finit/doc/config/migration.md

Syntax Migration Guide

Finit reads both configuration formats. Every file is still *.conf, and the format is detected per file, so a system can be migrated one file at a time -- a file is one format or the other, never a mix.

This guide maps each part of a line-based stanza to its block key.

The shape of the change:

service [S12345] <pid/syslogd> env:-/etc/default/klogd name:klogd klogd -n $KLOGD_OPTS -- Kernel log daemon

becomes

service klogd {
    description = "Kernel log daemon"
    runlevel    = "S12345"
    conditions  = { "pid/syslogd" }
    envfile     = "-/etc/default/klogd"
    command     = "klogd -n $KLOGD_OPTS"
}

The block title is the service identity, shown by initctl. Multiple instances spell the ID in the title: service sshd:1 { ... }. The legacy bare-ID form, service :80 ..., has no equivalent -- the title carries both name and ID.

Positional parts

Line-based	Block key
service, task, run, sysv	same, as block type
[S12345]	runlevel = "S12345"
<pid/a,net/b>	conditions = { "pid/a", "net/b" }
<!pid/a> on service/sysv	conditions = { "pid/a" } + reload-signal = "none"
<!pid/a> on run/task	conditions = { "pid/a" } + required = false
@user:group,extra	user, group, extra-groups = { "extra" }
name:foo :1	block title foo:1
the command and arguments	command = "..."
-- Description text	description = "..."

The ! was a flag on the stanza, not a negation, and meant different things for daemons and one-shots; each meaning is now its own key. A ~ prefix on a condition is unchanged: conditions = { "~pid/a" }.

Service options

Line-based	Block key
env:[-]/path	envfile = "[-]/path"
pid:/path	pidfile = "/path" + pidfile-create = true
pid:!/path	pidfile = "/path"
pid	pidfile = true + pidfile-create = true
log	log { }
log:/path	log { file = "/path" }
log:null, log:console	log { file = "/dev/null" }, "/dev/console"
log:prio:p,tag:t	log { priority = "p" identity = "t" }
notify:systemd	notify = "systemd"
type:forking	type = "forking"
manual:yes	manual-start = true
remain:yes	remain-after-exit = true
restart:always / restart:NUM	restart = "always" / restart-max = NUM
restart_sec:SEC	restart-sec = SEC
norestart	restart = "never"
respawn	respawn = true
oncrash:reboot	oncrash = "reboot"
halt:SIG	stop-signal = "SIG"
kill:SEC	stop-timeout = SEC
pre:[TMO,]/script	exec-start-pre, exec-start-pre-timeout
ready:[TMO,]/script	exec-start-ready, and its -timeout
stop:[TMO,]/script	exec-stop, and its -timeout
post:[TMO,]/script	exec-stop-post, and its -timeout
reload:[TMO,]/script	exec-reload, and its -timeout
cleanup:[TMO,]/script	exec-cleanup, and its -timeout
caps:^cap_a,%cap_b	capabilities = { "^cap_a", "%cap_b" }
conflict:a,b	conflicts = { "a", "b" }
if:svc / if:<cond>	if = "svc" / if = "cond", no angle brackets
tty:/dev/x	tty = "/dev/x"
nowarn	leading - on command or envfile
restarttmo:	dropped, was already an alias for restart_sec:

Cgroups

The standalone cgroup.NAME line selected a group for every stanza after it in the file, and cgroup:opts applied settings to whichever group was current. Neither survives: every block names its own group, so nothing depends on what came earlier in the file.

cgroup.maint
service [2345] cgroup:cpu.weight:250 foo -- Foo daemon

becomes

service foo {
    description = "Foo daemon"
    runlevel    = "2345"
    cgroup maint { cpu.weight = 250 }
    command     = "foo"
}

Top-level group declarations keep their name and settings:

cgroup system cpu.weight:9700 mem.max:10M

becomes

cgroup system {
    cpu.weight = 9700
    memory.max = 10M
}

TTYs

The three positional variants become three key choices:

tty [12345] /dev/ttyS0 115200 noclear vt220
tty [12345] /sbin/getty -L ttyS0 115200 vt100
tty [12345] notty

become

tty ttyS0 {
    runlevel = "12345"
    device   = "/dev/ttyS0"
    baud     = 115200
    term     = "vt220"
    noclear  = true
}
tty getty {
    runlevel = "12345"
    command  = "/sbin/getty -L ttyS0 115200 vt100"
}
tty shell {
    runlevel = "12345"
    notty    = true
}

Top-level directives

Line-based	Block key
host NAME, hostname NAME	hostname = "NAME"
module foo args (repeated)	modules = { "foo args", ... }
network script args	network = "script args"
runlevel N	runlevel = N
rcsd /path	rcsd = "/path"
runparts [progress] [sysv] DIR	runparts = "DIR", runparts-progress, runparts-sysv
set KEY=VAL (repeated)	environment { KEY = "VAL" }
log size:100k count:4	log { size = 100k count = 4 }
rlimit [hard|soft] RES LIM	rlimit { hard.res = LIM }
readiness none	readiness = "none"
reboot-delay N	reboot-delay = N
reboot-watchdog on	reboot-watchdog = true
service-interval SEC	service-interval = SEC
shutdown script	shutdown = "script"
mknod /dev/x c 1 2	mknod = { "/dev/x c 1 2" }
include /path	include("/path")

Worth knowing

• Templates work unchanged: %i is replaced before the file is parsed, so service serv:%i { ... } in a serv@.conf behaves exactly like its legacy counterpart.
• A list cannot hold comments; the lexer reads entries after a # regardless. Put commented-out candidates above the list.
• $VAR in a value is expanded when the file is read, against Finit's environment. An unset variable expands to nothing.
• New settings only appear in the block format. The first are the per-service directories, runtime-dir and friends.

For the full description of every key, see the rest of the Configuration section.