---
name: "dh_installsystemduser"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "debhelper"
version: "13.24.2"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/dh_installsystemduser"
---

# dh\_installsystemduser(1)

install systemd unit files

## NAME

dh\_installsystemduser - install systemd unit files

## SYNOPSIS

**dh\_installsystemduser** \[*debhelper options*\] \[**--no-enable**\] \[**--name=***name*\] \[*unit file* ...\]

## DESCRIPTION

**dh\_installsystemduser** finds the systemd user instance service files installed by a package and generates *preinst*, *postinst*, and *prerm* code blocks for enabling, disabling, starting, stopping, and restarting the corresponding systemd user instance services, when the package is installed, updated, or removed. These snippets are added to the maintainer scripts by [**dh\_installdeb**(1)](/dh_installdeb/1.md).

**deb-systemd-helper**(1) is used to enable and disable the systemd units, thus it is not necessary that the machine actually runs systemd during package installation time, enabling happens on all machines.

**dh\_installsystemduser** operates on all user instance unit files installed by a package. For only generating blocks for specific unit files, pass them as arguments. Specific unit files can be excluded from processing using the **-X** common [**debhelper**(1)](/debhelper/1.md) option.

## FILES

- debian/*package*.user.path, debian/*package*@.user.path, debian/*package*.user.service, debian/*package*@.user.service, debian/*package*.user.socket, debian/*package*@.user.socket, debian/*package*.user.target, debian/*package*@.user.target, debian/*package*.user.timer, debian/*package*@.user.timer

  If any of those files exists, they are installed into *usr/lib/systemd/user/* in the package build directory removing the *.user* file name part.

## OPTIONS

- **--name=***name*

  Install the service file as *name.service* instead of the default filename *package.service*. When this parameter is used, **dh\_installsystemd** looks for and installs files named *debian/package.name.user.service* instead of the usual *debian/package.user.service*.  Moreover, maintainer scripts are only generated for units that match the given *name*.

- **--no-enable**

  Disable the service(s) on purge, but do not enable them on install.

## NOTES

This command is not idempotent. [**dh\_prep**(1)](/dh_prep/1.md) should be called between invocations of this command (with the same arguments). Otherwise, it may cause multiple instances of the same text to be added to maintainer scripts.

## SEE ALSO

[**debhelper**(7)](/debhelper/7.md), [**dh\_installsystemd**(1)](/dh_installsystemd/1.md), **deb-systemd-helper**(1)

## AUTHORS

pkg-systemd-maintainers@lists.alioth.debian.org