Table of Contents

Linux - systemd - Run a script at startup

Create a systemd service unit file.

Example to run a script which sets firewall rules

Create a file named /etc/systemd/system/sharewiz-firewall.service:

/etc/systemd/system/sharewiz-firewall.service
[Unit]
Description=Runs the firewall.
 
[Service]
[Unit]
Description=Runs the firewall.
 
[Service]
ExecStart=/sharewiz/firewall/firewall.sh
ExecStop=/sharewiz/firewall/firewall-reset.sh
Type=oneshot
RemainAfterExit=yes
 
[Install]
#WantedBy=multi-user.target
WantedBy=default.target

NOTE: Ensure that the script that is going to be run is executable.

  • ExecStart - this is the script that is run when the service starts.
  • ExecStop - this is the script that is run when the service stops.

Reload and enable the firewall.service unit

sudo chmod 644 /etc/systemd/system/sharewiz-firewall.service
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable sharewiz-firewall.service

NOTE: The systemctl daemon-reload command reloads all unit files, including the new unit file created for the firewall.