> ℹ️ **This extension is still in development. Please share your feedback/thoughts by submitting or commenting on [issues](https://github.com/dviererbe/vscode-systemd/issues), [pull requests](https://github.com/dviererbe/vscode-systemd/pulls) or [discussions](https://github.com/dviererbe/vscode-systemd/discussions).** # systemd extension for Visual Studio Code [![License: GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-AGPL--3.0--or--later-informational)](https://github.com/dviererbe/vscode-systemd/blob/main/LICENSE.md) [![VS Code Marketplace](https://vsmarketplacebadges.dev/version/dviererbe.vscode-systemd.svg)](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=dviererbe.vscode-systemd) [![VS Code Marketplace](https://img.shields.io/open-vsx/v/dviererbe/vscode-systemd?logo=vscodium&label=Open%20VSX%20Registry)](https://open-vsx.org/extension/dviererbe/vscode-systemd) The systemd extension makes it easy to inspect, manage, and create systemd units from Visual Studio Code. ## Prerequisites This extension uses the [`systemctl(1)`](https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/latest/systemctl.html) and [`systemd-analyze(1)`](https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/latest/systemd-analyze.html) commands to interact with and analyze systemd units. The [`pkexec(1)`](https://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/latest/man1/pkexec.1.html) command is used to elevate priveledges when interacting with system units. If your environment does not contain these commands the extension will not work properly. ## Overview of the extension features ### Editing systemd unit files This extension provides basic IntelliSense when editing your systemd unit files including syntax highlighting, document outlines, folding ranges, property descriptions on hover, and unit symbol definitions. > ℹ️ This feature is a currently in it's early stages and not feature complete yet. It will be extened in future releases. ![screencapture that demonstartes this feature](https://github.com/dviererbe/vscode-systemd/raw/main/resources/readme/edit-unit-file.gif) ### Units Explorer This extension contributes a Units Explorer view to VS Code. The Units Explorer lets you examine and manage units. The right-click menu provides access to commonly used commands for each type of asset. ![screencapture that demonstartes this feature](https://github.com/dviererbe/vscode-systemd/raw/main/resources/readme/interact-with-units.gif) The Units Explorer supports comprehensive configuration: group and sort units, apply a filter, and customize the label, description, and icon displayed for each unit. ![screencapture that demonstartes this feature](https://github.com/dviererbe/vscode-systemd/raw/main/resources/readme/configure-units-explorer.gif) ### Unit commands Commands to interfact with units are built right into the Command Palette: ![screenshot that demonstartes this feature](https://github.com/dviererbe/vscode-systemd/raw/main/resources/readme/command-pallet.png) ### Snippets Snippets can be used to speed up writing/editing unit files: ![screencapture that demonstartes this feature](https://github.com/dviererbe/vscode-systemd/raw/main/resources/readme/snippet.gif) ### Install unit files Install unit files from the active editor or the file explorer: ![screencapture that demonstartes this feature](https://github.com/dviererbe/vscode-systemd/raw/main/resources/readme/install-unit-file.gif) ### Inspect system startup times Plot which system services have been started at what time, highlighting the time they spent on initialization: ![screencapture that demonstartes this feature](https://github.com/dviererbe/vscode-systemd/raw/main/resources/readme/systemd-analyze-plot.gif) ## Credit This extension is inspired by and contains some of the code of: - [vscode-containers](https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-containers) extension (License: MIT) - [systemd-unit-file](https://github.com/bearmini/vscode-systemd-unit-file) extension (License: MIT) ## License vscode-systemd Copyright (C) 2026 Dominik Viererbe \ This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Affero General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License along with this program. If not, see .