Andy Smith <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, > > On Fri, Feb 27, 2026 at 10:26:08AM +0000, Chris Green wrote: > > I have several systemd services which I want to run as a user (i.e. > > not root) but I do want them to run at start-up whenever the system is > > rebooted. > > User services normally only start when the user logs in for the first > time, and are terminated when the last login session of the user ends. > > If you would like fore there to always be a session of that user > existing (so all of that user's services start at boot and remain > running), you can enable "linger": > > $ loginctl enable-linger > > If the service in question is not strictly user-based then I would > probably run it as a system service with User=. e.g. a daemon that you > expect there to only be one of on the system, that runs under a specific > user for that daemon, would make more sense as a system service, whereas > something that runs on behalf of a specific real user (and there might > be other instances of per-user) does make sense as a user service. > Thank you Andy. I think enable-linger may well be just what I want for some services.
This is a small system that is on a boat in France, it drives some displays on the boat and also allows for remote monitoring of battery voltages and such. The systemd services in question are of two types:- 1 - A collection of outgoing ssh connections which set up reverse tunnels so that I can log in to the system using ssh from home. (The system on the boat is behind a CGNAT mobile connection). 2 - Some python programs that run the displays on the boat. Neither of the above need root access but I do want them to run whenever the system is on, not just when I'm logged in. -- Chris Green ยท
