devunit-gen

Generate a systemd --user unit file from the current directory, then optionally open it in your editor, reload systemd, and start the service — all in one command.

Prerequsite

By default, systemd user services are terminated the moment you close your SSH session or log out of your desktop.

loginctl show-user $USER --property=Linger

needs to show

Linger=yes

or you need to run

sudo loginctl enable-linger $USER

Quick start

# Generate a unit file for a service called "myapp"
devunit-gen myapp

This creates ~/.config/systemd/user/myapp.service, opens $EDITOR (or vi) so you can fill in the command to run, then runs systemctl --user daemon-reload.

Usage

devunit-gen <name> [options]

Positional argument

Argument	Description
name	Service name. Becomes <name>.service.

Options

Option	Description
--cmd	The command the service should run, e.g. "python -m http.server 8000". If omitted, a placeholder is inserted for you to edit.
--desc	Unit description. Default: "Dev server: <name>".
--dir	Working directory for the service. Default: current directory.
--env	Environment variable as KEY=VALUE (can be repeated). If omitted, placeholder lines are inserted.
--restart	Restart policy. Choices: no, on-success, on-failure, on-abnormal, on-watchdog, on-abort, always. Default: on-failure.
--restart-sec	Seconds to wait before restarting. Default: 2.
--no-edit	Skip opening $EDITOR after generation.
--force	Overwrite an existing unit file.
--start	Also run systemctl --user start <name>.service after generation.

Examples

Minimal — edit the command yourself

devunit-gen myapp

Creates the unit file and opens vi. Fill in the ExecStart= line, save, and close.

Full command, no edit needed

devunit-gen myapp \
  --cmd "python -m http.server 8000" \
  --desc "Dev HTTP server" \
  --dir /home/user/myproject \
  --env DEBUG=1 \
  --restart always \
  --restart-sec 5 \
  --no-edit \
  --start

Generates the file, skips the editor, reloads systemd, and starts the service.

Multiple environment variables

devunit-gen myapp \
  --cmd "python app.py" \
  --env PORT=8080 \
  --env DEBUG=1

Generated file location

All unit files go under ~/.config/systemd/user/<name>.service.

How it works

1. Builds a systemd user unit file from your arguments.
2. Writes it to the standard user unit directory.
3. Opens $EDITOR (default vi) for any final tweaks.
4. Runs systemctl --user daemon-reload so systemd picks up the new unit.
5. If --start is given, runs systemctl --user start <name>.service.