Index · Directives systemd 257~devel

Name

systemd-logind.service, systemd-logind — Login manager

Synopsis

systemd-logind.service

/usr/lib/systemd/systemd-logind

Description

systemd-logind is a system service that manages user logins. It is responsible for:

  • Keeping track of users and sessions, their processes and their idle state. This is implemented by allocating a systemd slice unit for each user below user.slice, and a scope unit below it for each concurrent session of a user. Also, a per-user service manager is started as system service instance of user@.service for each logged in user.

  • Generating and managing session IDs. If auditing is available and an audit session ID is already set for a session, then this ID is reused as the session ID. Otherwise, an independent session counter is used.

  • Providing polkit-based access for users for operations such as system shutdown or sleep

  • Implementing a shutdown/sleep inhibition logic for applications

  • Handling of power/sleep hardware keys

  • Multi-seat management

  • Session switch management

  • Device access management for users

  • Automatic spawning of text logins (gettys) on virtual console activation and user runtime directory management

  • Scheduled shutdown

  • Sending "wall" messages

User sessions are registered with logind via the pam_systemd(8) PAM module.

See logind.conf(5) for information about the configuration of this service.

See sd-login(3) for information about the basic concepts of logind such as users, sessions and seats.

See org.freedesktop.login1(5) and org.freedesktop.LogControl1(5) for information about the D-Bus APIs systemd-logind provides.

For more information see Inhibitor Locks.

If you are interested in writing a display manager that makes use of logind, please have look at Writing Display Managers. If you are interested in writing a desktop environment that makes use of logind, please have look at Writing Desktop Environments.

See Also

systemd(1), systemd-user-sessions.service(8), loginctl(1), logind.conf(5), pam_systemd(8), sd-login(3)