Windows
Linux
Services & Processes
Services
Windows services.msc / net start equivalent in Linux
Starts, stops, restarts, and checks the status of background services (like Windows Services).
Windows
→
services.msc / net start
Linux equivalents
systemctl
systemctl
systemctl
Overview
What this command does
Starts, stops, restarts, and checks the status of background services (like Windows Services).
Migration tip:
systemctl is the main tool for managing services in modern Linux (systemd). It replaces older commands like service and init.d.Practical tasks
Common use cases
Manage system services
Starts, stops, restarts, and checks the status of background services (like Windows Services).
systemctl start svc
Start a service
systemctl stop svc
Stop a service
systemctl restart svc
Restart a service
Ready to run
Copyable Linux commands
Review paths, device names, package names and permissions before running any command.
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl stop nginx
sudo systemctl restart nginx
systemctl status nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx
sudo systemctl disable nginx
Walkthrough
Examples with explanations
# Windows: net start/stop "Service Name"
sudo systemctl start nginx # start nginx web server
sudo systemctl stop nginx # stop it
sudo systemctl restart nginx # restart
systemctl status nginx # is it running?
# Auto-start on boot (like Windows service startup type):
sudo systemctl enable nginx # enable auto-start
sudo systemctl disable nginx # disable auto-startReference
Common options and variations
| Command or option | Use |
|---|---|
systemctl start svc | Start a service |
systemctl stop svc | Stop a service |
systemctl restart svc | Restart a service |
systemctl status svc | Check if running + recent logs |
systemctl enable svc | Auto-start on boot |
systemctl disable svc | Disable auto-start on boot |
systemctl list-units | List all active services |
Distro differences
Debian/Ubuntu vs Fedora vs Arch
systemd commands are mostly distribution-neutral, but package names and service unit names can differ.
| Distribution | Package manager / base | Equivalent command | Difference to notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian/Ubuntu | apt + systemd | systemctl |
Same systemctl/journalctl syntax on systemd-based Debian and Ubuntu systems. |
| Fedora | dnf + systemd | systemctl |
Same command syntax; service names can differ by package. |
| Arch | pacman + systemd | systemctl |
Same command syntax; enable services explicitly after package installation. |
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