Services are programs that run in the background. These services are responsible for how the system functions and how it communicates. If you’re using Linux, including Ubuntu, and want to know which services are running or stopped, this post should come in handy. Knowing how to list and identify services in Ubuntu can help you debug and resolve issues. For students or new users looking for a Linux system to start learning on, the easiest place to start is Ubuntu Linux OS. It’s a great Linux operating system for beginners. Ubuntu is an open-source Linux operating system that runs on desktops, laptops, servers, and other devices. When you’re ready to learn how to list services on Ubuntu, follow the guide below: Most of the recent Linux distributions, including Ubuntu use systemd as their default init system and service manager. systemctl is a command-line utility that is used for controlling systemd and managing services, which is part of systemd. About systemctl command: On Linux systems, including Ubuntu the systemctl command utility that can be used to control and manage systemd services. Previous versions of Ubuntu will use the service command to accomplish the same. Using both systemctl and service commands, you can list all services either running, stopped, or disabled. Syntax: The syntax is the rule and format of how the systemctl command can be used. These syntax options can be reordered, but a straight format must be followed. Below is an example syntax of how to use the systemctl command. Options: The command line options are switches or flags that determined how the commands are executed or controlled. they modify the behavior of the commands. they are separated by spaces and followed after the commands. Below are some options for the systemctl command: Examples: Below are some examples of how to run and use the systemctl on Ubuntu Linux. Simply run the systemctl command to invoke it. Starting and Stopping Services To start or stop services using the systemctl command, run the commands below: To stop: You can also reference the application name without the ending .service Example: Restarting and Reloading If you rather restart or reload you can run the commands below; Or reload: Reloading a service only reloads configuration changes to a running service and won’t entirely restart the service. To fully restart a running service, you use the restart option. Enabling and Disabling Services If you want to disable or enable a service, you use the commands below: Enabling a service will allow that server to automatically start up every time the server starts up. If you disable a service, the service will not run at all unless you reenable it. or disable: Check service status To check the status of a service, you use the status option. Listing all services: To list all services running or stopped on the server, you run the commands below: That should list all services and output a similar screen as below: To list all inactive services, you run the commands below: For only active services: When you run systemctl with the –help option, you’ll see the help text below: Previous versions of Ubuntu using the service can use the commands below: That’s it! Congratulations! You’ve learned how to use the systemctl to manage and list services on Ubuntu. You may also like the commands below:
