nmstate.service(8)

💅 nmstate.service — the man page, but make it a group chat

ok so bestie, welcome to the nmstate.service man page (yes, nmstate.service(8), the whole vibe) — this is the little service that boots your network states into existence and honestly? she's iconic for it. let's get into it 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

nmstate.service — apply /etc/nmstate network states 💖

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

nmstate.service

that's it. that's the whole synopsis. no cap. ✨

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

okay so nmstate.service runs the nmstatectl service command, and what that does is apply all the network state files that end in .yml or .yaml inside the /etc/nmstate folder. literally all of them, she does not do half measures. 👑

⚠️ but here's the drama: if two files have the same name but one ends in .yml and the other ends in .yaml, nmstate will not apply either of them — she fails the service entirely. no cap, it's giving "if y'all can't get along nobody's going anywhere" 💀

By default, after the service processes a file, it renames the network state file to a name with the suffix .applied. this is a whole protective bestie move — it means the same file doesn't get applied again the next time the service runs. slay. ✨

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🧚 alternatively… the config file 🧚

you can also set the following in /etc/nmstate/nmstate.conf:

[service]
keep_state_file_after_apply = true

with keep_state_file_after_apply = true, the service copies the network state file to a file with .applied, but preserves the original file. so you keep both. best of both worlds, honestly. 🫶

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💜 merging vs. overriding 💜

By default, nmstate merges the network state file with the current network state. it's a collaborator, not a dictator.

but if you want to override interface settings without merging, please set override_iface = true in the [service] section in /etc/nmstate/nmstate.conf:

[service]
override_iface = true

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🔥 so what happens when override_iface = true? 🔥

if override_iface = true, then for the network state to apply, nmstate.service will:

• For the interfaces section — any defined interface will be configured by desired state information only. undefined properties of this interface will use the default value instead of merging from the current state. she said "new beginnings only" 💅
• For other sections — no changes to their original behavior. they stay exactly as they were, lowkey loyal. 🌈

for example, if the desired interface has no IPv4 section defined, nmstate will treat it as disabled, regardless of the current network status. yeah. that's the whole point. not me being dramatic, that's just the semantics 😭

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🐛 BUG REPORTS 🐛

found a bug? report it on the nmstate GitHub issues — <https://github.com/nmstate/nmstate>. the maintainers wanna hear it fr fr 🫶

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👑 COPYRIGHT 👑

License Apache 2.0 or any later version — <https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.txt> 💖

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⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

• nmstatectl(8) — go read it, iykyk 🦋

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🎀 and that's the page! this was nmstate.service, version 2.2.62, dated October 16, 2026 — mwah, take care of your network states bestie, and remember: no duplicate .yml/.yaml names. periodt. 💅✨