mkunit target

Create a systemd target unit to group related units together.

mkunit target <name> [flags]

Description

The target command creates a .target unit file for grouping related services together. Targets are synchronization points that allow you to start or stop multiple units at once, similar to runlevels in SysV init.

Arguments

Argument Description
<name> Name of the target (without .target extension)

Flags

Flag Description Default
--description <text> Human-readable description Auto-generated
--requires <unit> Require this unit (can be repeated) —
--wants <unit> Want this unit (can be repeated) —
--after <unit> Start after this unit (can be repeated) —
--before <unit> Start before this unit (can be repeated) —
--conflicts <unit> Conflicts with this unit —
--allow-isolate Allow systemctl isolate to this target false
--system Create a system target false
--install Install the unit file false
--start Activate the target false
--enable Enable on boot false
--dry-run Print without writing false

Common System Targets

These are built-in systemd targets you can reference:

Target Description
multi-user.targetNon-graphical multi-user system
graphical.targetGraphical desktop
network.targetNetwork is configured
network-online.targetNetwork is fully online
default.targetDefault boot target (user sessions)

Examples

Group related services

# Create a target for your application stack
mkunit target myapp-stack \
  --description "My Application Stack" \
  --wants myapp-api.service \
  --wants myapp-worker.service \
  --wants myapp-scheduler.service \
  --install

Then start all services at once:

systemctl --user start myapp-stack.target

Create a custom boot target

sudo mkunit target development \
  --description "Development Environment" \
  --requires multi-user.target \
  --wants docker.service \
  --wants postgresql.service \
  --wants redis.service \
  --allow-isolate \
  --system --install

Switch to this target:

sudo systemctl isolate development.target

Define services that belong to a target

The recommended way is to have services declare which target they belong to:

# Create the target
mkunit target myapp --install

# Create services that belong to it
mkunit service myapp-api \
  --exec "./api" \
  --wanted-by myapp.target \
  --install

mkunit service myapp-worker \
  --exec "./worker" \
  --wanted-by myapp.target \
  --install

Ordering with other targets

mkunit target database-ready \
  --description "Databases are ready" \
  --wants postgresql.service \
  --wants redis.service \
  --after postgresql.service \
  --after redis.service \
  --install
Tip

Use Wants= for services that should start with the target but aren't required. Use Requires= for services that must be running for the target to be active.

See Also

  • mkunit service - Create services that belong to targets
  • mkunit status - Check target status
  • man systemd.target - Full target unit documentation