runsv-cg(8)

💖 NAME 💖

runsv-cg — bestie, this is the lil program that manages service-specific cgroups for your runit services. no cap, it's giving "linux sysadmin but make it organized" 💅

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

/usr/sbin/runsv-cg create|control|remove|destroy|setup

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

Okay so picture this: it's a small program whose whole job is managing service-specific cgroups(v2) for runit services. That's it. That's the vibe. 🦋

Now, the deets, because context matters:

• Except for the setup command, runsv-cg expects to be run from inside a runit service directory supervised by a runsv process, and that directory needs at minimum an executable run file and a ./cgroup subdirectory. both. it needs both. 🙈
• The setup command is usually run at the end of stage 1, when the sysfs filesystem is already mounted.
• create and control get run from the <run> file.
• remove or destroy get run from the finish file.

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👑 COMMANDS 👑

• create — create a brand new cgroup that's specific to the current service. Here's the sequence, step by step, no skips: create the /sys/fs/cgroup/runit/<service> directory; then copy cgroup interface files exactly like the control command does; and then add the current process PID to /sys/fs/cgroup/runit/<service>/cgroup.procs 🫶
• control — control the resource settings for a service-specific cgroup: it copies the cgroup interface files that live in the <./cgroup> subdirectory over to /sys/fs/cgroup/runit/<service>. The cgroup control files are documented at https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/admin-guide/cgroup-v2.html#interface-files — go read them, iykyk 📚
• remove — remove a service specific cgroup, and this happens after the service has stopped: it removes the /sys/fs/cgroup/runit/<service> directory. ⚠️ Heads up though, and this is important: a cgroup can't be removed while a process inside it is still running. literally cannot. it's not being dramatic, it's the kernel.
• destroy — kill any process hanging out in the service specific cgroup, then remove the whole service specific cgroup. The order is: write 1 to /sys/fs/cgroup/runit/<service>/cgroup.kill , then remove the /sys/fs/cgroup/runit/<service> directory. bye bestie 💀
• setup — the one-time system setup for cgroup v2: mount the root cgroup(v2) under /sys/fs/cgroup and create the </sys/fs/cgroup/runit> directory; all available controllers found in the root cgroup get enabled for the <runit> child cgroup. one and done, periodt ✨

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🎀 EXIT CODES 🎀

• runsv-cg exits 0 on success on Linux systems 🔥
• it also immediately exits 0 on non-Linux systems (yeah, it just peaces out, zero drama)
• it exits 111 when it's not run from inside a proper runit service directory, when a <./cgroup> subdirectory is not found, or when the runit child cgroup for runit services is not found 😭
• it exits 100 on wrong usage 💅

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🌈 AUTHOR 🌈

This manpage was written by Lorenzo Puliti <plorenzo@disroot.org> for Debian. iconic behavior, honestly 👑

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🧚 SEE ALSO 🧚

invoke-run(8), runsv(8) — go read those too, they're the supporting cast 💜

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! 🌸 this one's from the GNU/Linux System Adminstrator's manual, page version runsv-cg(8), dated Sep 14, 2026 — screenshot it, pin it, love it, and go configure your cgroups responsibly 🎀✨