Tools
systemd Cheat Sheet
Print-ready cheat sheet for systemd, organized for fast lookup, study, and desk-side use
Sample
What's in this cheat sheet
- Service Management
- Unit Files
- Timers
- Targets
- Journalctl
- Networking
- Mounts
- Environment
- Dependencies
- Common Patterns
Basic Service Commands
systemctl start nginx
systemctl stop nginx
systemctl restart nginx
systemctl reload nginx # reload config
systemctl status nginx
Enable / Disable
systemctl enable nginx # start at boot
systemctl disable nginx # remove from boot
systemctl enable --now nginx # enable + start
systemctl is-enabled nginx
Service States
active (running) | Service is running normally |
active (exited) | Ran once and exited successfully |
inactive (dead) | Service is stopped |
failed | Service crashed or exited with error |
activating | Service is starting up |
Download the full cheat sheet for all sections, formatted for print
Download PDFDownloads
Choose the treatment that matches how you read
-
Recommended
Standard
B&W, ink-efficient. The default for laser printers and photocopies
Best for Printouts and desk-side reference
-
Color
Warm color accents for on-screen reading or color printers
Best for Screen reading or color printers
-
Reference Card
Maximum density, 4-column layout. Everything on one page
Best for Fast scanning and minimum paper use
