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Is there a GUI tool for managing systemd on Ubuntu 18.04 (Bionic Beaver)?

I want to be able to see the status of services and/or units (and/or whatever else systemd calls them).

Ideally, I could also filter so as to only display running services. I'd also be able to filter to only display enabled services.

Apparently, Ubuntu 16.04 had systemd-ui, which I never used.

This article from 2011 mentions some other tools that existed long ago on various Linux distributions.

If there is not a GUI tool, is there a curses tool?

I want to be able to quickly review a list of running and enabled services, and in as few key presses as possible, stop and disable the services/units that I don't want.

Thanks!

davemackey
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mpb
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8 Answers8

21

I'm surprised no one has mentioned chkservice yet. A curses tool for enabling,disabling, and starting/stopping systemd units. It's even in the usual apt repo, so you can just sudo apt install chkservice.

enter image description here

Christian Fritz
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  • I tried, but it has cryptic stuff like [s], [x], -m- (it doesn't explain what these mean). The idea of a GUI is that it's not cryptic like the non-GUI version. But thanks for the software recommendation. – Chris Vilches Feb 02 '22 at 17:30
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    Try hitting ? for the help screen. It includes a legend to the cryptic stuff: [x] - enabled unit [ ] - disabled unit [s] - static unit -m- - masked unit – Christian Fritz Feb 02 '22 at 19:31
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    deeply disappointed with this one. I'm trying to build a timer here and it's showing as -m- without explanation or hint. can't restart or do anything, do not get any help msg from the likes of systemd or chkservice. In for another day of googling and tinkering BECAUSE ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE BY NERDS FOR NERDS ONLY – John Frazer May 20 '22 at 07:39
  • John, I assume you saw the comment right above your own which said -m- - masked unit. Does that help you? – Christian Fritz May 20 '22 at 14:56
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    @JohnFrazer: systemd is a core infrastructure software for system administration and management. So yes, ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE FOR SYSTEM ADMINISTRATORS ONLY. Some learning is expected and required. It's not meant for end users. – MestreLion Jun 09 '22 at 05:26
  • @MestreLion Systemd is not meant for end users? Please tell that to the Ubuntu/Gnome folks that decided to run systemd --user when a user logs in. – hackerb9 Oct 26 '22 at 22:33
  • @hackerb9: systemd --user is a systemd feature enabled in virtually all modern distros, so not an Ubuntu or Gnome thing. And being called "--user" does not make that feature intended to be used by the average joe, GUI end user. Just like crontab and so many other user tools. – MestreLion Oct 27 '22 at 14:50
  • I'm saying that you're right that systemd is not suitable for people who have not taken the time to learn it. Ubuntu used to allow users to control their accounts without having to learn systemd. You'd just fiddle with the autostart settings (or, for the old school, edit the .Xsession) to pick what runs in the background on login. Now, Gnome launches dozens of processes via systemd --user and folks who haven't learned it are mystified at what is launching them and how they can be stopped. "Systemd is not meant for end users" is true, but how do we help end users who have problems with it? – hackerb9 Oct 28 '22 at 18:48
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    @hackerb9: that I completely agree. Systemd desperately needs a good, official, modern GUI. – MestreLion Nov 13 '22 at 14:02
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These five...

...are listed here:

So, if you use KDE, there may be two for you.

A screenshot of SystemdGenie:

SystemdGenie

Mohammed
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TheJJJ
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8

I'm not aware of one. It doesn't get much faster than than the CLI commands though:

systemctl status
systemctl stop some-service
systemctl disable some-service
Mark Stosberg
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    systemctl --type service --state running gives a proper list of services which are currently running. – Videonauth May 02 '18 at 21:07
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    Not everyone has the memory or the knowlege to use the command line. A GUI guides a user towards the thing they are looking to do. The command line you have to do from memory. A Command Line is great for power users but not a good alternative for beginners. – Kat Amsterdam Apr 14 '21 at 15:18
  • you have to remember what the gui app is called, what it does (start | stop | enable | disabel) and the name of each service – teknopaul Feb 29 '24 at 10:30
  • @teknopaul no, the job of the GUI is to make those things findable through exploration. You only have to remember the name of the GUI app. Possibly even only "system" if you are using a good launcher. – Victor Jul 04 '24 at 19:44
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I wrote a Lua + whiptail script that can display, stop, and disable Systemd units. The script is here:

https://github.com/mpbcode/systemctl-ui

mpb
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If you are using amd64 system, you can download the packages systemd-ui_3-4_amd64.deb and systemd-gui_3-4_all.deb from Xenial Repository and manually install with apt:

sudo apt install ./systemd-ui_3-4_amd64.deb
sudo apt install ./systemd-gui_3-4_all.deb

I did this and worked like a charm.

systemadm

Bibliography:

https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/systemd-ui https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+archive/primary/+files/systemd-gui_3-4_all.deb https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+archive/primary/+files/systemd-ui_3-4_amd64.deb

Community
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ailtonbsj
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3

Not a GUI, but a web-ui solution.

Introducing Cockpit, a web-based server manager.

Leon
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2

There is also Webmin: sudo apt install webmin. Open a browser, fill address bar with https://localhost:10000. In the sidebar go to System > Bootup and Shutdown.

user3178743
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0

systemd Pilot is a free app made for that purpose. Disclosure: I'm the developer.

mFat
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