NAME
systemd-tmpfiles, systemd-tmpfiles-setup.service, systemd-tmpfiles-setup-dev-early.service, systemd-tmpfiles-setup-dev.service, systemd-tmpfiles-clean.service, systemd-tmpfiles-clean.timer - Create, delete, and clean up files and directories
SYNOPSIS
systemd-tmpfiles [OPTIONS...] [CONFIGFILE...]
System units:
User units:
DESCRIPTION
systemd-tmpfiles creates, deletes, and cleans up files and directories, using the configuration file format and location specified in tmpfiles.d(5). Historically, it was designed to manage volatile and temporary files, as the name suggests, but it provides generic file management functionality and can be used to manage any kind of files. It must be invoked with one or more commands --create, --remove, and --clean, to select the respective subset of operations.
If invoked with no arguments, directives from the configuration files found in the directories specified by tmpfiles.d(5) are executed. When invoked with positional arguments, if option --replace=PATH is specified, arguments specified on the command line are used instead of the configuration file PATH. Otherwise, just the configuration specified by the command line arguments is executed. If the string "-" is specified instead of a filename, the configuration is read from standard input. If the argument is a file name (without any slashes), all configuration directories are searched for a matching file and the file found that has the highest priority is executed. If the argument is a path, that file is used directly without searching the configuration directories for any other matching file.
System services (systemd-tmpfiles-setup.service, systemd-tmpfiles-setup-dev-early.service, systemd-tmpfiles-setup-dev.service, systemd-tmpfiles-clean.service) invoke systemd-tmpfiles to create system files and to perform system wide cleanup. Those services read administrator-controlled configuration files in tmpfiles.d/ directories. User services (systemd-tmpfiles-setup.service, systemd-tmpfiles-clean.service) also invoke systemd-tmpfiles, but it reads a separate set of files, which includes user-controlled files under ~/.config/user-tmpfiles.d/ and ~/.local/share/user-tmpfiles.d/, and administrator-controlled files under /usr/share/user-tmpfiles.d/. Users may use this to create and clean up files under their control, but the system instance performs global cleanup and is not influenced by user configuration. Note that this means a time-based cleanup configured in the system instance, such as the one typically configured for /tmp/, will thus also affect files created by the user instance if they are placed in /tmp/, even if the user instance's time-based cleanup is turned off.
To re-apply settings after configuration has been modified, simply restart systemd-tmpfiles-clean.service, which will apply any settings which can be safely executed at runtime. To debug systemd-tmpfiles, it may be useful to invoke it directly from the command line with increased log level (see $SYSTEMD_LOG_LEVEL below).
COMMANDS AND OPTIONS
The following commands are understood:
--create
--clean
--remove
--purge
The primary usecase for this option is to automatically remove files and directories that originally have been created on behalf of an installed package at package removal time.
It is recommended to first run this command in combination with --dry-run (see below) to verify which files and directories will be deleted.
Warning! This is usually not the command you want! In most cases --remove is what you are looking for.
Added in version 256.
--user
Added in version 236.
--boot
Added in version 209.
--graceful
Added in version 254.
--dry-run
Added in version 256.
--prefix=path
Added in version 212.
--exclude-prefix=path
Added in version 207.
-E
Added in version 247.
--root=root
When this option is used, the libc Name Service Switch (NSS) is bypassed for resolving users and groups. Instead the files /etc/passwd and /etc/group inside the alternate root are read directly. This means that users/groups not listed in these files will not be resolved, i.e. LDAP NIS and other complex databases are not considered.
Consider combining this with -E to ensure the invocation does not create files or directories below mount points in the OS image operated on that are typically overmounted during runtime.
Added in version 212.
--image=image
Implies -E.
Added in version 247.
--image-policy=policy
--replace=PATH
This option is intended to be used when package installation scripts are running and files belonging to that package are not yet available on disk, so their contents must be given on the command line, but the admin configuration might already exist and should be given higher priority.
Added in version 238.
--cat-config
--tldr
--no-pager
-h, --help
--version
It is possible to combine --create, --clean, and --remove in one invocation (in which case removal and cleanup are executed before creation of new files). For example, during boot the following command line is executed to ensure that all temporary and volatile directories are removed and created according to the configuration file:
systemd-tmpfiles --remove --createCREDENTIALS
systemd-tmpfiles supports the service credentials logic as implemented by ImportCredential=/LoadCredential=/SetCredential= (see systemd.exec(5) for details). The following credentials are used when passed in:
tmpfiles.extra
Added in version 252.
Note that by default the systemd-tmpfiles-setup.service unit file (and related unit files) is set up to inherit the "tmpfiles.extra" credential from the service manager.
ENVIRONMENT
$SYSTEMD_LOG_LEVEL
$SYSTEMD_LOG_COLOR
This setting is only useful when messages are written directly to the terminal, because journalctl(1) and other tools that display logs will color messages based on the log level on their own.
$SYSTEMD_LOG_TIME
This setting is only useful when messages are written directly to the terminal or a file, because journalctl(1) and other tools that display logs will attach timestamps based on the entry metadata on their own.
$SYSTEMD_LOG_LOCATION
Note that the log location is often attached as metadata to journal entries anyway. Including it directly in the message text can nevertheless be convenient when debugging programs.
$SYSTEMD_LOG_TARGET
$SYSTEMD_PAGER, $PAGER
Note: if $SYSTEMD_PAGERSECURE is not set, $SYSTEMD_PAGER and $PAGER can only be used to disable the pager (with "cat" or ""), and are otherwise ignored.
$SYSTEMD_LESS
Users might want to change two options in particular:
K
If the value of $SYSTEMD_LESS does not include "K", and the pager that is invoked is less, Ctrl+C will be ignored by the executable, and needs to be handled by the pager.
X
Note that setting the regular $LESS environment variable has no effect for less invocations by systemd tools.
See less(1) for more discussion.
$SYSTEMD_LESSCHARSET
Note that setting the regular $LESSCHARSET environment variable has no effect for less invocations by systemd tools.
$SYSTEMD_PAGERSECURE
This option takes a boolean argument. When set to true, the "secure mode" of the pager is enabled. In "secure mode", LESSSECURE=1 will be set when invoking the pager, which instructs the pager to disable commands that open or create new files or start new subprocesses. Currently only less(1) is known to understand this variable and implement "secure mode".
When set to false, no limitation is placed on the pager. Setting SYSTEMD_PAGERSECURE=0 or not removing it from the inherited environment may allow the user to invoke arbitrary commands.
When $SYSTEMD_PAGERSECURE is not set, systemd tools attempt to automatically figure out if "secure mode" should be enabled and whether the pager supports it. "Secure mode" is enabled if the effective UID is not the same as the owner of the login session, see geteuid(2) and sd_pid_get_owner_uid(3), or when running under sudo(8) or similar tools ($SUDO_UID is set [2]). In those cases, SYSTEMD_PAGERSECURE=1 will be set and pagers which are not known to implement "secure mode" will not be used at all. Note that this autodetection only covers the most common mechanisms to elevate privileges and is intended as convenience. It is recommended to explicitly set $SYSTEMD_PAGERSECURE or disable the pager.
Note that if the $SYSTEMD_PAGER or $PAGER variables are to be honoured, other than to disable the pager, $SYSTEMD_PAGERSECURE must be set too.
$SYSTEMD_COLORS
$SYSTEMD_URLIFY
UNPRIVILEGED --CLEANUP OPERATION
systemd-tmpfiles tries to avoid changing the access and modification times on the directories it accesses, which requires CAP_FOWNER privileges. When running as non-root, directories which are checked for files to clean up will have their access time bumped, which might prevent their cleanup.
EXIT STATUS
On success, 0 is returned. If the configuration was syntactically invalid (syntax errors, missing arguments, ...), so some lines had to be ignored, but no other errors occurred, 65 is returned (EX_DATAERR from /usr/include/sysexits.h). If the configuration was syntactically valid, but could not be executed (lack of permissions, creation of files in missing directories, invalid contents when writing to /sys/ values, ...), 73 is returned (EX_CANTCREAT from /usr/include/sysexits.h). Otherwise, 1 is returned (EXIT_FAILURE from /usr/include/stdlib.h).
Note: when creating items, if the target already exists, but is of the wrong type or otherwise does not match the requested state, and forced operation has not been requested with "+", a message is emitted, but the failure is otherwise ignored.
SEE ALSO
systemd(1), tmpfiles.d(5)
NOTES
- 1.
Discoverable Partitions Specification
- 2.
It is recommended for other tools to set and check $SUDO_UID as appropriate, treating it is a common interface.