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I created an application that I want to start on boot for the raspberry.

I had already set up a service for wvdial by hand to make it start on boot and it works like a charm so I then started working on this application of mine. It's no fancy stuff, it's a "simple" service with a command to start, I defined the working directory and the user that will run it.

[Unit] Description=Blah Blah [Service] Type=simple WorkingDirectory=/home/pi/appdir ExecStart=/home/pi/appdir/the-script-to-start.py Restart=always RestartSec=60 User=pi

When booting, it's not started (systemd says it's inactive (dead)). No output about it on journalctl. If I then try starting by hand with systemctl, it works.

What am I missing?

PS1

Ok.... I think python (or the basic set up to get it working) is not to blame. I switched to configuring a very simple bash script that just prints a line and nothing else... so it goes out with exit code 0.

After rebooting:

● my-service.service - some Service Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/my-service.service; static; vendor preset: enabled) Active: inactive (dead)

When I run it manually:

● my-service.service - some Service Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/my-service.service; static; vendor preset: enabled) Active: activating (auto-restart) since Wed 2018-04-11 16:00:55 UTC; 2s ago Process: 744 ExecStart=/home/pi/blahblah/prueba.sh (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS) Main PID: 744 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)

Is there something I can do in systemd configuration so that I can see more debugging information about how it's working on boot?

PS2

After modifying LogLevel to debug and reboot, I can see that for wvdial, we have this info from journalctl about 22 seconds into boot process (for starters, there's more stuff ):

Apr 11 16:53:06 raspberrypi systemd[1]: wvdial.service: Trying to enqueue job wvdial.service/start/replace Apr 11 16:53:06 raspberrypi systemd[1]: wvdial.service: Installed new job wvdial.service/start as 182 Apr 11 16:53:06 raspberrypi systemd[1]: wvdial.service: Enqueued job wvdial.service/start as 182 Apr 11 16:53:06 raspberrypi systemd[1]: wvdial.service: Passing 0 fds to service Apr 11 16:53:06 raspberrypi systemd[1]: wvdial.service: About to execute: /usr/bin/wvdial Apr 11 16:53:06 raspberrypi systemd[1]: wvdial.service: Forked /usr/bin/wvdial as 498 Apr 11 16:53:06 raspberrypi systemd[1]: wvdial.service: Changed dead -> running Apr 11 16:53:06 raspberrypi systemd[1]: wvdial.service: Job wvdial.service/start finished, result=done Apr 11 16:53:06 raspberrypi systemd[1]: Started wvdial service. Apr 11 16:53:06 raspberrypi systemd[498]: wvdial.service: Executing: /usr/bin/wvdial

But no word about my service.

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  • It doesn't meet your needs exactly but maybe you can find some hints at Running a script after an internet connection is established. Commented Apr 11, 2018 at 17:07
  • Please check the FAQ *Why do things behave differently under systemd?. Also, is your service trying to do something graphical, like launch a desktop app? Commented Apr 11, 2018 at 18:11
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    @MarkStosberg Will take a look. And no, it's a pure shell based application that uses a GPS device attached to the raspberry. Commented Apr 11, 2018 at 18:37
  • when I ask systemctl to list units (--all), I can see wvdial, but I can't see anything about the other service. Grrrrrrr Commented Apr 11, 2018 at 18:52

3 Answers 3

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Seems this is already solved, but wanted to add an alternative solution for starting a Python program (or any program for that matter) at boot time:

open crontab as follows:

crontab -e

the crontab will be opened in your chosen editor (default is nano)

Add a line to the end of your crontab file that looks like this:

@reboot /usr/bin/python3 /home/pi/any-program.py > /home/pi/cronjoblog 2>&1

Your program named any-program.py will execute during the boot sequence, and any issues will be recorded in the file cronjoblog

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  • Didn't know about this possibility. Nice touch! It's still more flexible with systemd because it's possible to stop/start at will but still nice to know. Commented Apr 14, 2018 at 5:25
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[Unit] After=?

[Install] WantedBy=?

Or // does the script have the python shebang? is it +x? if both are set and still not working try to add the /usr/bin/python infront to the ExecStart // But i think its After=/Before= // WantedBy= 

[Unit] Description=Scanner Script Service After=server.service multi-user.target [Service] Type=simple WorkingDirectory=/opt/files/ ExecStart=/usr/bin/python /opt/files/scanner.py Restart=always [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target

(working, server.service is a selfmade too)

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  • Script does have shebang. It's also set with +x. Let me try adding the python binary to the call to see if that solves it. Commented Apr 11, 2018 at 15:27
  • Ok.... I think python (or the basic set up to get it working) is not to blame. I switched to configuring a very simple bash script that just prints a line and nothing else... so it goes out with exit code 0. If I run it manually.... I'll add a comment.... I know that formatting does't work here Commented Apr 11, 2018 at 15:58
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Seems like adding the section [Install] and enabling the service, it starts working (I didn't have to do it with wvdial but....).

Thanks for your attention.

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  • No need to add this as new answer, this is what @ghost advised. Adding the [Install] section and running 'enable' is what sets the service to be started at boot time. Commented Apr 12, 2018 at 13:35

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