create-a-systemd-timer.md

Create A Systemd Timer

Systemd timers are a powerful alternative to cron for scheduling tasks, especially when you want better integration with system events like startup or specific conditions. Example of creating a simple systemd timer is given below -

Example: Running a Command Automatically After System Boot

1. Create a systemd service file, for example: test_timer.service

[Unit]
Description=Example Systemd Service File.

[Service]
Type=oneshot
User=<username>
ExecStart=/usr/bin/ping -c 10 google.com

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

2. Now, create a timer file with the same name, for example: test_timer.timer

[Unit]
Description=Example Systemd Timer.

[Timer]
OnBootSec=5m

[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target

Note: OnBootSec=5m ensures the service starts 5 minutes after the system boots up. Adjust the value based on your needs (e.g., 10s for 10 seconds)

3. Enable & Start the Systemd Timer

sudo systemctl enable test_timer.timer
sudo systemctl start test_timer.timer

To check if the Systemd timer is enabled, we can use systemctl list-timers command to list out the various Systemd timer enabled on the system.

Source(s):

• ArchWiki
• LinuxConfig