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. Target units are used to group units and to set synchronization points
       for ordering dependencies with other unit files.

       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 merely group units, allowing a single target name to be used in
       Wants= and Requires= settings to establish a dependency on a set of units defined by the
       target, and in Before= and After= settings to establish ordering. Targets establish
       standardized names for synchronization points during boot and shutdown. Importantly, see
       systemd.special(7) for examples and descriptions of standard systemd targets.

       Target units provide a more flexible replacement for SysV runlevels in the classic SysV
       init system. 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.

       Note that a target unit file must not be empty, lest it be considered a masked unit. It is
       recommended to provide a [Unit] section which includes informative Description= and
       Documentation= options.

AUTOMATIC DEPENDENCIES

   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 the reverse is not true. For example, defining Wants=that.target in
           some.service will not automatically add the After=that.target ordering dependency for
           some.service. Instead, some.service should use the primary synchronization function of
           target type units, by setting a specific After=that.target or Before=that.target
           ordering dependency in its .service unit file.

       •   Target units automatically gain Conflicts= and Before= dependencies against
           shutdown.target.

OPTIONS

       Target unit files may include [Unit] and [Install] sections, which are described in
       systemd.unit(5). No options specific to this file type are supported.

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)