Write a systemd-tmpfiles rule only after confirming its intended action and target path, then test it first with a dedicated configuration and --dry-run if your installed systemd version supports that option. For a real execution check, redirect the rule into a disposable alternate root and limit its scope; a dry run shows planned operations, not whether they will succeed on the live filesystem.
Check the installed systemd version and manuals
systemd-tmpfiles options and rule types vary by version. On the machine where the rule will run, check the installed version and read its tmpfiles.d(5) and systemd-tmpfiles(8) manuals before relying on syntax or behavior:
systemd-tmpfiles --version
man tmpfiles.d
man systemd-tmpfilesThe official systemd-tmpfiles(8) manual documents --dry-run as added in systemd 256. If the installed version is older, do not assume the option exists; follow that version’s manual instead.
Decide what the rule should do before writing it
systemd-tmpfiles reads rules in the format documented by tmpfiles.d(5). Its operations include --create, --clean, and --remove; they select different work and are not interchangeable. Before writing a rule, decide whether you need to create a path, set metadata, write a value, clean entries by age, or remove a path. Verify the selected type’s exact semantics and required fields in the manual installed on the target system.
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The implementation parses an action, an absolute path, mode, user, group, age, and an optional argument. That overview is not a complete grammar: use the installed manual for exact type letters, field requirements, defaults, and precedence.
Write a dedicated test configuration
Put the rule under test in a separate file and pass that file explicitly. This avoids unintentionally testing every configuration installed on the machine. The utility accepts configuration-file arguments; a lone - reads rules from standard input. For example, save the rule in /path/to/test.conf, then preview that file rather than invoking an operation without a deliberately chosen configuration.
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Preview planned operations with dry-run
On systemd 256 or later, use --dry-run to process the configuration and print intended operations without changing the filesystem. For a creation-oriented rule, the documented form is:
systemd-tmpfiles --create --dry-run /path/to/test.confThe manual describes this as printing “what operations would be performed” without changing the filesystem. Treat the output as a plan, not proof: it does not establish that actual creation, ownership, permissions, cleanup, or other changes will succeed when run for real.
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Use an alternate root for an execution check
If you need to check actual execution, construct a disposable root tree and use --root=PATH. This redirects rule paths and configuration lookup into that alternate root. An absolute rule path such as /srv/example is interpreted within the test root rather than against the host root.
--root also changes account lookup: systemd-tmpfiles reads the alternate root’s /etc/passwd and /etc/group for named users and groups, bypassing NSS. Include the relevant local account records in the test root if the rule refers to them.
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You can add --prefix=PATH to apply only rules whose paths start with that prefix. The prefix narrows eligible paths; it does not make an unsafe target safe by itself. Check that it matches the rule paths as interpreted by the installed version.
systemd-tmpfiles --create --root=/path/to/disposable-root --prefix=/srv/example /path/to/test.confThis command performs an execution check, not a preview. Use it only after checking the configuration and preparing a disposable root. Omit --dry-run only when filesystem mutation inside that test tree is intended.
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Keep create, clean, remove, and purge separate
--clean acts on entries with age configuration; --remove removes entries or directory contents for relevant rule types. Do not use cleanup or removal tests on valuable paths. When --create, --clean, and --remove are combined, removal and cleanup run before creation, so a combined command is not a harmless way to test creation.
--purge is a distinct operation oriented toward package removal, not an everyday rule-testing command. The manual recommends previewing it with --dry-run first. Keep any destructive test confined to a disposable tree.
Read diagnostics and exit status
For more detail, increase logging with SYSTEMD_LOG_LEVEL=debug. Check the command’s exit status as well as its output:
- 0: success.
- 65: syntax errors or missing arguments caused lines to be ignored, with no other error.
- 73: the configuration was syntactically valid but could not be executed.
- 1: other failures.
These statuses are documented in the systemd-tmpfiles(8) manual. A preview and an execution check answer different questions: the first reports intended work without mutation; the second tests execution only within the scope and root you have chosen.
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