SHEPHERD(1)

📦
version 1.0.9 · 3 versions
, in ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 SHEPHERD(1) — User Commands 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the shepherd manual page, section 1 of the User Commands fam 🫶 this is the service manager for the GNU system and honestly? it's giving main character energy for your whole boot process. let's get into it 💅

✨ NAME ✨

shepherd — Service manager for the GNU system 🐑

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

shepherd [OPTIONS...]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so real talk: this is a service manager for Unix and GNU. that's the whole vibe. it manages your services. iconic behavior, no cap 💖

here are all the options, and yes we're doing all of them, because skipping options is not the move 🎀

  • --syslog[=FILE] — log to the system log (syslog) at FILE or /dev/log ✨
  • -s, --socket=FILE — get commands from socket FILE 🧚
  • -c, --config=FILE — read configuration from FILE 📜
  • --pid[=FILE] — when ready, write PID to FILE or stdout 👑
  • -l, --logfile=FILE — log actions in FILE 🍓
  • -I, --insecure — don't ensure that the setup is secure 😭 (yes, the name is a warning, bestie)
  • -S, --silent — don't do output to stdout 🤫
  • --quiet — synonym for --silent 🌙
  • --help — display this help and exit 💜
  • --usage — display short usage message and exit 🌈
  • --version — display version information and exit ⭐
ngl this next bit is a real one: mandatory or optional arguments to long options are also mandatory or optional to the corresponding short options. so like, if --socket needs a FILE, then -s needs a FILE too. they match. periodt 💅

🙈 REPORTING BUGS 🙈

found a bug? not me gatekeeping the link, here it is bestie:

Copyright © 2025 the Shepherd authors License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <<https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>>

This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.

There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. 💀 (fr fr, that's the actual legal vibe, don't come for me)

🎀 SEE ALSO 🎀

The full documentation for shepherd is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and shepherd programs are properly installed at your site, the command

info shepherd

should give you access to the complete manual. iykyk 🦋

and that's the whole page, bestie!! this one's from the GNU girlies, dated February 2026, and it lives at the top of section 1 like the queen she is 💖✨👑 slay, go manage some services, and remember: read your config files, hydrate, and never run --insecure unless you truly know what you're doing 🫶🌸

📦 where this page comes from