Service & System
systemctl
Control the systemd system and service manager.
Synopsis
syntax
systemctl [OPTION]... COMMAND [UNIT]...
Examples
Check nginx service status
systemctl status nginx
Restart nginx
sudo systemctl restart nginx
Enable and start docker
sudo systemctl enable --now docker
List running services
systemctl list-units --type=service --state=running
Disable bluetooth at boot
sudo systemctl disable bluetooth
Common options
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
| start | Start a service |
| stop | Stop a service |
| restart | Restart a service |
| status | Show service status |
| enable | Enable service at boot |
| disable | Disable service at boot |
| list-units | List all loaded units |
About systemctl
The `systemctl` command control the systemd system and service manager. Service and system commands manage daemons, scheduled tasks, system boot, and shutdown operations.
Modern Linux distributions use systemd for service management, though some still support SysVinit scripts. Understanding these commands is essential for deploying and maintaining production services.
The command accepts 7 commonly used flags shown above, though the full set of options is available in the man page (`man systemctl`). The 5 examples on this page cover typical real-world usage patterns that you can copy and adapt for your own workflows.
Related commands
More Service & System Commands
Other commands in the Service & System category