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An easy-to-use TUI for managing systemd units

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# sdctl

`sdctl` is a security-focused `ratatui` TUI application for managing `systemd` services on Linux. It prioritizes the principle of least privilege, allowing users to browse services in an unprivileged state and providing an embedded authentication flow for privileged operations.

![screenshot](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/16267839-1349-4ea4-a00f-89d763cd8d5a)

## Features

- **Security First**: All privileged actions are authenticated using `polkit`. Never requires `sudo`.
- **Unified Unit Management**: Seamlessly browse and control both **System (global)** and **User (session)** units from a single interface.
- **Enhanced Filtering**: Powerful multi-category filters (Type, Scope, Active, Enablement, Load).
- **Service Dashboard**: Efficiently list and discover units with case-insensitive sorting and high-performance client-side fuzzy search.
- **Log Viewer**: Integrated `journalctl` browser with automatic syntax highlighting provided by [tailspin](https://github.com/bensadeh/tailspin), and both line-wise and line-block select modes.
- **Unit File Viewer**: View unit configurations directly with syntax highlighting. Supports creating **drop-in overrides** or editing the full unit file via your `$EDITOR`.
- **Vim-style Navigation**: Global keyboard shortcuts for intuitive scrolling, paging, and search cursor movement.

<details>
  <summary>Quick filter toggle</summary>

![screenshot](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/77eb343d-722a-40a9-b4b8-4b430f928759)

</details>

![screenshot](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8b7bebb8-4204-493b-8c38-89ad729bcf74)

</details>

<details>
  <summary>Line block select mode in log view</summary>

![screenshot](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/06b91e6f-9d64-4b91-a46b-dc6f1c52d941)

</details>

<details>
  <summary>Line select mode in log view</summary>

![screenshot](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f9ac57b0-3610-4c6d-820f-dda1671288db)

</details>

<details>
  <summary>Why another TUI for managing systemd services?</summary>

This tool is not the first of its kind. I have been using [`systemctl-tui`](https://github.com/rgwood/systemctl-tui) and [`systemd-manager-tui`](https://github.com/matheus-git/systemd-manager-tui) extensively to the point that I forgot how to use `systemctl` from the command line. However those tools share one major limitation: they require `sudo` for privileged operations. In today’s supply-chain threat landscape, that is a serious risk because a TUI app depends on many components, and any compromised dependency could become a full-privilege attack vector.

This is why I built `sdctl` with a completely different security model: the app itself should never be run with `sudo`, and no action ever asks for blanket root access. When you perform any action that requires escalated privileges, the app opens an embedded `polkit` flow that authenticates only the specific `systemctl` action you are trying to perform, using whatever mechanism is available on the system, such as password, fingerprint reader, or smart card. That keeps the privilege boundary explicit and tied to a single operation instead of the whole process.

</details>

## Keybindings

### Global

- `q`: Quit application
- `Esc`: Return to unit list / Cancel authentication / Close filter menu
- `j` / `k` or `Up` / `Down`: Navigate up/down
- `gg` / `G`: Jump to top/bottom
- `Ctrl+u` / `Ctrl+d`: Scroll half-page up/down
- `Ctrl+b` / `Ctrl+f`: Scroll full-page up/down

### Unit List

- `/`: Enter fuzzy search mode
- `y` / `p` / `a` / `n` / `o`: Open Type, Scope, Active, Enablement, or Load filter menus
- `Ctrl+r`: Reset all filters
- `s` / `t` / `r` / `R`: Start, stop, restart, or reload the selected unit
- `e` / `d` / `m` / `u`: Enable, disable, mask, or unmask the selected unit
- `Enter` / `l`: View journal logs
- `f`: View unit file
- `Y`: Copy unit file path

### Log Viewer

- `/`: Enter search mode
- `n` / `N`: Jump to next / previous search match
- `v`: Toggle **line select** mode
- `V`: Toggle **line block select** mode
- `Space` (select mode): Mark / unmark the current line
- `y` / `Enter` (select mode): Copy selected lines to clipboard
- `Ctrl+r`: Refresh logs
- `e`: Open the log buffer in `$EDITOR`

### Unit File Viewer

- `/`: Enter search mode
- `n` / `N`: Jump to next / previous search match
- `e`: Create/Edit **drop-in override** (`override.conf`)
- `E`: Edit **full unit file** (replaces unit fragment)

## Tech Stack

- **UI Framework**: [ratatui](https://github.com/ratatui/ratatui)
- **Asynchronous Runtime**: [tokio](https://github.com/tokio-rs/tokio)
- **D-Bus Communication**: [zbus](https://github.com/dbus2/zbus)
- **Privilege Escalation**: `pkttyagent` managed via [portable-pty](https://github.com/wez/wezterm/tree/main/pty)
- **Highlighting**: [tailspin](https://github.com/bensadeh/tailspin)
- **Fuzzy Matching**: [nucleo](https://github.com/helix-editor/nucleo)

## Prerequisites

- `systemd`
- `polkit`
- (Optional) terminal text editor: `nano`, `vim`, `emacs`, or `vi`
- (Optional) system clipboard tool: `wl-copy` (Wayland) or `xclip` (X11)

## Installation

### Cargo

```bash
cargo install sdctl
```

### AUR (Arch Linux)

```bash
# Using your favorite AUR helper, such as yay or paru
yay -S sdctl
```

### Binary

Download the latest pre-compiled binary from the [Releases](https://github.com/ruiiiijiiiiang/sdctl/releases) page.

```bash
chmod +x sdctl
sudo mv sdctl /usr/local/bin/
```

### From Nix (Flakes)

Run directly:

```bash
nix run github:ruiiiijiiiiang/sdctl-top
```

## Contribution

PR's and issues are welcome. AI usage is okay as long as you know what you are doing and the code is maintainable.

## License

MIT

sdctl

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