Manage Services with systemctl

Checking a service

systemctl status apache2

Shows whether the Apache web server is running, plus its latest log lines. Press q to exit.

systemctl list-units --type=service --state=running

Lists every service that is running.

systemctl --failed

Lists services that have failed.

Starting and stopping

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Stops and starts a service. Use start and stop to do just one.

sudo systemctl reload apache2

Reloads the settings without stopping the service, if it supports it.

sudo systemctl enable --now apache2

Starts the service now and every time the computer boots. Use disable to stop it starting at boot.

Reading logs with journalctl

journalctl -u apache2

Shows the log messages for one service.

journalctl -u apache2 -f

Follows the log live, showing new messages as they arrive. Press Ctrl + C to stop.

journalctl --since "1 hour ago"

Shows everything logged in the last hour.

journalctl -b -p err

Shows only errors since the computer last started.

Quick reference