rc-status

Show a summary of services and their status

$ rc-status

$ rc-status [[-a|--all]]

$ rc-status [[-c|--crashed]]

$ rc-status [[-m|--manual]]

$ rc-status [[-S|--supervised]]

$ rc-status [[-r|--runlevel]]

$ rc-status [[-l|--list]]

rc-status [service_name ...]

service_name
    Optional. If provided, limits the output to the status of the specified service or services. Multiple service names can be provided as arguments. If no service names are provided, `rc-status` displays the status of all services.

The `rc-status` command is a utility used in systems employing runit as their init system. It provides a concise and informative overview of the current status of services managed by runit. Specifically, `rc-status` displays which services are currently running, stopped, or in a transitional state (e.g., starting or stopping). It typically presents information in a user-friendly format, making it easy to identify any issues or unexpected service states.

In contrast to other init systems like systemd, runit's approach is typically more minimalist, and `rc-status` reflects this simplicity. The command directly queries the runit service directories to determine status, rather than relying on a central service manager daemon. This often leads to a lightweight and transparent view of service management.

The `rc-status` command is a crucial tool for system administrators responsible for maintaining services on runit-based systems, providing a quick and reliable way to monitor and troubleshoot service-related problems.

The output and functionality of `rc-status` are specific to runit-based systems. It will not function correctly, or at all, on systems using other init systems like systemd or SysVinit. The information displayed is directly dependent on the proper configuration of runit services.

The output typically consists of lines showing the service name and its current status. For example:

`run: my_service: (pid 12345) 12345s`

This indicates that the service `my_service` is running with process ID 12345 and has been running for 12345 seconds.

A service that is stopped might show:

`down: my_service: 0s, normally up`

Indicating that the service is down and normally expected to be up.

rc-status is inherently tied to the development and adoption of the runit init system by Gerrit Pape. Its creation and evolution are directly linked to the runit project. It provides feedback about the status of processes run under `runit` control. It hasn't seen many changes through the years as the system is quite stable.

runit(8), sv(8), svlogd(8)