SYSTEMD-....SERVICE(8)

💖 SYSTEMD-....SERVICE(8) 💖

okay bestie, welcome to the manual page for systemd-network-generator.service and systemd-network-generator — it lives in the systemd-network-generator.service section of the systemd manuals, and it is literally the girl who reads your kernel command line and turns it into network config. main character energy fr fr. 🌸

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✨ NAME ✨

systemd-network-generator.service, systemd-network-generator — generate network configuration from the kernel command line 💅

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

systemd-network-generator.service

/usr/lib/systemd/systemd-network-generator

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🌈 DESCRIPTION 🌈

So here's the tea 🍓: systemd-network-generator.service is a system service that translates the ip= option and all its little related settings from the kernel command line (peep the list below, bestie) into systemd.network(5), systemd.netdev(5), and systemd.link(5) configuration files — the exact ones that systemd-networkd.service(8) and systemd-udevd.service(8) actually understand and vibe with. 🫶

The files get generated in /run/systemd/network/. yes, that's the spot. 📁✨

⚠️ Note, and this one matters: despite the name, this generator executes as a normal systemd service and is not an implementation of the systemd.generator(7) concept. the name is giving generator but it's not that kind of generator, okay?? iykyk. 💀

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👑 KERNEL COMMAND LINE OPTIONS 👑

This tool understands the following options, and yes we're going through every single one:

• ip=, nameserver=, rd.route=, rd.peerdns= — these get translated into systemd.network(5) files. 🎀 In addition to the parameters dracut.cmdline(7) defines, the ip= option accepts the special value "link-local". If you select that, the network interfaces will be configured for link-local addressing (IPv4LL, IPv6LL) only — DHCP or IPv6RA will not be enabled. no cap, that's the whole vibe. 🙈 Added in version 245.
• ifname=, net.ifname_policy= — translated into systemd.link(5) files. 🦋 Added in version 245.
• vlan=, bond=, bridge=, bootdev= — translated into systemd.netdev(5) files. 🔥 Added in version 245.
• BOOTIF=, rd.bootif= — when BOOTIF is specified in the interface field of ip=, it is treated as a special placeholder rather than a real interface name. Then, in combination with the MAC address provided by BOOTIF=, this gets translated into a systemd.network(5) file which matches on the provided MAC address. and when rd.bootif=0 is passed, this functionality is disabled, and the BOOTIF= option is ignored. periodt. 💅 See dracut.cmdline(7) for details on the usage of these options. Added in version 261.

See dracut.cmdline(7) and systemd-udevd.service(8) for option syntax and details. go read those too, bestie, they're not boring i promise. 📚

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🎀 CREDENTIALS 🎀

systemd-network-generator supports the service credentials logic as implemented by ImportCredential= / LoadCredential= / SetCredential= (see systemd.exec(5) for the deets). The following credentials are used when passed in:

• network.conf.*, network.link.*, network.netdev.*, network.network.* — these credentials should contain valid networkd.conf(5), systemd.link(5), systemd.netdev(5), systemd.network(5) configuration data. From each matching credential a separate file is created. ✨ Example, because examples ate: a passed credential network.link.50-foobar will be copied into a configuration file 50-foobar.link. iconic. 👑

⚠️ Note that the resulting files are created world-readable, so it is hence recommended to not include secrets in these credentials — instead supply them via separate credentials directly to systemd-networkd.service(8). seriously, don't put your secrets in there, i'm begging. 😭

Added in version 256.

Note that by default the systemd-networkd.service(8) service is set up to inherit the these credentials from the service manager. 🧚

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⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

systemd(1), systemd-networkd.service(8), dracut(8)

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and that's the whole page bestie!! this one came from systemd 262.1, and it's the SYSTEMD-....SERVICE(8) manual — go forth and generate those network configs, you absolute legend. 💖✨🎀🦋🌸💅🫶