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    :What do I do if an error occurs when I run the systemctl command on a Linux instance?

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    :What do I do if an error occurs when I run the systemctl command on a Linux instance?

    Last Updated:Aug 19, 2024

    This article describes the possible causes and solutions for errors that occur when you execute the systemctl command on a Linux instance.

    Problem description

    When executing the systemctl command on a Linux instance, you may encounter errors as follows:

    System has not been booted with systemd as init system (PID 1). Can't operate.
    Failed to get D-Bus connection: xxx xxx.

    Possible causes

    Systemd is an initialization system and service manager used to initialize processes on a Linux system and manage their lifecycle. systemctl is the command line tool for the systemd system and service manager. If you encounter the errors in the problem description, the possible causes are as follows:

    • The system is not initialized with systemd.

      • Some older Linux distributions or certain lightweight distributions (such as Devuan, Alpine Linux, or Void Linux) may use other initialization systems (such as OpenRC, SysVinit, or runit) by default instead of systemd. For example, Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) uses the SysVinit initialization system by default.

      • If you execute the command inside a container like Docker or Podman, and the container is not configured to use systemd as the initialization system, you may encounter this error.

    • The system uses systemd for initialization, but systemd is corrupted or misconfigured.

    Solutions

    1. Connect to the Linux instance.

      For more information, see Connect to a Linux instance by using a password or key.

    2. Run the following command to confirm whether the system is initialized with systemd:

      ps -p 1 -o comm=

      • The output is empty or different value from systemd: This indicates that the system is not initialized with systemd. Use the service management commands corresponding to the current initialization system.

        Note

        If you need to use systemctl related scripts to execute applications, we recommend you to use another Linux distribution that supports systemd or run a Linux system that supports systemd in a Docker container.

        For example, if the system uses SysVinit (output is init), you can use the service command instead of systemctl. Common command comparisons are shown in the following table:

        Service operation/command

        SysVinit

        Systemd

        Start service

        sudo service service_name start

        sudo systemctl start service_name

        Stop service

        sudo service service_name stop

        sudo systemctl stop service_name

        Restart service

        sudo service service_name restart

        sudo systemctl restart service_name

        Check service status

        sudo service service_name status

        sudo systemctl status service_name

        Enable service startup

        sudo chkconfig service_name on

        sudo systemctl enable service_name

        Disable service startup

        sudo chkconfig service_name off

        sudo systemctl disable service_name

      • The output is systemd: This indicates that the system is initialized with systemd. If the problem persists, it may be due to system corruption or misconfiguration. We recommend you to refer to the official guidelines of the respective distribution and try to recover the systemd service.