[solved] writing systemd service file to run script

anti-destin · 2012-08-01 17:55:46

i have completely migrated to systemd. now, i am trying to write a service file to run a startup script (~/.startup.sh). one of the functions of the script is to set the brightness of the screen:

echo "95" > /sys/class/backlight/intel_backlight/brightness

i created /etc/systemd/system/startup.service:

[Unit]
Description=Run startup script

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=~/.startup.sh

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

but i get the following error:

Failed to issue method call: Unit startup.service failed to load: Invalid argument. See system logs and 'systemctl status startup.service' for details.

i have two questions:

1. what am i missing?

2. how can i avoid permission issues associated with modifying the brightness file (e.g., permission denied errors, the need to put in the password, etc.)?

thanks.

Last edited by anti-destin (2012-08-01 22:26:04)

Revelation60 · 2012-08-01 18:14:10

This is probably because the file could not be found. You are using a relative path, which is the likely cause. You can read more detailed error information using journalctl.

65kid · 2012-08-01 18:17:27

if all you do is echo a value into a file, don't do this with a service file, use a tmpfile instead (see systemd wiki).
and yes, the problem is the relative path, it must be absolute.

anti-destin · 2012-08-01 22:25:51

thanks for the replies.

just a note: using an absolute path didn't fix the issue.

but i went ahead and created the file /etc/tmpfiles.d/backlight.conf:

w /sys/class/backlight/intel_backlight/brightness - - - - 95

and that worked.

is there a reason for recommending using a tmpfile rather than a service?

in any case, i'm marking this as solved.

65kid · 2012-08-02 07:15:29

anti-destin wrote:

is there a reason for recommending using a tmpfile rather than a service?

https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php … 7#p1115517

anti-destin · 2012-08-02 07:47:09

thanks for the clarification.

Arch Linux

#1 2012-08-01 17:55:46

[solved] writing systemd service file to run script

#2 2012-08-01 18:14:10

Re: [solved] writing systemd service file to run script

#3 2012-08-01 18:17:27

Re: [solved] writing systemd service file to run script

#4 2012-08-01 22:25:51

Re: [solved] writing systemd service file to run script

#5 2012-08-02 07:15:29

Re: [solved] writing systemd service file to run script

#6 2012-08-02 07:47:09

Re: [solved] writing systemd service file to run script

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