CommandLinux

systemctl

systemctl [command] [unit]

Controls systemd services — start, stop, enable, check status — the standard way to manage background services on most modern Linux distributions.

// FLAGS

statusshow a service's current state

start / stop / restartcontrol a service

enable / disablecontrol whether a service starts at boot

// EXAMPLE

systemctl status sshd — shows whether the SSH service is running, along with recent log lines.

// GOTCHA

systemctl is systemd-specific — it doesn't exist on macOS (which uses launchctl) or on the shrinking minority of Linux distros that don't use systemd, so it's not a universal Linux answer.

// RELATED COMMANDS

ps top sudo