---
name: "service"
section: "8"
platform: "freebsd"
package: "base"
version: "16.0-CURRENT-20261027-61c70dc16a79"
release: "FreeBSD 16.0-CURRENT (2026-10-27)"
platforms: ["linux", "freebsd"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/service"
---

# service(8)

control (start/stop/etc.) or list system services

## NAME

**service** – control (start/stop/etc.) or list system services

## SYNOPSIS

**service** \[**-j** *jail*\] **-e**

**service** \[**-j** *jail*\] \[**-q**\] **-R**

**service** \[**-j** *jail*\] \[**-v**\] **-l**

**service** \[**-j** *jail*\] \[**-v**\] **-r**

**service** \[**-j** *jail*\] \[**-dqv**\] \[**-E** *var=value*\] *script* \[*command*\]

## DESCRIPTION

The **service** command is an easy interface to the rc.d system. Its primary purpose is to start and stop services provided by the rc.d scripts. When used for this purpose it will set the same restricted environment that is in use at boot time( see ENVIRONMENT). It can also be used to list the scripts using various criteria.

The set of permissible values for *command* depends on the particular rc.d script being invoked. For a list of standard commands which are supported by most rc.d scripts, see [rc(8)](/rc/8.md).

The options are as follows:

- **-d**

  Enable debugging.

- **-E** *var=value*

  Set the environment variable *var* to the specified *value* before starting the script. This option can be used multiple times.

- **-e**

  List services that are enabled. The list of scripts to check is compiled using [rcorder(8)](/rcorder/8.md) the same way that it is done in [rc(8)](/rc/8.md), then that list of scripts is checked for an "rcvar" assignment. If present the script is checked to see if it is enabled.

- **-j** *jail*

  Perform the given actions under the named jail. The *jail* argument can be either a jail ID or a jail name.

- **-l**

  List all files in */etc/rc.d* and the local startup directories. As described in [rc.conf(5)](/rc.conf/5.md) this is usually */usr/local/etc/rc.d*. All files will be listed whether they are an actual rc.d script or not.

- **-q**

  Be quiet, redirecting output to */dev/null*.

- **-R**

  Restart all enabled local services.

- **-r**

  Generate the [rcorder(8)](/rcorder/8.md) as in **-e** above, but list all of the files, not just what is enabled.

- **-v**

  Be slightly more verbose.

## ENVIRONMENT

When used to run rc.d scripts the **service** command sets HOME to */* and PATH to */sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin* which is how they are set in */etc/rc* at boot time. If the **-E** option is used, the corresponding variable is set accordingly.

## EXIT STATUS

The **service** utility exits 0 on success, and \>0 if an error occurs.

## EXAMPLES

These are some examples of the most common service commands. For a full list of commands available in most rc.d scripts, see [rc(8)](/rc/8.md).

Enable a service, then start it:

```
service sshd enable
service sshd start
```

Stop a service, then disable it:

```
service sshd stop
service sshd disable
```

Start a service which is not enabled:

```
service sshd onestart
```

Report the status of a service:

```
service named status
```

Restart a service running in a jail:

```
service -j dns named restart
```

Start a service with a specific environment variable set:

```
service -E LC_ALL=C.UTF-8 named start
```

Report a verbose listing of all available services:

```
service -rv
```

The following programmable completion entry can be used in [csh(1)](/csh/1.md) for the names and common commands of the rc.d scripts:

```
complete service 'c/-/(e l r v)/' 'p/1/`service -l`/' \
		 'n/*/(start stop reload restart \
		 status rcvar onestart onestop)/'
```

The following programmable completion entry can be used in [bash(1)](/bash/1.md) (*ports/shells/bash*) for the names of the rc.d scripts:

```
_service () {
	local cur
	cur=${COMP_WORDS[COMP_CWORD]}
	COMPREPLY=( $( compgen -W '$( service -l )' -- $cur ) )
	return 0
}
complete -F _service service
```

## SEE ALSO

[bash(1)](/bash/1.md) (*ports/shells/bash*), [rc.conf(5)](/rc.conf/5.md), [rc(8)](/rc/8.md), [rcorder(8)](/rcorder/8.md), [sysrc(8)](/sysrc/8.md)

## HISTORY

The **service** utility first appeared in FreeBSD 7.3.

## AUTHORS

This manual page was written by Douglas Barton ⟨*dougb@FreeBSD.org*⟩.