On Mo, 18.09.23 15:22, mpan (systemdml-bfok4...@mpan.pl) wrote: > Hello, > > I got redirected to here from #systemd on Libera. While responding to a > query from another person (not on #systemd), I came across an ambiguity. Any > answer I give, its validity would be uncertain. I wish to receive an > authoritative clarification. > > There is systemd-cryptsetup binary in “/usr/lib/systemd/”. Its location > suggests it’s internal to systemd and not intended for user invocation. > However, it is also listed in manual as if it was something the user might > be concerned with. The manual even has a specific, separate, explicit > reference to systemd-cryptsetup page — though it’s shared with the > corresponding service and the binary itself isn’t described.
/usr/lib/systemd/ is indeed the place for internal binaries with unstable interfaces. But it's also the place where we put binaries that we don't typically expect users to call, because they are generally called via some well define .service unit or so only. systemd-cryptsetup is one of the latter, we'd expect people to use this via crypttab mostly. However, the interface is nonetheless stable, it is a long-time part of systemd and so far we never broke interface and I see no reason we ever would. In fact it might be a candidate to move over to /usr/bin to make official, if there's sufficient request for that. (such a request should be made via github issue tracker) > Thanks in advance for indicating, if systemd-cryptsetup (the binary) is a > tool users may rely on. Yes, absolutely. The only reason when we might break things for you is when we one day move it from /usr/lib to /usr/bin, ;-) Hence: the call interface is certainly stable, the location in that sense maybe not yet. Lennart -- Lennart Poettering, Berlin
