Files
Joachim Wiberg a814e85356 doc: complete and cross-link the D-Bus documentation
dbus.md was orphaned: not in dist_docs_DATA, not linked from the
user guide.  Wire it into the doc dist and link it from the index
features list, features.md, initctl.md, and plugins.md, where the
dbus.so plugin entry now disambiguates the external system bus from
the built-in org.finit API.

Document the 64-peer cap, the supported AddMatch keys, the busconfig
policy file, the legacy-parity edge semantics with the deliberate
SetRunlevel InvalidArgs divergence, the reload-signal behavior of
Service1.Reload, and the reboot family timeout.  Refresh the stale
initctl.md usage paste, add monitor and the D-Bus transport to
initctl(8), add /run/finit/bus to the filesystem layout, and flatten
the ChangeLog D-Bus entry to house style.

Signed-off-by: Joachim Wiberg <troglobit@gmail.com>
2026-08-16 22:03:41 +02:00

169 lines
7.1 KiB
Markdown

Commands & Status
=================
Finit also implements a modern API to query status, and start/stop
services, called `initctl`. Unlike `telinit` the `initctl` tool does
not return until the given command has fully completed.
Since Finit v5, `initctl` talks to Finit over the built-in
[D-Bus API](dbus.md) when the bus socket is available, falling back
to the legacy `INIT_SOCKET` transport. The `monitor` command streams
the `org.finit` signals until interrupted.
```
Usage: initctl [OPTIONS] [COMMAND]
Options:
-b, --batch Batch mode, no screen size probing
-c, --create Create missing paths (and files) as needed
-f, --force Ignore missing files and arguments, never prompt
-h, --help This help text
-j, --json JSON output in 'status' and 'cond' commands
-n, --noerr Ignore error, e.g., already started/enabled/...
-1, --once Only one lap in commands like 'top'
-p, --plain Use plain table headings, no ctrl chars
-q, --quiet Silent, only return status of command
-t, --no-heading Skip table headings
-v, --verbose Verbose output
-V, --version Show program version
Commands:
debug Toggle Finit (daemon) debug
help This help text
version Show program version
show Show /etc/finit.conf
reload Reload /etc/finit.conf (activate changes)
cond set <COND> Set (assert) user-defined conditions +usr/COND
cond get <COND> Get status of user-defined condition, see $? and -v
cond clear <COND> Clear (deassert) user-defined conditions -usr/COND
cond status Show condition status, default cond command
cond dump [TYPE] Dump all, or a type of, conditions and their status
log [NAME] Show ten last Finit, or NAME, messages from syslog
start <NAME>[:ID] Start service by name, with optional ID
stop <NAME>[:ID] Stop/Pause a running service by name
reload <NAME>[:ID] Reload service as if .conf changed (SIGHUP or restart)
This allows restart of run/tasks that have already run
Note: Finit .conf file(s) are *not* reloaded!
restart <NAME>[:ID] Restart (stop/start) service by name
kill <NAME>[:ID] <S> Send signal S to service by name, with optional ID
monitor Stream D-Bus signals (service state, conditions) until ^C
ident [NAME] Show matching identities for NAME, or all
status <NAME>[:ID] Show service status, by name
status Show status of services, default command
cgroup List cgroup config overview
ps List processes based on cgroups
top Show top-like listing based on cgroups
plugins List installed plugins
runlevel [0-9] Show or set runlevel: 0 halt, 6 reboot
reboot Reboot system
halt Halt system
poweroff Halt and power off system
suspend Suspend system
switch-root ROOT [INIT] Switch to new root filesystem (initramfs)
utmp show Raw dump of UTMP/WTMP db
```
For services *not* supporting `SIGHUP` the `<!>` notation in the .conf
file must be used to tell Finit to stop and start it on `reload` and
`runlevel` changes. If `<>` holds more [conditions](conditions.md),
these will also affect how a service is maintained.
> [!NOTE]
> Even though it is possible to start services not belonging in the
> current runlevel these services will not be respawned automatically by
> Finit if they exit (crash). Hence, if the runlevel is 2, the below
> Dropbear SSH service will not be restarted if it is killed or exits.
The `status` command is the default, it displays a quick overview of all
monitored run/task/services. Here we call `initctl -p`, suitable for
scripting and documentation:
```
alpine:~# initctl -p
PID IDENT STATUS RUNLEVELS DESCRIPTION
======================================================================
1506 acpid running [---2345----] ACPI daemon
1509 crond running [---2345----] Cron daemon
1489 dropbear running [---2345----] Dropbear SSH daemon
1511 klogd running [S-12345----] Kernel log daemon
1512 ntpd running [---2345----] NTP daemon
1473 syslogd running [S-12345----] Syslog daemon
alpine:~# initctl -pv
PID IDENT STATUS RUNLEVELS COMMAND
======================================================================
1506 acpid running [---2345----] acpid -f
1509 crond running [---2345----] crond -f -S $CRON_OPTS
1489 dropbear running [---2345----] dropbear -R -F $DROPBEAR_OPTS
1511 klogd running [S-12345----] klogd -n $KLOGD_OPTS
1512 ntpd running [---2345----] ntpd -n $NTPD_OPTS
1473 syslogd running [S-12345----] syslogd -n
```
The environment variables to each of the services above are read from,
in the case of Alpine Linux, `/etc/conf.d/`. Other distributions may
have other directories, e.g., Debian use `/etc/default/`.
The `status` command takes an optional `NAME:ID` argument. Here we
check the status of `dropbear`, which only has one instance in this
system:
```
alpine:~# initctl -p status dropbear
Status : running
Identity : dropbear
Description : Dropbear SSH daemon
Origin : /etc/finit.d/enabled/dropbear.conf
Environment : -/etc/conf.d/dropbear
Condition(s):
Command : dropbear -R -F $DROPBEAR_OPTS
PID file : !/run/dropbear.pid
PID : 1485
User : root
Group : root
Uptime : 2 hour 46 min 56 sec
Runlevels : [---2345----]
Memory : 1.2M
CGroup : /system/dropbear cpu 0 [100, max] mem [--.--, max]
|- 1485 dropbear -R -F
|- 2634 dropbear -R -F
|- 2635 ash
`- 2652 initctl -p status dropbear
Apr 8 12:19:49 alpine authpriv.info dropbear[1485]: Not backgrounding
Apr 8 12:37:45 alpine authpriv.info dropbear[2300]: Child connection from 192.168.121.1:47834
Apr 8 12:37:46 alpine authpriv.notice dropbear[2300]: Password auth succeeded for 'root' from 192.168.121.1:47834
Apr 8 12:37:46 alpine authpriv.info dropbear[2300]: Exit (root) from <192.168.121.1:47834>: Disconnect received
Apr 8 15:02:11 alpine authpriv.info dropbear[2634]: Child connection from 192.168.121.1:48576
Apr 8 15:02:12 alpine authpriv.notice dropbear[2634]: Password auth succeeded for 'root' from 192.168.121.1:48576
```
Switch Root
-----------
The `switch-root` command is used when running Finit in an initramfs to
transition to the real root filesystem. This is similar to the standalone
`switch_root(8)` utility but integrated into Finit.
```
initctl switch-root /mnt/root [/sbin/init]
```
Requirements:
- Must be run during runlevel S (bootstrap) or runlevel 1
- The new root must be a mount point (different device than /)
- Can only be used when Finit is running as PID 1 in an initramfs
For complete documentation and usage examples, see the dedicated
[Switch Root](switchroot.md) section.