Simplify Your Linux Workflow: The Best TUI Tools for Managing Systemd
Systemd is the powerful, and often controversial, init system and service manager at the heart of most modern Linux distributions. While its command-line tools like systemctl and journalctl are incredibly robust, they can be cumbersome for daily tasks, especially for those who prefer a more visual overview. Manually typing commands to check statuses, start services, and read logs can slow down your workflow and create a steep learning curve.
Fortunately, a new class of Text-based User Interface (TUI) and Command-Line Interface (CLI) tools has emerged to bridge this gap. These lightweight applications run directly in your terminal, providing an interactive and intuitive way to manage systemd without the overhead of a full graphical desktop environment. Here are some of the best free tools to streamline your systemd management.
systemd-manager: The All-in-One Dashboard
For a comprehensive, at-a-glance view of your entire systemd environment, systemd-manager is an excellent choice. This Python-based TUI presents a clean dashboard that makes managing units—like services, timers, and sockets—incredibly simple.
With systemd-manager, you can easily navigate through all your units and perform critical actions without memorizing complex commands.
Key Features:
- View the status of all systemd units (active, inactive, failed).
- Enable, disable, start, and stop units with simple key presses.
- Filter units by name, state, or type to quickly find what you need.
- Inspect unit properties and log files directly within the interface.
This tool is perfect for system administrators who need a powerful, centralized dashboard for monitoring and managing services on servers or their local machine.
sysz: The Lightweight and Speedy Alternative
If performance and minimalism are your top priorities, sysz is a fantastic option. Written in Go, it is exceptionally fast and has a very small memory footprint. It launches instantly and provides a responsive, no-frills interface for core systemd tasks.
sysz focuses on doing the essentials extremely well, making it a great replacement for running multiple systemctl commands in a row.
Key Features:
- Extremely fast startup and operation.
- Intuitive interface for listing, starting, stopping, and restarting services.
- Built-in log viewer to tail logs from
journaldfor specific units. - User-friendly controls that feel natural for terminal power users.
Choose sysz when you need to quickly check on a service or perform a simple action without any delay.
chkservice: The Classic Approach to Service Management
For Linux veterans who miss the simplicity of tools like chkconfig from the SysVinit era, chkservice will feel right at home. This ncurses-based tool provides a straightforward, checklist-style view of all your systemd services.
Its primary focus is on enabling and disabling services at boot, making it an ideal utility for configuring a new system or auditing your startup processes.
Key Features:
- Simple, two-pane layout showing all available services and their status.
- Easy to enable or disable services with a single keypress (the spacebar).
- View service status (enabled, disabled, static, masked).
- Extremely lightweight and has minimal dependencies.
chkservice is the perfect tool for when your only goal is to quickly review and configure which services start when your system boots.
cs-journal: A Powerful TUI for Journald Logs
While journalctl is a powerful tool for querying logs, its command-line output can be difficult to navigate, especially when dealing with large volumes of data. cs-journal is a dedicated TUI designed specifically to make browsing, searching, and filtering journald logs a more pleasant experience.
This tool transforms the linear output of journalctl into an interactive, filterable list that is much easier to analyze.
Key Features:
- Interactive log browsing with easy scrolling and navigation.
- Powerful live filtering by unit, priority level, and text search.
- Clear, color-coded output to easily distinguish between different log levels.
- View detailed log entries in a separate panel.
If you frequently find yourself digging through system logs to troubleshoot issues, cs-journal will become an indispensable part of your toolkit.
Actionable Advice for Secure Systemd Management
Using these tools can dramatically improve your efficiency, but it’s crucial to manage services responsibly to maintain a secure and stable system.
- Audit Your Services Regularly: Use a tool like
chkserviceorsystemd-managerto review all enabled services. If you don’t recognize a service or know its purpose, investigate it. - Disable Unnecessary Services: Every running service is a potential attack vector. To reduce your system’s attack surface, disable any services you do not need. This is especially critical on servers exposed to the internet.
- Understand Before You Disable: Before stopping or disabling a unit, make sure you understand its function. Disabling a critical system component (e.g.,
sshd,networkd, orfirewalld) could lock you out of your system or leave it vulnerable. - Favor
disable --now: When you want to stop a service and prevent it from starting on the next boot, use the combined action if available. Insystemctl, this issystemctl disable --now <service-name>. This ensures the service is both stopped immediately and disabled permanently in one atomic action.
By combining the power of systemd with the usability of these TUI tools, you can take full control of your Linux system’s services, improve your workflow, and enhance your overall security posture.
Source: https://www.linuxlinks.com/useful-free-open-source-systemd-cli-tui-configuration-tools/
