <para>Note that this setting is primarily a power saving option that allows coalescing CPU
256 wake-ups. It should not be confused with <varname>RandomizedDelaySec=</varname> (see below) which
257 adds a random value to the time the timer shall elapse next and whose purpose is the opposite: to
258 stretch elapsing of timer events over a longer period to reduce workload spikes. For further details
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259 and explanations and how both settings play together, see below.</para>
260
261 <xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v209"/></listitem>
798d3a52 262 </varlistentry>
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263
264 <varlistentry>
6f5d7998 265 <term><varname>RandomizedDelaySec=</varname></term>
744c7693 266
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267 <listitem><para>Delay the timer by a randomly selected, evenly distributed amount of time between 0
268 and the specified time value. Defaults to 0, indicating that no randomized delay shall be applied.
269 Each timer unit will determine this delay randomly before each iteration, and the delay will simply
270 be added on top of the next determined elapsing time, unless modified with
271 <varname>FixedRandomDelay=</varname>, see below.</para>
272
273 <para>This setting is useful to stretch dispatching of similarly configured timer events over a
274 certain time interval, to prevent them from firing all at the same time, possibly resulting in
275 resource congestion.</para>
276
277 <para>Note the relation to <varname>AccuracySec=</varname> above: the latter allows the service
278 manager to coalesce timer events within a specified time range in order to minimize wakeups, while
279 this setting does the opposite: it stretches timer events over an interval, to make it unlikely that
280 they fire simultaneously. If <varname>RandomizedDelaySec=</varname> and
281 <varname>AccuracySec=</varname> are used in conjunction, first the randomized delay is added, and
282 then the result is possibly further shifted to coalesce it with other timer events happening on the
283 system. As mentioned above <varname>AccuracySec=</varname> defaults to 1 minute and
284 <varname>RandomizedDelaySec=</varname> to 0, thus encouraging coalescing of timer events. In order to
285 optimally stretch timer events over a certain range of time, set
286 <varname>AccuracySec=1us</varname> and <varname>RandomizedDelaySec=</varname> to some higher value.
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287 </para>
288
289 <xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v229"/></listitem>
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290 </varlistentry>
291
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292 <varlistentry>
293 <term><varname>FixedRandomDelay=</varname></term>
294
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295 <listitem><para>Takes a boolean argument. When enabled, the randomized offset specified by
296 <varname>RandomizedDelaySec=</varname> is reused for all firings of the same timer. For a given timer
297 unit, the offset depends on the machine ID, user identifier and timer name, which means that it is
298 stable between restarts of the manager. This effectively creates a fixed offset for an individual
299 timer, reducing the jitter in firings of this timer, while still avoiding firing at the same time as
300 other similarly configured timers.</para>
301
302 <para>This setting has no effect if <varname>RandomizedDelaySec=</varname> is set to 0. Defaults to
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303 <option>false</option>.</para>
304
305 <xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v247"/></listitem>
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306 </varlistentry>
307
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308 <varlistentry>
309 <term><varname>OnClockChange=</varname></term>
310 <term><varname>OnTimezoneChange=</varname></term>
311
312 <listitem><para>These options take boolean arguments. When true, the service unit will be triggered
313 when the system clock (<constant>CLOCK_REALTIME</constant>) jumps relative to the monotonic clock
314 (<constant>CLOCK_MONOTONIC</constant>), or when the local system timezone is modified. These options
315 can be used alone or in combination with other timer expressions (see above) within the same timer
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316 unit. These options default to <option>false</option>.</para>
317
318 <xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v242"/></listitem>
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319 </varlistentry>
320
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321 <varlistentry>
322 <term><varname>Unit=</varname></term>
323
324 <listitem><para>The unit to activate when this timer elapses.
325 The argument is a unit name, whose suffix is not
326 <literal>.timer</literal>. If not specified, this value
327 defaults to a service that has the same name as the timer
328 unit, except for the suffix. (See above.) It is recommended
329 that the unit name that is activated and the unit name of the
330 timer unit are named identically, except for the
331 suffix.</para></listitem>
332 </varlistentry>
333
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334 <varlistentry>
335 <term><varname>Persistent=</varname></term>
336
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337 <listitem><para>Takes a boolean argument. If true, the time when the service unit was last triggered
338 is stored on disk. When the timer is activated, the service unit is triggered immediately if it
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339 would have been triggered at least once during the time when the timer was inactive. Such triggering
340 is nonetheless subject to the delay imposed by <varname>RandomizedDelaySec=</varname>.
341 This is useful to catch up on missed runs of the service when the system was powered down. Note that
342 this setting only has an effect on timers configured with <varname>OnCalendar=</varname>. Defaults to
5cecbae1 343 <option>false</option>.</para>
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344
345 <para>Use <command>systemctl clean --what=state …</command> on the timer unit to remove the timestamp
346 file maintained by this option from disk. In particular, use this command before uninstalling a timer
347 unit. See
348 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemctl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry> for
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349 details.</para>
350
351 <xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v212"/></listitem>
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352 </varlistentry>
353
354 <varlistentry>
355 <term><varname>WakeSystem=</varname></term>
356
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357 <listitem><para>Takes a boolean argument. If true, an elapsing timer will cause the system to resume
358 from suspend, should it be suspended and if the system supports this. Note that this option will only
359 make sure the system resumes on the appropriate times, it will not take care of suspending it again
360 after any work that is to be done is finished. Defaults to
5cecbae1 361 <option>false</option>.</para>
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362
363 <para>Note that this functionality requires privileges and is thus generally only available in the
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364 system service manager.</para>
365
366 <para>Note that behaviour of monotonic clock timers (as configured with
367 <varname>OnActiveSec=</varname>, <varname>OnBootSec=</varname>, <varname>OnStartupSec=</varname>,
368 <varname>OnUnitActiveSec=</varname>, <varname>OnUnitInactiveSec=</varname>, see above) is altered
369 depending on this option. If false, a monotonic clock is used that is paused during system suspend
370 (<constant>CLOCK_MONOTONIC</constant>), if true a different monotonic clock is used that continues
371 advancing during system suspend (<constant>CLOCK_BOOTTIME</constant>), see
372 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>clock_getres</refentrytitle><manvolnum>2</manvolnum></citerefentry> for
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373 details.</para>
374
375 <xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v212"/></listitem>
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376 </varlistentry>
377
378 <varlistentry>
70b4f819 379 <term><varname>RemainAfterElapse=</varname></term>
3e0c30ac 380
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381 <listitem><para>Takes a boolean argument. If true, a timer will stay loaded, and its state remains
382 queryable even after it elapsed and the associated unit (as configured with <varname>Unit=</varname>,
383 see above) deactivated again. If false, an elapsed timer unit that cannot elapse anymore is unloaded
384 once its associated unit deactivated again. Turning this off is particularly useful for transient
385 timer units. Note that this setting has an effect when repeatedly starting a timer unit: if
386 <varname>RemainAfterElapse=</varname> is on, starting the timer a second time has no effect. However,
387 if <varname>RemainAfterElapse=</varname> is off and the timer unit was already unloaded, it can be
388 started again, and thus the service can be triggered multiple times. Defaults to
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389 <option>true</option>.</para>
390
391 <xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v229"/></listitem>
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392 </varlistentry>
393 </variablelist>
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394
395 <xi:include href="systemd.service.xml" xpointer="shared-unit-options" />
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396 </refsect1>
397
398 <refsect1>
399 <title>See Also</title>
c8bc7519 400 <para>Environment variables with details on the trigger will be set for triggered units. See the
8fb35004 401 <literal>Environment Variables Set or Propagated by the Service Manager</literal> section in
8b9f0921 402 <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.exec</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>
c8bc7519 403 for more details.</para>
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404 <para><simplelist type="inline">
405 <member><citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry></member>
406 <member><citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemctl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry></member>
407 <member><citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.unit</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry></member>
408 <member><citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.service</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry></member>
409 <member><citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.time</refentrytitle><manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry></member>
410 <member><citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.directives</refentrytitle><manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry></member>
411 <member><citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-system.conf</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry></member>
412 <member><citerefentry><refentrytitle>prctl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>2</manvolnum></citerefentry></member>
413 </simplelist></para>
798d3a52 414 </refsect1>
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415
416</refentry>