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<refentry id= "systemd.path" >
<refentryinfo >
<title > systemd.path</title>
<productname > systemd</productname>
<authorgroup >
<author >
<contrib > Developer</contrib>
<firstname > Lennart</firstname>
<surname > Poettering</surname>
<email > lennart@poettering.net</email>
</author>
</authorgroup>
</refentryinfo>
<refmeta >
<refentrytitle > systemd.path</refentrytitle>
<manvolnum > 5</manvolnum>
</refmeta>
<refnamediv >
<refname > systemd.path</refname>
<refpurpose > systemd path configuration files</refpurpose>
</refnamediv>
<refsynopsisdiv >
<para > <filename > systemd.path</filename> </para>
</refsynopsisdiv>
<refsect1 >
<title > Description</title>
<para > A unit configuration file whose name ends in
<filename > .path</filename> encodes information about
a path monitored by systemd, for
path-based activation.</para>
<para > This man page lists the configuration options
specific to this unit type. See
<citerefentry > <refentrytitle > systemd.unit</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 5</manvolnum> </citerefentry>
for the common options of all unit configuration
files. The common configuration items are configured
in the generic [Unit] and [Install] sections. The
path specific configuration options are configured in
the [Path] section.</para>
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<para > For each path file, a matching unit file must
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exist, describing the unit to activate when the path
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changes. By default, a service by the same name as the
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path (except for the suffix) is activated. Example: a
path file <filename > foo.path</filename> activates a
matching service <filename > foo.service</filename> . The
unit to activate may be controlled by
<varname > Unit=</varname> (see below).</para>
<para > Internally, path units use the
<citerefentry > <refentrytitle > inotify</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 7</manvolnum> </citerefentry>
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API to monitor file systems. Due to that, it suffers by the
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same limitations as inotify, and for example cannot be
used to monitor files or directories changed by other
machines on remote NFS file systems.</para>
<para > If an path unit is beneath another mount
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point in the file system hierarchy, a dependency
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between both units is created automatically.</para>
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<para > Unless <varname > DefaultDependencies=</varname>
is set to <option > false</option> , path units will
implicitly have dependencies of type
<varname > Conflicts=</varname> and
<varname > Before=</varname> on
<filename > shutdown.target</filename> . These ensure
that path units are terminated cleanly prior to system
shutdown. Only path units involved with early boot or
late system shutdown should disable this
option.</para>
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</refsect1>
<refsect1 >
<title > Options</title>
<para > Path files must include a [Path] section,
which carries information about the path(s) it
monitors. The options specific to the [Path] section
of path units are the following:</para>
<variablelist >
<varlistentry >
<term > <varname > PathExists=</varname> </term>
<term > <varname > PathChanged=</varname> </term>
<term > <varname > DirectoryNotEmpty=</varname> </term>
<listitem > <para > Defines paths to
monitor for certain changes:
<varname > PathExists=</varname> may be
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used to watch the mere existence of a
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file or directory. If the file
specified exists the configured unit
is
activated. <varname > PathChanged=</varname>
may be used to watch a file or
directory and activate the configured
unit whenever it changes or is
modified. <varname > DirectoryNotEmpty=</varname>
may be used to watch a directory and
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activate the configured unit whenever
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it contains at least one file.</para>
<para > The arguments of these
directives must be absolute file
system paths.</para>
<para > Multiple directives may be
combined, of the same and of different
types, to watch multiple paths.</para>
<para > If a path is already existing
(in case of
<varname > PathExists=</varname> ) or a
directory already is not empty (in
case of
<varname > DirectoryNotEmpty=</varname> )
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at the time the path unit is activated,
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then the configured unit is
immediately activated as
well. Something similar does not apply
to <varname > PathChanged=</varname> .
</para> </listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry >
<term > <varname > Unit=</varname> </term>
<listitem > <para > The unit to activate
when any of the configured paths
changes. The argument is a unit name,
whose suffix is not
<filename > .path</filename> . If not
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specified, this value defaults to a
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service that has the same name as the
path unit, except for the suffix. (See
above.) It is recommended that the
unit name that is activated and the
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unit name of the path unit are named
identical, except for the
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suffix.</para> </listitem>
</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry >
<term > <varname > MakeDirectory=</varname> </term>
<listitem > <para > Takes a boolean
argument. If true the directories to
watch are created before
watching. This option is ignored for
<varname > PathExists=</varname>
settings. Defaults to
<option > false</option> .</para> </listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry >
<term > <varname > DirectoryMode=</varname> </term>
<listitem > <para > If
<varname > MakeDirectory=</varname> is
enabled use the mode specified here to
create the directories in
question. Takes an access mode in
octal notation. Defaults to
<option > 0755</option> .</para> </listitem>
</varlistentry>
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</variablelist>
</refsect1>
<refsect1 >
<title > See Also</title>
<para >
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<citerefentry > <refentrytitle > systemd</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 1</manvolnum> </citerefentry> ,
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<citerefentry > <refentrytitle > systemctl</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 8</manvolnum> </citerefentry> ,
<citerefentry > <refentrytitle > systemd.unit</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 5</manvolnum> </citerefentry> ,
<citerefentry > <refentrytitle > systemd.service</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 5</manvolnum> </citerefentry> ,
<citerefentry > <refentrytitle > inotify</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 7</manvolnum> </citerefentry>
</para>
</refsect1>
</refentry>
