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SYSV-RC-CONF(8) SYSV-RC-CONF(8)

NAME

sysv-rc-conf - Run-level configuration for SysV like init script links

SYNOPSIS

sysv-rc-conf [ OPTIONS ]

sysv-rc-conf --list [ service ]

sysv-rc-conf --add|--del [ service ]

sysv-rc-conf [ --level levels ] service <on|off|reset>

DESCRIPTION

sysv-rc-conf gives an easy to use interface for managing "/etc/rc{runlevel}.d/" symlinks. The interface comes in two different flavors, one that simply allows turning services on or off and another that allows for more fine tuned management of the symlinks. It's a replacement for programs like ntsysv(8) or rcconf(8).

sysv-rc-conf can also be used at the command line when the desired changes to the symlinks are already known. The syntax is borrowed from chkconfig(8), although it does not follow it exactly.

OPTIONS

General Options

The directory where the priority numbers, old runlevel configuration, etc. should be stored. This defaults to "/var/lib/sysv-rc-conf". See the FILES section below and the --Purge option.
The root directory to use. This defaults to "/". This comes in handy if the root file system is mounted somewhere else, such as when using a rescue disk.
Purge the information stored in the cache file. See the FILES section below and the --cache option. The user interface is inhibited unless --UI is also specified.
Force an action that would otherwise be aborted on sanity check failure. This applies to creating a symlink on the command line for a non-existent initscript in case of a typo.
Run insserv(8) to recalculate dependency-based boot sequence and priorities on exit.
Print verbose information to "FILE"
Print version information to STDOUT and exit
Set width in characters to use for the service label column in lists and the configuration screen.
Read only: never change any symlinks or the service cache.
Enter the curses user interface even if performing a batch operation which would not otherwise show the UI. (Does not apply to chkconfig compatibility mode, including setting levels, or to --list.)
Avoid the curses user interface, reversing a setting of --UI.
Allows various sorting orders and ways to display the rows. The argument can be made up of any of the following:
Sort the rows alphabetically.
Show the priority numbers along with the name of the service.
Sorts by the priority numbers.
Sorts by whether the service is probably a startup/shutdown one-shot service.
level can be any runlevel, 0-9 or S. This controls which runlevel the priority numbers are sorted at. It only makes sense to use this in conjuntion with p. If omitted the priority numbers are sorted by the current runlevel the system is in.

The default setting is as, which orders alphabetically with startup/shutdown one-shot services appearing underneath regular services used in the multi-user runlevels.

Alternate layout. Instead of just showing a checkbox, the priority of the service and the S or K are allowed to be edited. This is for more fine-tuned control then the default layout allows.
Which runlevels to show. This defaults to up to 8 of the runlevels available on the system. Usually this means it will show 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 0, 6, and S. The syntax calls for the runlevels to be allruntogether. For instance, to show runlevels 3, 4, and 5 the syntax would be "--show=345". Also see --order.

These options provide emulation for chkconfig.

The runlevels this operation will affect. levels can be any number from 0-9 or S. For example, --level 135 will affect runlevels 1, 3, and 5. If --level is not set, the default is to affect runlevels 2, 3, 4, and 5. This option is only used for the command line interface, see the section below labled USING THE CLI for more information.
This option will list all of the services and if they are stopped or started when entering each runlevel. If name is specified, only the information for that service is displayed. If launched as chkconfig with no arguments, the --list option is implied.
Add the named service, setting any missing runlevel symlinks according to the LSB header in the initscript, which must be defined. Legacy priority-based chkconfig settings like "chkconfig: 2345 20 80" in init scripts are not supported.
Delete all runlevel symlinks for the named service.

USING THE GUI

Note

When using either GUI layout described below, all configuration changes to the symlinks will happen immediately, not when the program exits.

Using the Default layout

The default (simple) layout shows in a grid fashion all of the services that are in "init.d" and which runlevels they are turned on at. For example, where the "ssh" row and 3 column intersect, if there is an 'X' in the box there that means the ssh service will be turned on when entering runlevel 3. If there is no checkbox it means that the service is turned off when entering that runlevel. A tilde '~' in the box means that there are no links to the service in that specific runlevel. If more configuration detail is needed, see the next paragraph and the --priority option.

Using the Priority layout

The priority (advanced) layout also uses a grid fashion, but instead of checkboxes there are text boxes that can have a few different values. If the text box is blank, that means there isn't a symlink in that runlevel for that service. This means that when changing into that runlevel that the service will not be started or stopped, which is significant. If the text box starts with the letter K that means that the service will be stopped when entering that runlevel. If the text box starts with the letter S that means the service will be started when entering that runlevel. The two digits following is the order in which the services are started. That means that "S08iptables" would start before "S20ssh". For more information see your system documentation.

Controls

To move around use the arrow keys, or if the terminal support it, the mouse. Typically there is more then one page of services (unless the terminal screen is large), to move between the pages use Page Up or Page Down, or arrow key down or up at the bottom or top of the screen, respectively. The Home key will jump to the first service on the first page. The bottom of the screen also shows these movement commands for quick reference. To restore the symlinks back to their original state before the sysv-rc-conf was run, press the r key. The h key will display a quick reference help screen.

Default layout

When using the default layout use the space bar to toggle the service with the most likely alternate setting in the context. The "<" and ">" keys cycle through the available states. The current runlevel can be set directly at the required state with 0 or "o" for stopping the service, 1 or "x" to start the service and 2 or "~" to leave the service floating.

Priority layout

The priority layout uses the default movement keys. In order to edit the fields you can use CTRL-d to delete the character in front of the cursor or backspace to backspace. Use CTRL-b or CTRL-f to move the cursor backwards or forwards within the field. Note that only S, K, or any digit is allowed to be entered into the field.

Starting / Stopping Services

To start a service now, press the "+" key. To stop a service now, press the "-" key.

This will call "/etc/init.d/service start" or "/etc/init.d/service stop".

USING THE CLI

If the desired modifications to the symlinks are known and only one quick change is needed, then you can use a CLI interface to sysv-rc-conf. Examples:

  # sysv-rc-conf --level 35 ssh off
  # sysv-rc-conf atd on
  # sysv-rc-conf acct reset

The first example will turn ssh off on levels 3 and 5. The second example turns atd on for runlevels 2, 3, 4, and 5. The third example sets the on/off state for each runlevel based on the defaults specified in the LSB header.

FILES

/etc/sysv-rc-conf.conf
Configuration file for sysv-rc-conf that populates some configuration options before command line options are processed. Options are expressed one per line, with comments introduced by "#". The following options are supported; other options may also be effective but are not guaranteed and may have different names from the corresponding command line options and may not be meaningful expressed in the config file.
Call the insserv(8) tool to recompute dependency-based init ordering on exit.
Set display order as per --order.
As per --verbose.
Always operate in read-only mode as per --RO.
/var/lib/sysv-rc-conf/services
sysv-rc-conf stores a cache of all the symlink information from "/etc/rc{runlevel}.d/" in "/var/lib/sysv-rc-conf/services" (See the --cache option to change the location of this file). It uses this cache to make an intelligent decision on what priority number to give the K or S link when they are changed in the simple layout. This cache is updated/created every time the program is launched. The program needs to run with root privileges in order to update the cache. The format of the file is as follows: 

  RUNLEVEL S|K PRIORITY SERVICE

Here's a few examples:

  2 K 74 ntpd
  2 K 50 xinetd
  3 S 08 iptables
  3 S 80 sendmail

sysv-rc-conf will first see if it can get an exact match from the cache. For example, if the symlink for "cron" in runlevel 3 is S89cron and you uncheck it, sysv-rc-conf will first see if there is an entry in the cache that looks like "3 K nn cron", if so it will use nn for the priority number.

If there wasn't a match, sysv-rc-conf will then see if there is another S or K (whichever you're switching to, so in this example, K) entry on a different runlevel - so an entry like "i K nn cron", where i is any runlevel. If found, the link will use nn.

If there still wasn't a match, sysv-rc-conf will look for the opposite of S or K in any run level, and use 100 - that priority. So in our example, "i S nn cron". If nn is 20, then it will use 80 (100 - 20), since that is typically the way that the priority numbers are used.

If there still isn't a match, the default priority of 20 for S links is used, and the default priority of 80 for K links is used.

COMPATIBILITY

sysv-rc-conf should work on any Unix like system that manages services when changing runlevels by using symlinks in "/etc/rc{runlevel}.d/". Refer to your system documentation to see if that's the case (usually there's a "/etc/init.d/README").

CAVEATS

sysv-rc-conf does not understand dependency-based booting. It is recommend to run insserv(8) after adjusting service symlinks with sysv-rc-conf. This can be done automatically using the --insserv option, which may be included in the system config file.

sysv-rc-conf only manages the symlinks in the "rc{runlevel}.d" directories. It's possible that packages may have other ways of being disabled or enabled.

Because Curses takes over the screen sometimes error messages won't be seen on the terminal. If you run across any weird problems try redirecting STDERR to a file when you execute the program.

For example:
# sysv-rc-conf 2> err.out

REPORTING BUGS

Report bugs at https://gitlab.com/abower/sysv-rc-conf/-/issues

SEE ALSO

insserv(8), init(8), runlevel(8), chkconfig(8), "/etc/init.d/README"

  www: https://gitlab.com/abower/sysv-rc-conf

AUTHOR

Joe Oppegaard <joe@pidone.org>, Andrew Bower <andrew@bower.uk>

2025-08-10 perl v5.40.1