---
author: ~ben
published: true
title: daemonize with user units
description: a quick tutorial on creating and managing daemonized processes with systemd user units
category:
- guides
- technical
---

so you've got a process that you want to keep running. you might have it in a
tmux or screen session. let's use systemd user units to manage it!

1. ensure that your user unit loadpath is set up:

        mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user/

2. create a basic service. save something like this in
   `~/.config/systemd/user/my-new-service.service` (using the name of the unit
   you're creating)

        [Unit]
        Description=foo

        [Service]
        ExecStart=/bin/bash -c "while true do; echo hi; done"

        [Install]
        WantedBy=default.target

3. enable it

        systemctl --user enable --now my-new-service.service

4. enable-linger for your user account

        loginctl enable-linger

this allows your user units to run even when you're not logged in.

done!

you can now use `systemctl --user` to manage your daemonized process.

pro-tip: add `alias sysu='systemctl --user'` to your shell's configuration
for a handy shortcut (or any other alias as you choose)