man/systemd-run.xml

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  23
  24 <refentry id="systemd-run"
  25           xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude">
  26
  27   <refentryinfo>
  28     <title>systemd-run</title>
  29     <productname>systemd</productname>
  30
  31     <authorgroup>
  32       <author>
  33         <contrib>Developer</contrib>
  34         <firstname>Lennart</firstname>
  35         <surname>Poettering</surname>
  36         <email>lennart@poettering.net</email>
  37       </author>
  38     </authorgroup>
  39   </refentryinfo>
  40
  41   <refmeta>
  42     <refentrytitle>systemd-run</refentrytitle>
  43     <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
  44   </refmeta>
  45
  46   <refnamediv>
  47     <refname>systemd-run</refname>
  48     <refpurpose>Run programs in transient scope units, service units, or timer-scheduled service units</refpurpose>
  49   </refnamediv>
  50
  51   <refsynopsisdiv>
  52     <cmdsynopsis>
  53       <command>systemd-run</command>
  54       <arg choice="opt" rep="repeat">OPTIONS</arg>
  55       <arg choice="plain"><replaceable>COMMAND</replaceable>
  56       <arg choice="opt" rep="repeat">ARGS</arg>
  57       </arg>
  58     </cmdsynopsis>
  59     <cmdsynopsis>
  60       <command>systemd-run</command>
  61       <arg choice="opt" rep="repeat">OPTIONS</arg>
  62       <arg choice="opt" rep="repeat">TIMER OPTIONS</arg>
  63       <arg choice="req"><replaceable>COMMAND</replaceable></arg>
  64       <arg choice="opt" rep="repeat">ARGS</arg>
  65     </cmdsynopsis>
  66   </refsynopsisdiv>
  67
  68   <refsect1>
  69     <title>Description</title>
  70
  71     <para><command>systemd-run</command> may be used to create and start a transient <filename>.service</filename> or
  72     <filename>.scope</filename> unit and run the specified <replaceable>COMMAND</replaceable> in it. It may also be
  73     used to create and start a transient <filename>.timer</filename> unit, that activates a
  74     <filename>.service</filename> unit when elapsing.</para>
  75
  76     <para>If a command is run as transient service unit, it will be started and managed by the service manager like any
  77     other service, and thus shows up in the output of <command>systemctl list-units</command> like any other unit. It
  78     will run in a clean and detached execution environment, with the service manager as its parent process. In this
  79     mode, <command>systemd-run</command> will start the service asynchronously in the background and return after the
  80     command has begun execution (unless <option>--no-block</option> or <option>--watch</option> are specified, see
  81     below).</para>
  82
  83     <para>If a command is run as transient scope unit, it will be executed by <command>systemd-run</command> itself as
  84     parent process and will thus inherit the execution environment of the caller. However, the processes of the command
  85     are managed by the service manager similar to normal services, and will show up in the output of <command>systemctl
  86     list-units</command>. Execution in this case is synchronous, and will return only when the command finishes. This
  87     mode is enabled via the <option>--scope</option> switch (see below). </para>
  88
  89     <para>If a command is run with timer options such as <option>--on-calendar=</option> (see below), a transient timer
  90     unit is created alongside the service unit for the specified command. Only the transient timer unit is started
  91     immediately, the transient service unit will be started when the timer elapses. If the <option>--unit=</option>
  92     option is specified, the <replaceable>COMMAND</replaceable> may be omitted. In this case,
  93     <command>systemd-run</command> creates only a <filename>.timer</filename> unit that invokes the specified unit when
  94     elapsing.</para>
  95   </refsect1>
  96
  97   <refsect1>
  98     <title>Options</title>
  99
 100     <para>The following options are understood:</para>
 101
 102     <variablelist>
 103       <varlistentry>
 104         <term><option>--no-ask-password</option></term>
 105
 106         <listitem><para>Do not query the user for authentication for
 107         privileged operations.</para></listitem>
 108       </varlistentry>
 109
 110       <varlistentry>
 111         <term><option>--scope</option></term>
 112
 113         <listitem>
 114           <para>Create a transient <filename>.scope</filename> unit instead of the default transient
 115           <filename>.service</filename> unit (see above).
 116           </para>
 117         </listitem>
 118       </varlistentry>
 119
 120       <varlistentry>
 121         <term><option>--unit=</option></term>
 122
 123         <listitem><para>Use this unit name instead of an automatically
 124         generated one.</para></listitem>
 125       </varlistentry>
 126
 127       <varlistentry>
 128         <term><option>--property=</option></term>
 129         <term><option>-p</option></term>
 130
 131         <listitem><para>Sets a property on the scope or service unit that is created. This option takes an assignment
 132         in the same format as
 133         <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemctl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>'s
 134         <command>set-property</command> command.</para>
 135         </listitem>
 136       </varlistentry>
 137
 138       <varlistentry>
 139         <term><option>--description=</option></term>
 140
 141         <listitem><para>Provide a description for the service, scope or timer unit. If not specified, the command
 142         itself will be used as a description. See <varname>Description=</varname> in
 143         <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.unit</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
 144         </para></listitem>
 145       </varlistentry>
 146
 147       <varlistentry>
 148         <term><option>--slice=</option></term>
 149
 150         <listitem><para>Make the new <filename>.service</filename> or <filename>.scope</filename> unit part of the
 151         specified slice, instead of <filename>system.slice</filename>.</para>
 152         </listitem>
 153       </varlistentry>
 154
 155       <varlistentry>
 156         <term><option>--remain-after-exit</option></term>
 157
 158         <listitem><para>After the service process has terminated, keep the service around until it is explicitly
 159         stopped. This is useful to collect runtime information about the service after it finished running. Also see
 160         <varname>RemainAfterExit=</varname> in
 161         <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.service</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
 162         </para>
 163         </listitem>
 164       </varlistentry>
 165
 166       <varlistentry>
 167         <term><option>--send-sighup</option></term>
 168
 169         <listitem><para>When terminating the scope or service unit, send a SIGHUP immediately after SIGTERM. This is
 170         useful to indicate to shells and shell-like processes that the connection has been severed. Also see
 171         <varname>SendSIGHUP=</varname> in
 172         <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.kill</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
 173         </para>
 174         </listitem>
 175       </varlistentry>
 176
 177       <varlistentry>
 178         <term><option>--service-type=</option></term>
 179
 180         <listitem><para>Sets the service type. Also see
 181         <varname>Type=</varname> in
 182         <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.service</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>. This
 183         option has no effect in conjunction with
 184         <option>--scope</option>. Defaults to
 185         <constant>simple</constant>.</para>
 186         </listitem>
 187       </varlistentry>
 188
 189       <varlistentry>
 190         <term><option>--uid=</option></term>
 191         <term><option>--gid=</option></term>
 192
 193         <listitem><para>Runs the service process under the specified UNIX user and group. Also see
 194         <varname>User=</varname> and <varname>Group=</varname> in
 195         <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.exec</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.</para>
 196         </listitem>
 197       </varlistentry>
 198
 199       <varlistentry>
 200         <term><option>--nice=</option></term>
 201
 202         <listitem><para>Runs the service process with the specified
 203         nice level. Also see <varname>Nice=</varname> in
 204         <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.exec</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.</para>
 205         </listitem>
 206       </varlistentry>
 207
 208       <varlistentry>
 209         <term><option>-E <replaceable>NAME</replaceable>=<replaceable>VALUE</replaceable></option></term>
 210         <term><option>--setenv=<replaceable>NAME</replaceable>=<replaceable>VALUE</replaceable></option></term>
 211
 212         <listitem><para>Runs the service process with the specified environment variable set.
 213         Also see <varname>Environment=</varname> in
 214         <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.exec</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>.</para>
 215         </listitem>
 216       </varlistentry>
 217
 218       <varlistentry>
 219         <term><option>--pty</option></term>
 220         <term><option>-t</option></term>
 221
 222         <listitem><para>When invoking the command, the transient service connects its standard input and output to the
 223         terminal <command>systemd-run</command> is invoked on, via a pseudo TTY device. This allows running binaries
 224         that expect interactive user input as services, such as interactive command shells.</para>
 225
 226         <para>Note that
 227         <citerefentry><refentrytitle>machinectl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>'s
 228         <command>shell</command> command is usually a better alternative for requesting a new, interactive login
 229         session on the local host or a local container.</para></listitem>
 230       </varlistentry>
 231
 232       <varlistentry>
 233         <term><option>--quiet</option></term>
 234         <term><option>-q</option></term>
 235
 236         <listitem><para>Suppresses additional informational output
 237         while running. This is particularly useful in combination with
 238         <option>--pty</option> when it will suppress the initial
 239         message explaining how to terminate the TTY connection.</para></listitem>
 240       </varlistentry>
 241
 242       <varlistentry>
 243         <term><option>--on-active=</option></term>
 244         <term><option>--on-boot=</option></term>
 245         <term><option>--on-startup=</option></term>
 246         <term><option>--on-unit-active=</option></term>
 247         <term><option>--on-unit-inactive=</option></term>
 248
 249         <listitem><para>Defines a monotonic timer relative to different starting points for starting the specified
 250         command. See <varname>OnActiveSec=</varname>, <varname>OnBootSec=</varname>, <varname>OnStartupSec=</varname>,
 251         <varname>OnUnitActiveSec=</varname> and <varname>OnUnitInactiveSec=</varname> in
 252         <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.timer</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry> for
 253         details. These options may not be combined with <option>--scope</option>.</para>
 254         </listitem>
 255       </varlistentry>
 256
 257       <varlistentry>
 258         <term><option>--on-calendar=</option></term>
 259
 260         <listitem><para>Defines a calendar timer for starting the specified command. See <varname>OnCalendar=</varname>
 261         in <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.timer</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>. This
 262         option may not be combined with <option>--scope</option>.</para>
 263         </listitem>
 264       </varlistentry>
 265
 266       <varlistentry>
 267         <term><option>--timer-property=</option></term>
 268
 269         <listitem><para>Sets a property on the timer unit that is created. This option is similar to
 270         <option>--property=</option> but applies to the transient timer unit rather than the transient service unit
 271         created. This option only has an effect in conjunction with <option>--on-active=</option>,
 272         <option>--on-boot=</option>, <option>--on-startup=</option>, <option>--on-unit-active=</option>,
 273         <option>--on-unit-inactive=</option> or <option>--on-calendar=</option>. This option takes an assignment in the
 274         same format as <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemctl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>'s
 275         <command>set-property</command> command.</para> </listitem>
 276       </varlistentry>
 277
 278       <varlistentry>
 279         <term><option>--no-block</option></term>
 280
 281         <listitem>
 282           <para>Do not synchronously wait for the unit start operation to finish. If this option is not specified, the
 283           start request for the transient unit will be verified, enqueued and <command>systemd-run</command> will wait
 284           until the unit's start-up is completed. By passing this argument, it is only verified and enqueued. This
 285           option may not be combined with <option>--wait</option>.</para>
 286         </listitem>
 287       </varlistentry>
 288
 289       <varlistentry>
 290         <term><option>--wait</option></term>
 291
 292         <listitem><para>Synchronously wait for the transient service to terminate. If this option is specified, the
 293         start request for the transient unit is verified, enqueued, and waited for. Subsequently the invoked unit is
 294         monitored, and it is waited until it is deactivated again (most likely because the specified command
 295         completed). On exit, terse information about the unit's runtime is shown, including total runtime (as well as
 296         CPU usage, if <option>--property=CPUAccounting=1</option> was set) and the exit code and status of the main
 297         process. This output may be suppressed with <option>--quiet</option>. This option may not be combined with
 298         <option>--no-block</option>, <option>--scope</option> or the various timer options.</para></listitem>
 299       </varlistentry>
 300
 301       <xi:include href="user-system-options.xml" xpointer="user" />
 302       <xi:include href="user-system-options.xml" xpointer="system" />
 303       <xi:include href="user-system-options.xml" xpointer="host" />
 304       <xi:include href="user-system-options.xml" xpointer="machine" />
 305
 306       <xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="help" />
 307       <xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="version" />
 308     </variablelist>
 309
 310     <para>All command line arguments after the first non-option
 311     argument become part of the command line of the launched
 312     process. If a command is run as service unit, its first argument
 313     needs to be an absolute binary path.</para>
 314   </refsect1>
 315
 316   <refsect1>
 317     <title>Exit status</title>
 318
 319     <para>On success, 0 is returned, a non-zero failure
 320     code otherwise.</para>
 321   </refsect1>
 322
 323   <refsect1>
 324     <title>Examples</title>
 325
 326     <example>
 327       <title>Logging environment variables provided by systemd to services</title>
 328
 329       <programlisting># systemd-run env
 330 Running as unit: run-19945.service
 331 # journalctl -u run-19945.service
 332 Sep 08 07:37:21 bupkis systemd[1]: Starting /usr/bin/env...
 333 Sep 08 07:37:21 bupkis systemd[1]: Started /usr/bin/env.
 334 Sep 08 07:37:21 bupkis env[19948]: PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin
 335 Sep 08 07:37:21 bupkis env[19948]: LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 336 Sep 08 07:37:21 bupkis env[19948]: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-3.11.0-0.rc5.git6.2.fc20.x86_64</programlisting>
 337     </example>
 338
 339     <example>
 340       <title>Limiting resources available to a command</title>
 341
 342       <programlisting># systemd-run -p BlockIOWeight=10 updatedb</programlisting>
 343
 344       <para>This command invokes the
 345       <citerefentry project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>updatedb</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry>
 346       tool, but lowers the block I/O weight for it to 10. See
 347       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.resource-control</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>
 348       for more information on the <varname>BlockIOWeight=</varname>
 349       property.</para>
 350     </example>
 351
 352     <example>
 353       <title>Running commands at a specified time</title>
 354
 355       <para>The following command will touch a file after 30 seconds.</para>
 356
 357       <programlisting># date; systemd-run --on-active=30 --timer-property=AccuracySec=100ms /bin/touch /tmp/foo
 358 Mon Dec  8 20:44:24 KST 2014
 359 Running as unit: run-71.timer
 360 Will run service as unit: run-71.service
 361 # journalctl -b -u run-71.timer
 362 -- Logs begin at Fri 2014-12-05 19:09:21 KST, end at Mon 2014-12-08 20:44:54 KST. --
 363 Dec 08 20:44:38 container systemd[1]: Starting /bin/touch /tmp/foo.
 364 Dec 08 20:44:38 container systemd[1]: Started /bin/touch /tmp/foo.
 365 # journalctl -b -u run-71.service
 366 -- Logs begin at Fri 2014-12-05 19:09:21 KST, end at Mon 2014-12-08 20:44:54 KST. --
 367 Dec 08 20:44:48 container systemd[1]: Starting /bin/touch /tmp/foo...
 368 Dec 08 20:44:48 container systemd[1]: Started /bin/touch /tmp/foo.</programlisting>
 369     </example>
 370
 371     <example>
 372       <title>Allowing access to the tty</title>
 373
 374       <para>The following command invokes <filename>/bin/bash</filename> as a service
 375       passing its standard input, output and error to the calling TTY.</para>
 376
 377       <programlisting># systemd-run -t --send-sighup /bin/bash</programlisting>
 378     </example>
 379
 380     <example>
 381       <title>Start <command>screen</command> as a user service</title>
 382
 383       <programlisting>$ systemd-run --scope --user screen
 384 Running scope as unit run-r14b0047ab6df45bfb45e7786cc839e76.scope.
 385
 386 $ screen -ls
 387 There is a screen on:
 388         492..laptop     (Detached)
 389 1 Socket in /var/run/screen/S-fatima.
 390 </programlisting>
 391
 392       <para>This starts the <command>screen</command> process as a child of the
 393       <command>systemd --user</command> process that was started by
 394       <filename>user@.service</filename>, in a scope unit. A
 395       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.scope</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>
 396       unit is used instead of a
 397       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.service</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>
 398       unit, because <command>screen</command> will exit when detaching from the terminal,
 399       and a service unit would be terminated. Running <command>screen</command>
 400       as a user unit has the advantage that it is not part of the session scope.
 401       If <varname>KillUserProcesses=yes</varname> is configured in
 402       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>logind.conf</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
 403       the default, the session scope will be terminated when the user logs
 404       out of that session.</para>
 405
 406       <para>The <filename>user@.service</filename> is started automatically
 407       when the user first logs in, and stays around as long as at least one
 408       login session is open. After the user logs out of the last session,
 409       <filename>user@.service</filename> and all services underneath it
 410       are terminated. This behavior is the default, when "lingering" is
 411       not enabled for that user. Enabling lingering means that
 412       <filename>user@.service</filename> is started automatically during
 413       boot, even if the user is not logged in, and that the service is
 414       not terminated when the user logs out.</para>
 415
 416       <para>Enabling lingering allows the user to run processes without being logged in,
 417       for example to allow <command>screen</command> to persist after the user logs out,
 418       even if the session scope is terminated. In the default configuration, users can
 419       enable lingering for themselves:</para>
 420
 421       <programlisting>$ loginctl enable-linger</programlisting>
 422     </example>
 423   </refsect1>
 424
 425   <refsect1>
 426     <title>See Also</title>
 427     <para>
 428       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
 429       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemctl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
 430       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.unit</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
 431       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.service</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
 432       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.scope</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
 433       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.slice</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
 434       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.exec</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
 435       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.resource-control</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
 436       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.timer</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
 437       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-mount</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
 438       <citerefentry><refentrytitle>machinectl</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
 439     </para>
 440   </refsect1>
 441
 442 </refentry>