> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.k9.io/key9-identity/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.k9.io/key9-identity/k9-tail/systemd.md).

# Running as a Service

For production deployments, k9-tail should run as a systemd service so that it starts automatically at boot and restarts automatically if it crashes.

## Installing the service

A systemd unit file is included in the repository at `k9-tail.service`. Copy it to the systemd system directory:

```bash
sudo cp k9-tail.service /etc/systemd/system/k9-tail.service
```

## Enabling and starting

```bash
# Reload systemd to pick up the new unit file
sudo systemctl daemon-reload

# Enable the service to start at boot
sudo systemctl enable k9-tail

# Start the service now
sudo systemctl start k9-tail
```

## Checking status

```bash
sudo systemctl status k9-tail
```

To follow live log output:

```bash
sudo journalctl -u k9-tail -f
```

## Stopping and restarting

```bash
sudo systemctl stop k9-tail
sudo systemctl restart k9-tail
```

On a graceful stop (`systemctl stop`), k9-tail receives `SIGTERM`, flushes the current waldo position to disk, and exits cleanly. The next startup resumes from where it left off.

## Unit file reference

The included `k9-tail.service` unit file is configured as follows:

```ini
[Unit]
Description=Key9 Tail
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
User=root
ExecStart=/opt/k9/bin/k9-tail
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
TimeoutStopSec=90
KillMode=process
OOMScoreAdjust=-900
SyslogIdentifier=k9-tail

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
```

### Key settings

| Setting            | Value                   | Purpose                                                                                    |
| ------------------ | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `After` / `Wants`  | `network-online.target` | Ensures the network is available before k9-tail starts, so it can reach the Key9 API       |
| `User`             | `root`                  | Required to read `/var/log/auth.log` on most systems                                       |
| `Restart`          | `always`                | Automatically restarts the process if it exits for any reason                              |
| `RestartSec`       | `10`                    | Waits 10 seconds before each restart attempt                                               |
| `TimeoutStopSec`   | `90`                    | Allows up to 90 seconds for a graceful shutdown before forcibly killing the process        |
| `OOMScoreAdjust`   | `-900`                  | Makes k9-tail very unlikely to be killed by the kernel's OOM killer during memory pressure |
| `SyslogIdentifier` | `k9-tail`               | Tags all log lines in journald with `k9-tail` for easy filtering                           |

## Viewing logs

All output from k9-tail is captured by journald and can be queried with `journalctl`:

```bash
# All logs since boot
sudo journalctl -u k9-tail -b

# Follow live output
sudo journalctl -u k9-tail -f

# Last 100 lines
sudo journalctl -u k9-tail -n 100
```


---

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