This quick tutorial explains how to find/list all failed systemd services/units on Linux operating systems using the systemctl command.
| Tutorial details | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Easy (rss) |
| Root privileges | Yes |
| Requirements | Linux and Systemd |
| Time | 5m |
Systemd systemctl list all failed units/services command
The systemctl command used to control the systemd system and service management. To list units that systemd currently has in memory, pass the list-units argument to the systemctl as follows on Linux:
sudo systemctl list-units --failed
## OR ##
sudo systemctl list-units --state failed
The systemctl command options to list all failed units/services
A note about the is-failed option
We can check whether any of the specified units or services are in a “failed” state under Linux. The following command returns an exit code 0 if at least one has failed, non-zero otherwise. Unless the --quiet option passed to the systemctl command, this will also print the current unit state to standard output. So, if you know the service or unit name try the following command:
sudo systemctl is-failed {service-name-here}
sudo systemctl is-failed nginx.service
sudo systemctl is-failed vboxweb.service
Another option is to run the following simple command along with the grep command to list failed services with systemctl:
sudo systemctl list-units | grep -i failed
Click to enlarge
How to find status of systemd unit or service
Pass the status option as follows:
sudo systemctl status {service-name}
sudo systemctl status ssh.service
sudo systemctl status nginx.service
sudo systemctl status vboxweb.service
Click to enlarge
Show properties of a service unit
Run the following command:
sudo systemctl show {service-name}
sudo systemctl show vboxweb.service
How to view log messages
Log messages can provide in-depth information about services that we can use to debug issues. The syntax is as follows:
Display all messages
journalctl
journalctl | grep 'error'
Show only kernel messages
journalctl -k
View live messages on screen as they appear
journalctl -f
How to view service specific messages only
journalctl -u {service-name-here}
journalctl -u ssh.service
journalctl -u vboxweb.service
-- Reboot -- Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: Starting VirtualBox Web Service... Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: WARNING: The character device /dev/vboxdrv does not exist. Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: Please install the virtualbox-dkms package and the appropriate Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: headers, most likely linux-headers-generic. Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: You will not be able to start VMs until this problem is fixed. Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: Oracle VM VirtualBox web service Version 6.0.14_Ubuntu Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: (C) 2007-2019 Oracle Corporation Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: All rights reserved. Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: 00:00:00.001759 main VirtualBox web service 6.0.14_Ubuntu r132055 linux.amd64 (Oct 17 2019 07:24:16) release log Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: 00:00:00.001764 main Log opened 2020-04-16T19:11:06.826028000Z Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: 00:00:00.001765 main Build Type: release Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: 00:00:00.001768 main OS Product: Linux Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: 00:00:00.001769 main OS Release: 5.3.0-46-generic Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: 00:00:00.001770 main OS Version: #38-Ubuntu SMP Fri Mar 27 17:37:05 UTC 2020 Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: 00:00:00.001831 main DMI Product Name: 20QVCTO1WW Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: 00:00:00.001855 main DMI Product Version: ThinkPad X1 Extreme 2nd Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: 00:00:00.001920 main Host RAM: 31866MB (31.1GB) total, 31409MB (30.6GB) available Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: 00:00:00.001924 main Executable: /usr/lib/virtualbox/vboxwebsrv Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: 00:00:00.001924 main Process ID: 1675 Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 vboxwebsrv[1675]: 00:00:00.001925 main Package type: LINUX_64BITS_GENERIC (OSE) Apr 17 00:41:06 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: Started VirtualBox Web Service. Apr 20 11:44:00 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: Stopping VirtualBox Web Service... Apr 20 11:44:05 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: vboxweb.service: Succeeded. Apr 20 11:44:05 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: Stopped VirtualBox Web Service. Apr 20 11:44:05 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: Starting VirtualBox Web Service... Apr 20 11:44:05 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: vboxweb.service: Can't open PID file /run/vboxweb.pid (yet?) after start: No such file or directory Apr 20 11:44:05 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: vboxweb.service: Failed with result 'protocol'. Apr 20 11:44:05 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: Failed to start VirtualBox Web Service. -- Reboot -- Apr 20 11:52:48 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: Starting VirtualBox Web Service... Apr 20 11:52:48 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: vboxweb.service: Can't open PID file /run/vboxweb.pid (yet?) after start: Operation not permitted Apr 20 11:52:48 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: vboxweb.service: Failed with result 'protocol'. Apr 20 11:52:48 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: Failed to start VirtualBox Web Service. -- Reboot -- Apr 20 12:17:31 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: Starting VirtualBox Web Service... Apr 20 12:17:31 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: vboxweb.service: Can't open PID file /run/vboxweb.pid (yet?) after start: Operation not permitted Apr 20 12:17:31 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: vboxweb.service: Failed with result 'protocol'. Apr 20 12:17:31 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: Failed to start VirtualBox Web Service. -- Reboot -- Apr 20 12:35:06 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: Starting VirtualBox Web Service... Apr 20 12:35:06 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: vboxweb.service: Can't open PID file /run/vboxweb.pid (yet?) after start: Operation not permitted Apr 20 12:35:06 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: vboxweb.service: Failed with result 'protocol'. Apr 20 12:35:06 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: Failed to start VirtualBox Web Service. -- Reboot -- Apr 21 00:09:56 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: Starting VirtualBox Web Service... Apr 21 00:09:56 nixcraft-wks01 systemd[1]: vboxweb.service: Can't open PID file /run/vboxweb.pid (yet?) after start: Operation not permitted
We can now search for those errors online or read man pages to sort it out.
Conclusion
We learned how to show services/units that failed to run on Linux using the systemctl command. See systemctl man page here for more info.
🐧 Get the latest tutorials on Linux, Open Source & DevOps via:
- RSS feed or Weekly email newsletter
- Share on Twitter • Facebook • 0 comments... add one ↓
| Category | List of Unix and Linux commands |
|---|---|
| File Management | cat |
| Firewall | Alpine Awall • CentOS 8 • OpenSUSE • RHEL 8 • Ubuntu 16.04 • Ubuntu 18.04 • Ubuntu 20.04 |
| Network Utilities | dig • host • ip • nmap |
| OpenVPN | CentOS 7 • CentOS 8 • Debian 10 • Debian 8/9 • Ubuntu 18.04 • Ubuntu 20.04 |
| Package Manager | apk • apt |
| Processes Management | bg • chroot • cron • disown • fg • jobs • killall • kill • pidof • pstree • pwdx • time |
| Searching | grep • whereis • which |
| User Information | groups • id • lastcomm • last • lid/libuser-lid • logname • members • users • whoami • who • w |
| WireGuard VPN | Alpine • CentOS 8 • Debian 10 • Firewall • Ubuntu 20.04 |
