NAME

       systemd.target - Target unit configuration

SYNOPSIS

       target.target

DESCRIPTION

       A unit configuration file whose name ends in ".target" encodes information about a target
       unit of systemd, which is used for grouping units and as well-known synchronization points
       during start-up.

       This unit type has no specific options. See systemd.unit(5) for the common options of all
       unit configuration files. The common configuration items are configured in the generic
       [Unit] and [Install] sections. A separate [Target] section does not exist, since no
       target-specific options may be configured.

       Target units do not offer any additional functionality on top of the generic functionality
       provided by units. They exist merely to group units via dependencies (useful as boot
       targets), and to establish standardized names for synchronization points used in
       dependencies between units. Among other things, target units are a more flexible
       replacement for SysV runlevels in the classic SysV init system. (And for compatibility
       reasons special target units such as runlevel3.target exist which are used by the SysV
       runlevel compatibility code in systemd. See systemd.special(7) for details).

IMPLICIT DEPENDENCIES

       There are no implicit dependencies for target units.

DEFAULT DEPENDENCIES

       The following dependencies are added unless DefaultDependencies=no is set:

       •   Target units will automatically complement all configured dependencies of type Wants=
           or Requires= with dependencies of type After= unless DefaultDependencies=no is set in
           the specified units. Note that Wants= or Requires= must be defined in the target unit
           itself — if you for example define Wants=some.target in some.service, the automatic
           ordering will not be added.

       •   Target units automatically gain Conflicts= dependency against shutdown.target.

EXAMPLE

       Example 1. Simple standalone target

           # emergency-net.target

           [Unit]
           Description=Emergency Mode with Networking
           Requires=emergency.target systemd-networkd.service
           After=emergency.target systemd-networkd.service
           AllowIsolate=yes

       When adding dependencies to other units, it's important to check if they set
       DefaultDependencies=. Service units, unless they set DefaultDependencies=no, automatically
       get a dependency on sysinit.target. In this case, both emergency.target and
       systemd-networkd.service have DefaultDependencies=no, so they are suitable for use in this
       target, and do not pull in sysinit.target.

       You can now switch into this emergency mode by running systemctl isolate
       emergency-net.target or by passing the option systemd.unit=emergency-net.target on the
       kernel command line.

       Other units can have WantedBy=emergency-net.target in the [Install] section. After they
       are enabled using systemctl enable, they will be started before emergency-net.target is
       started. It is also possible to add arbitrary units as dependencies of emergency.target
       without modifying them by using systemctl add-wants.

SEE ALSO

       systemd(1), systemctl(1), systemd.unit(5), systemd.special(7), systemd.directives(7)