systemctl-soft-reboot

Perform a soft reboot immediately

$ systemctl soft-reboot

$ systemctl soft-reboot --force

$ systemctl soft-reboot --when "[timestamp]"

$ systemctl soft-reboot --when cancel

The command systemctl-soft-reboot is not a standard Linux or systemd command.
Therefore, a standard synopsis does not exist.

The command systemctl-soft-reboot is not a standard Linux command provided by the systemd project or commonly found in mainstream distributions.
The concept of a "soft reboot" typically refers to restarting the operating system's userspace processes and services without performing a full hardware power cycle or reloading the kernel (e.g., avoiding the BIOS/UEFI POST sequence).

While systemd is the primary init system in modern Linux, managing system startup, shutdowns, and service lifecycles, it does not offer a direct `soft-reboot` subcommand. Systemd provides mechanisms for a graceful full system reboot (`systemctl reboot`), for restarting individual services (`systemctl restart `), and for switching to different system targets.

A true "soft reboot" (kernel-wise) is more closely associated with tools like kexec, which can load and boot a new kernel image from the currently running kernel, effectively performing a kernel restart without a hardware reboot. Userspace-only restarts or restarting all services would typically involve custom scripting or specific sequences of `systemctl` commands to achieve a similar effect, but `systemctl-soft-reboot` itself does not exist as a predefined utility.

The command systemctl-soft-reboot is not a standard part of systemd or any mainstream Linux distribution.
Its usage would imply a custom script, an alias, or a misconception about existing systemd functionalities.
Relying on such a non-standard command could lead to unpredictable system behavior, security vulnerabilities if not properly implemented, or simply not function as expected on most systems.

To achieve effects that might be colloquially termed a 'soft reboot' using standard Linux tools:

• For a standard, graceful system reboot (which includes a kernel reload), use systemctl reboot.
• To restart a specific service, use systemctl restart <service_name>.
• To restart all services (without a kernel reload or full shutdown), one would typically need a custom script. This script might iterate through all active services (e.g., via systemctl list-units --type=service --state=running) and restart them individually using systemctl restart. This approach, however, may not perfectly replicate a 'soft reboot' due to potential complex inter-service dependencies and timing.
• For a 'kernel soft reboot' (replacing the running kernel without going through the BIOS/UEFI POST sequence), the kexec utility is used. This is sometimes integrated with systemd via systemctl kexec if configured, or executed directly using kexec -e after loading a new kernel.
• Restarting the graphical environment (e.g., Xorg or Wayland) by logging out and back in, or restarting the display manager, is sometimes referred to as a 'soft reboot' by users addressing display issues.

As systemctl-soft-reboot is not a standard command, there is no official development or usage history to document.
The underlying concept of a 'soft reboot' (e.g., userspace-only restart, kernel replacement via kexec) has existed in various forms throughout Linux's history, but not under this specific command name within the systemd suite.

systemctl reboot(8), systemctl restart(8), kexec(8), reboot(8), shutdown(8)