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<p>
	<a href="index.html">66</a><br>
	<a href="//obarun.org/">www.obarun.org</a>
</p>

<h1>The frontend service file</h1>

	<p>
		The <a href="https://skarnet.org/software/s6">s6</a> and <a href="https://skarnet.org/software/s6">s6-rc</a> programs each handle and use several kinds of services and different files. It is quite complex to understand and manage the relationship between all those files and services. If you're interested in the details you should read <a href="https://skarnet.org/software/s6/servicedir.html">the documentation for the s6 servicedir</a> and also about <a href="https://wiki.obarun.org/doku.php?id=s6services"><em>classic</em></a>, <a href="https://skarnet.org/software/s6-rc/s6-rc-compile.html"> <em>oneshot</em>, <em>longrun</em> and <em>bundle</em> services</a> on Obarun. The frontend service file of 66 tools allows you to deal with all these different services in a centralized manner in one single place.
		<br>
		By default 66 tools expects to find any service files in <tt>/etc/66/service</tt> although this can be changed at compile time by passing the <tt>--with-service-path=<em>DIR</em></tt> option to <tt>./configure.</tt>
	</p>

	<p>
		The frontend service file has a format of INI with a specific syntax on the key field. The name of the file usually corresponds to the name of the daemon and does not have any extension or prefix.
	</p>

	<p>
		The file is made of <em>sections</em> which can contain one or more <em>key value</em> pairs where the <em>key</em> name can contain special characters like <em>'-' (hyphen)</em> or <em>'_' (low line)</em> except the character <em>'@' (commercial at)</em> which is reserved.</p>

<h3>File name examples</h3>

	<pre>/etc/66/service/dhcpcd</pre>
	<pre>/etc/66/service/very_long_name</pre>

<h3>File content examples</h3>

	<pre>   [main]
   @type = classic
   @name = ntpd
   @description = "ntpd daemon"
   @user = ( root )
   @options = ( log env )

   [start]
   @build = auto
   @execute = ( foreground { mkdir -p  -m 0755 ${RUNDIR} } 
   execl-cmdline -s { ntpd ${CMD_ARGS} } )

   [environment]
   dir_run=!/run/openntpd
   cmd_args=!-d -s
   </pre>

	<p>
		The parser will not accept an empty <em>value</em>. If a <em>key</em> is set then the <em>value</em> can not be empty. Comments are allowed using the number sign '#'. Empty lines are also allowed.<br>
		<em>Key names</em> are <strong>case sensitive</strong> and <em>can not be modified</em>. Most names should be specific enough to avoid confusion.<br>
		The sections can be declared in any order but as a good practice the <tt>[main]</tt> section should be declared first. That way the parser can read the file as fast as possible.
	</p>

<h2>Sections</h2>

	<p>
		All sections need to be declared with the name written between square brackets '[]' and must be of lowercase letters <strong>only</strong>. This means that special characters, uppercase letters and numbers are not allowed in the name of a section. An <em>entire</em> section can be commented out by placing the number sign '#' in front of the opening square bracket like this:
	</p>

	<pre>   #[stop]</pre>

	<p>
		The frontend service file allows the following section names:
	</p>

	<ul>
		<li>
			<a href="#main">[main]</a>
		</li>

		<li>
			<a href="#start">[start]</a>
		</li>

		<li>
			<a href="#stop">[stop]</a>
		</li>

		<li>
			<a href="#logger">[logger]</a>
		</li>

		<li>
			<a href="#environment">[environment]</a>
		</li>
	</ul>

	<p>
		Although a section can be mandatory not all of its key fields must be necessarily so.
	</p>

<h2>Syntax legend</h2>

	<p>
		The <em>value</em> of a <em>key</em> is parsed in a specific format depending on the key. The following is a break down of how to write these syntaxes:</p>

	<ul>
		<li>
			<tt><b>inline</b></tt> : An inline <em>value</em>. Must be on the same line with its corresponding <em>key</em>.
			<p>Valid syntax:</p>
			<ul>
				<pre>@type = classic</pre>
				<pre>@type=classic</pre>
			</ul>
	
			<p>(!) Invalid syntax:</p>
			<ul>
				<pre>@type=<br>classic</pre>
			</ul>
			 
			</li>

		<br><hr><br>
	 
		<li> 
			<tt><b>quotes</b></tt> : A <em>value</em> between
			double-quotes. Must be on the same line with its corresponding <em>key</em>.
		</li>
		<p>Valid syntax:</p>
		<ul>
			<pre>@description = " some awesome description "</pre>
			<pre>@description="some awesome description"</pre>
		</ul>(!) Invalid syntax:<p></p>
		<ul>
			<pre>@description = "line break inside a double-quote<br>is not allowed"</pre>
		</ul>

		<br><hr><br>
		
		<li>
			<tt><b>brackets</b></tt> : Multiple <em>values</em> between
			parentheses '()'. Values need to be separated
			with a space. A line break can be used instead.
		</li>
		<p>Valid syntax:</p>
		<ul>
			<pre>@depends = ( fooA fooB fooC )</pre>
			<pre>@depends=(fooA fooB fooC)</pre>
			<pre>@depends=(
fooA
fooB
fooC
)</pre>
			<pre>@depends= 
(
fooA
fooB
fooC
)</pre>
		</ul>
		<p>(!) Invalid syntax:</p>
		<ul>
			 <pre>@depends = (fooAfooBfooC)</pre>
		</ul>
		<br><hr><br>
		
		<li>
			<tt><b>uint</b></tt> : A positive whole number. 
			Must be on the same line with its corresponding <em>key</em>.
		</li>
		<p>Valid syntax:</p>
		<ul>
			<pre>@notify = 3</pre>
			<pre>@notify=3</pre>
		</ul>
		<p>(!) Invalid syntax:
		</p><ul>
			<pre>@notify=
3</pre>
		</ul>
		<br><hr><br>
		<li> 
			<tt><b>path</b></tt> : An absolute path beginning with a forward slash '/'. 
			Must be on the same line with its corresponding <em>key</em>.
		</li>
		<p>Valid syntax:</p>
		<ul>
			<pre>@destination = /etc/66 </pre>
			<pre>@destination=/etc/66 </pre>
		</ul>
		<p>(!) Invalid syntax:</p>
		<ul>
			<pre>@destination=/a/very/
long/path</pre>
		</ul>
		<br><hr><br>

		<li>
			<tt><b>pair</b></tt> : same as <tt>inline</tt>.
		</li>
		<p>Valid syntax:</p>
		<ul>
			<pre>MYKEY = MYVALUE</pre>
			<pre>anotherkey=anothervalue</pre>
			<pre>anotherkey=where_value=/can_contain/equal/Character</pre>
		</ul>
		<p>(!) Invalid syntax:</p>
		<ul>
			<pre>MYKEY=
MYVALUE</pre>
		</ul>
	</ul>
	<br>

<h2 id="main">Section: [main]</h2>

<p>This section is <em>mandatory</em>. (!)</p>

<h3>Valid <em>key</em> names:</h3>

<ul>
	
 <li><h4>@type</h4></li>
 <h5>Corresponds to the file "<em>type</em>" of s6-rc programs.</h5>
 <p>Declare the type of the service.</p>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : yes (!)</p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : inline</p>
 <p><tt>valid values</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li><tt>classic</tt> : declares the service as "classic".</li>
   <li><tt>bundle</tt> : declares the service as <tt>bundle</tt> service.</li>
   <li><tt>longrun</tt> : declares the service as <tt>longrun</tt> service.</li>
   <li><tt>oneshot</tt> : declares the service as <tt>oneshot</tt> service.</li>
   </ul>
 <p><em><tt><strong>Note:</strong></tt></em> If you don't care about dependencies between services or if you don't need
   specific tasks to get done before running the daemon, "classic" is the best pick.</p><br>
 
 <br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">

 <li><h4>@name</h4></li>
 <h5>Corresponds to the <em>name of the service directory</em> of s6 and s6-rc programs.</h5>
 <p>Name of the service.</p>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no</p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : inline</p>
 <p><tt>valid values</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>
       This field has <strong>no effect</strong> except for 
       <tt><a href="#instance">instantiated</a></tt> services. In such case
       the name <strong>must</strong> contain the complete name of the 
       frontend service file.</p>
       <p>For example, the following is valid:</p>
       <pre>@name = tty@mine-@I</pre>
       <p>where:</p>
       <pre>@name = mine-@I</pre>
       <p>is not for a frontend service file named tty@.</p>
   </li>
  </ul>
 
 <br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">

 <li><h4>@description</h4></li>
 <h5>Without equivalent, this key is unique to 66 tools.</h5>
 <p>A short description of the service.</p>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : yes (!)</p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : quote</p>
 <p><tt>valid values</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>Anything you want.</li>
  </ul>
 
<br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">

 <li><h4>@user</h4></li>
 <h5>Without equivalent, this key is unique to 66 tools.</h5>
 <p>Declare the permissions of the service.</p>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : yes (!)</p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : bracket</p>
 <p><tt>valid values</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>Any valid user of the system. If you don't 
	know in advance the name of the user who will deal with the service, 
	you can use the term '<tt>user</tt>'. In that case every user of the
	system will be able to deal with the service.
	<br>(!) Be aware that <em>root is not automatically added</em>. 
	If you don't declare <tt>root</tt> in this field, you will <em>not be able
	to use the service even with root privileges.</em></li>
  </ul>
 
 <br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">

 <li><h4>@depends</h4></li>
 <h5>Corresponds to the file "<em>dependencies</em>" of s6-rc programs.</h5>
 <p>Declare dependencies of the service.</p>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no&#8212;this field has no effect if the 
 type of the service is "classic"</em>.</p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : bracket</p>
 <p><tt>valid values</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>The <em>name</em> of any valid service with type 
	<tt>bundle</tt>, <tt>longrun</tt> or <tt>oneshot</tt>. Services of type <tt>classic</tt>
	are not allowed.
	<br>The <em>order is of importance</em> (!). If fooA depends on fooB and fooB
	depends on fooC the order needs to be: 
	<pre>@depends=(fooA fooB fooC)</pre>
	It is unnecessary to manually define chained sets of dependencies.
	The parser will properly handle this for you. For example,
	if fooA depends on fooB&#8212;no matter the underlying implementation of fooB,
	and although the current implementation of fooB depends on fooC&#8212;you should 
	just put fooB in the <tt>@depends</tt> key field of fooA. When starting the set,
	66-enable will parse and enable fooA, fooB and fooC and 66-start will start 
	fooC first, then fooB, then fooA.
	If the underlying implementation of fooB changes at any moment and does not depend on fooC anymore,
	you will just have to modify the <tt>@depends</tt> field for fooB.
	Beware though that if fooA depends on fooC, you need to add both fooB and fooC
	to the dependencies of fooA.
   </li>
   
 </ul>
 
 <br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">

 <li><h4>@contents</h4></li>
 <h5>Corresponds to the file "<em>contents</em>" of s6-rc programs.</h5>
 <p>Declare the contents of a bundle service.</p>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : yes (!)&#8212;for services of type <tt>bundle</tt>.
 <em>Optional</em> for services of type <tt>oneshot</tt> or <tt>longrun</tt>.
 No effect at all for services of type <tt>classic</tt>.</p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : bracket</p>
 <p><tt>valid values</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>The name of any valid service of type <tt>bundle</tt>, <tt>longrun</tt> or <tt>oneshot</tt>. Services of type <tt>classic</tt>
	are not allowed.
   </li>
  </ul>
 
 <br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">

 <li><h4>@options</h4></li>
 <h5>Without equivalent, this key is unique to 66 tools.</h5>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no
 </p><p><tt>syntax</tt> : bracket</p>
 <p><tt>valid values</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li><tt>log</tt> : automatically create a logger for the service.
   The behavior of the logger can be adjusted in the corresponding 
   section&#8212;see <a href="#logger">[logger]</a>.</li>
   <li><tt>env</tt> : enable the use of the <tt>[environment]</tt>
   section for the service&#8212;see <a href="#environment">[environment]</a>.</li>
   <li><tt>pipeline</tt> : automatically create a pipeline between
   the service and the logger. For more information read 
   <a href="https://skarnet.org/software/s6-rc/s6-rc-compile.html">the s6-rc documentation</a>.</li>
    </ul>
 <p><em><strong>Note:</strong></em> The <em>funnel</em> feature of pipelining is not implemented yet.</p>
  
<br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">

 <li><h4>@flags</h4></li>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no
 </p><p><tt>syntax</tt> : bracket</p>
 <p><tt>valid values</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li><tt>nosetsid</tt> : 
   <h5>Corresponds to the file "<em>nosetsid</em>" of s6-rc and s6 programs</h5>
   <p>This will create the file <tt>nosetsid</tt></p>
   <p>Once this file was created the service will be run in the same process group
   as the supervisor of the service <a href="https://skarnet.org/software/s6/s6-supervise.html">(s6-supervise)</a>. 
   Without this file the service will have its own process group and is started as a session leader.</p>
   </li><li><tt>down</tt> :
   <h5>Corresponds to the file "<em>down</em>" of s6-rc and s6 programs.</h5>
   This will create the file <tt>down</tt><br><br>
   Once this file was created the default state of the service will be considered <em>down</em>,
   not <em>up</em>: the service will not automatically be started until it receives a
   <tt>66-start</tt> command. Without this file the default state of the service will be <em>up</em> and started automatically.
   </li>
  </ul>
 
<br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">

 <li><h4>@notify</h4></li>
 <h5>Corresponds to the file "<em>notification-fd</em>" of s6-rc programs.</h5>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no
 </p><p><tt>syntax</tt> : uint</p>
 <p><tt>valid values</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>Any valid number.
   <p>This will create the file <tt>notification-fd</tt>. 
    Once this file was created the service supports
	<a href="https://skarnet.org/software/s6/notifywhenup.html">readiness
	notification</a>. The <em>value</em> equals <em>the number of the file descriptor
	that the service writes its readiness notification to.</em> (For instance,
	it should be 1 if the daemon is <a href="https://skarnet.org/software/s6/s6-ipcserverd.html">s6-ipcserverd</a> 
	run with the -1 option.) When the service is started or restarted and
	this file is present and contains a valid descriptor number, <tt>66-start</tt>
	will wait for the notification from the service and broadcast readiness,
	i.e. any <a href="66-svctl.html">66-svctl -U</a> process will be triggered.
   </li>
  </ul>
 
<br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">

 <li><h4>@timeout-finish</h4></li>
 <h5>Corresponds to the file "<em>timeout-finish</em>" of s6-rc and s6 programs.</h5>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no
 </p><p><tt>syntax</tt> : uint</p>
 <p><tt>valid values</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>Any valid number.
   <p>This will create the file <tt>timeout-finish</tt>. 
   Once this file was created the <em>value</em> will equal the number of milliseconds
   after which the <tt>./finish</tt> script&#8212;if it exists&#8212;will be killed with a 
   SIGKILL. The default is <tt>5000</tt>; finish scripts are killed if they're 
   still alive after 5 seconds. A value of <tt>0</tt> allows finish scripts to run forever.
   </li>
  </ul>
 
<br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">
 
 <li><h4>@timeout-kill</h4></li>
 <h5>Corresponds to the file "<em>timeout-kill</em>" of s6-rc and s6 programs.</h5>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no
 </p><p><tt>syntax</tt> : uint</p>
 <p><tt>valid values</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>Any valid number.
   <p>This will create the file <tt>timeout-kill</tt>. 
   Once this file was created and the <em>value</em> is not <tt>0</tt>, then on reception of a <tt><a href="66-stop.html">66-stop</a></tt>
   command&#8212;which sends a SIGTERM and a SIGCONT to the service&#8212;a timeout
   of <tt>value</tt> milliseconds is set. If the service is still not 
   dead after <tt>value</tt> milliseconds it will receive a SIGKILL. 
   If the file does not exist, or contains <tt>0</tt> or an invalid value, 
   then the service is never forcibly killed (unless, of course, a 
   <a href="https://skarnet.org/software/s6/s6-svc.html">s6-svc -k</a> command is sent).
   </li>
  </ul>
 
<br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">
 
 <li><h4>@timeout-up</h4></li>
 <h5>Corresponds to the file "<em>timeout-up</em>" of s6-rc programs.</h5>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no
 </p><p><tt>syntax</tt> : uint</p>
 <p><tt>valid value</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>Any valid number.
   <p>This will create the file <tt>timeout-up</tt>. 
   Once this file was created the <em>value</em> will equal the maximum 
   number of milliseconds that <tt><a href="66-start.html">66-start</a></tt> will wait
   for successful completion of the service start. If starting the service
   takes longer than this <em>value</em>, <tt>66-start</tt> will declare the transition
   a failure. If the <em>value</em> is <tt>0</tt>, no timeout
   is defined and <tt>66-start</tt> will wait for the service to start
   until the <tt>maxdeath</tt> is reached. Without this file a <em>value</em> of <tt>3000</tt> (3 seconds) will be
   taken by default.
   </li>
  </ul>
 
<br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">
 
 <li><h4>@timeout-down</h4></li>
 <h5>Corresponds to the file "<em>timeout-down</em>" of s6-rc programs.</h5>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no
 </p><p><tt>syntax</tt> : uint</p>
 <p><tt>valid value</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>Any valid number.
   <p>This will create the file <tt>timeout-down</tt>. 
   Once this file was created the <em>value</em> will equal the maximum 
   number of milliseconds <tt><a href="66-stop.html">66-stop</a></tt> will wait
   for successful completion of the service stop. If starting the service
   takes longer than this <em>value</em>, <tt>66-stop</tt> will declare the transition
   a failure. If the <em>value</em> is <tt>0</tt>, no timeout
   is defined and <tt>66-stop</tt> will wait for the service to start
   until the <tt>maxdeath</tt> is reached. Without this file a <em>value</em> of <tt>3000</tt> (3 seconds) will be
   taken by default.
   </li>
  </ul>
 
<br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">

 <li><h4>@maxdeath</h4></li>
 <h5>Corresponds to the file "<em>max-death-tally</em>" of s6-rc and s6 programs.</h5>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no
 </p><p><tt>syntax</tt> : uint</p>
 <p><tt>valid value</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>Any valid number.
   <p>This will create the file <tt>max-death-tally</tt>. 
   Once this file was created the <em>value</em> will equal the maximum 
   number of service death events that the supervisor will keep track of. If
   the service dies more than this number of times, the oldest event will
   be forgotten and the transition (<tt>66-start</tt> or <tt>66-stop</tt>) will 
   be declared as failed. Tracking death events is useful, 
   for example, when throttling service restarts. The <em>value</em>
   cannot be greater than <tt>4096</tt>. Without this file a default of <tt>3</tt> 
   is used.</p>
   </li>
  </ul>


<br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">

 <li><h4>@down-signal</h4></li>
 <h5>Corresponds to the file "<em>down-signal</em>" of s6-rc and s6 programs.</h5>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no
 </p><p><tt>syntax</tt> : uint</p>
 <p><tt>valid value</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>The name or number of a signal.
   <p>This will create the file <tt>down-signal</tt> which is 
   used to kill the supervised process when a <tt><a href="66-start.html">66-start -r</a></tt> or
   <tt><a href="66-stop.html">66-stop</a></tt> command is used.
   If the file does not exist SIGTERM will be used by default. </p>
   </li>
  </ul>

<br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">
  
  <li><h4>@hiercopy</h4></li>
 <h5>Without equivalent, this key is unique to 66 tools.</h5>
 <p>Copy subdirectories and files on the fly to the main service destination.</p>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no </p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : bracket</p>
 <p><tt>valid values</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <!-- Is the following correct by your definition? (I tried to make it easier to understand but am only 90% sure if I understood it well to begin with) -->
   <li>Any file or subdirectory in the services main directory that do not by default form part of the service itself. If the frontend service file was to be found at /etc/66/service/foo/foo and /etc/66/service/foo contains an additional subdirectory "data" and a file named "scripts", use
   <pre>@hiercopy=(data scripts)</pre>
   to copy these to the service directory destination.</li>
   <!-- I think there should be an anchor here to the definition of "service directory destionation" -->
   <!-- What if the frontend file was at /etc/66/service/foo instead? Will it behave the same? -->
   <!-- Is the copy recursive? Meaning that ../service/foo/data/sub/sub will also get copied? -->


   </ul>
</ul>

<br><hr>

<h2 id="start">Section: [start]</h2>

<p>This section is <em>mandatory</em>. (!)</p>

<h3>Valid <em>key</em> names:</h3>

<ul>
	
 <li><h4>@build</h4></li>
 <h5>Without equivalent, this key is unique to 66 tools.</h5>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : yes (!)</p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : inline</p>
 <p><tt>valid value</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li><tt>auto</tt> : creates the service script file
   as <a href="https://skarnet.org/software/execline/">execline</a> script.</li>
   <p>The corresponding file to start the service will automatically be written in 
   <a href="https://skarnet.org/software/execline/">execline</a> format with
   the <tt>@execute</tt> key <em>value</em>.</p>
   <li><tt>custom</tt> : creates the service script file
   in the language set in the <tt>@shebang</tt> key <em>value</em>.</li>
  <p>The corresponding file to start the service will be written 
   in the language set in the <tt>@shebang</tt> key <em>value</em>.</p>
   </li>
  </ul>
 
<br><hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">

 <li><h4>@runas</h4></li>
 <h5>Without equivalent, this key is unique to 66 tools.</h5>
 
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no</p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : inline</p>
 <p><tt>valid value</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>Any valid user set on the system</li>
   <p>This will pass the privileges of the service to the given user before starting the 
   last command of the service.</p>
  </ul>
  <p><tt><strong>Note:</strong></tt> (!) The service needs to be first started 
  with root if you want to hand over priviliges to a user. Only root can pass on privileges. This field has
  <strong>no effect</strong> for other use cases.</p>
 
 <hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">
 
  <li><h4>@shebang</h4></li>
 <h5>Without equivalent, this key is unique to 66 tools.</h5>
 
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : yes (!)&#8212;if the <tt>@build</tt> key is set to <em>custom</em>.</p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : quotes, path</p>
 <p><tt>valid value</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>A valid path to an interpreter installed on your system.</li>
   <p>This will set the language that will be used to read and write the <tt>@execute</tt> key <em>value</em>.</p>
  </ul>
 
 <hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">
 
 <li><h4>@execute</h4></li>
 <h5>Corresponds to the file "<em>run</em>" for a <em>classic</em> or 
 <em>longrun</em> service and to the file "<em>up</em>" for
  a <em>oneshot</em> service.</h5>
 
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : yes (!)</p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : bracket</p>
 <p><tt>valid value</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>The command to execute when starting the service.</li>
   </ul>
  <p><tt><strong>Note:</strong></tt> The field will be used as is. No changes will be applied at all. It's the 
  responsability of the author to make sure that the content of this field is correct.</p>
 
</ul>

<br><hr>

<h2 id="stop">Section: [stop]</h2>

<p>This section is <em>optional</em>.</p>

<p>This section is exactly the same as <tt><a href="#start">[start]</a></tt> and shares the same keys. With the exception that 
it will only be considered when creating the file "<em>finish</em>" for a <em>classic</em> or <em>longrun</em> service
and when creating the file "<em>down</em>" for a <em>oneshot</em> service to create its content.</p>
<br><hr>

<h2 id="logger">Section: [logger]</h2>

<p>This section is <em>optional</em>.</p>
<p>The value <tt>log</tt> must be added to the
<tt>@options</tt> key in the <tt>[main]</tt> section for <tt>[logger]</tt> to have any effect.</p>
<p>This section extends the <tt>@build, @runas, @shebang</tt> and <tt>@execute</tt> 
key fields from <tt><a href="#start">[start]</a>/<a href="#stop">[stop]</a></tt> 
and the <tt>@timeout-finish</tt> and <tt>@timeout-kill</tt> key 
fields from <tt><a href="#main">[main]</a> </tt>. These are also valid keys 
for <tt>[logger]</tt> and behave the same way they do in the other sections 
but they can not be specified except for the <strong>mandatory</strong> key 
<tt>@build</tt>&#8212;see <a href="logex">example</a> below. 
In such case the default behaviour for those key are apply.</p>
<p>Furthermore there are some keys specific to the log.</p>

<!-- the logger is a service as any another service so the key @build,@runas, @timeout-finish as exactly the same behaviour. So yes by default
the run file for the logger will be written in execlineb script, the runas if it's set will be run s6-log with the given user  and so on... EXACTLY the
same behaviour. -->

<h3>Valid <em>key</em> names:</h3>

<ul>

 <li><h4>@build, @runas, @shebang, @execute &mdash; See <tt><a href="#start">[start]</a></tt></h4></li>
 <li><h4>@timeout-finish, @timeout-kill &mdash; See <tt><a href="#start">[main]</a></tt></h4></li>

 <hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">

 <li><h4>@destination</h4></li>
 <h5>Without equivalent, this key is unique to 66 tools.</h5>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no</p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : path</p>
 <p><tt>valid value</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>Any valid path on the system.</li>
   <p>The directory where to save the log file. This directory is automatically created.
   The current user of the process needs to have sufficient permissions on the destination directory 
   to be able to create it. The default directory is <tt>/var/log/66/servicename</tt> for <tt>root</tt> and
  <tt>$HOME/.66/log/servicename</tt> for any regular user. The default can also be changed at compile-time by 
  passing the <tt>--with-system-logpath=<em>DIR</em></tt> option 
  for root and <tt>--with-user-logpath=<em>DIR</em></tt> for a user to <tt>./configure.</tt></p>
  </ul>
  
  <hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">
  
  <li><h4>@backup</h4></li>
 <h5>Without equivalent, this key is unique to 66 tools.</h5>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no</p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : uint</p>
 <p><tt>valid value</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>Any valid number.</li>
  <p>The log directory will keep <em>value</em> files. 
  The next log to be saved will replace the oldest file present. By default 3 files are kept.</p>
  </ul>
  
  <hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">
   
  <li><h4>@maxsize</h4></li>
 <h5>Without equivalent, this key is unique to 66 tools.</h5>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no</p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : uint</p>
 <p><tt>valid value</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>Any valid number.</li>
  <p>A new log file will be created every time the current one approaches <em>value</em> 
  bytes. By default, filesize is <tt>1000000</tt>; it cannot be set lower than <tt>4096</tt>
  or higher than <tt>268435455</tt>.</p>
  </ul>
  
  <hr style="border: 1px dashed #000000">
  
  <li><h4>@timestamp</h4></li>
 <h5>Without equivalent, this key is unique to 66 tools.</h5>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no</p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : inline</p>
 <p><tt>valid value</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <li>tai
   	<p>The logged line will be preceded by a TAI64N timestamp 
	(and a space) before being processed by the next action directive.</p></li>
   <li>iso
	<p>The selected line will be preceded by a ISO 8601 timestamp for
	 combined date and time representing local time according to the 
	 systems timezone, with a space (not a 'T') between the date and 
	 the time and two spaces after the time, before being processed by 
	 the next action directive.</p></li>
  </ul>
  <p id="#logex">The following are two possible examples for the <tt>[logger]</tt> section definition.</p>
  <pre>    [logger]
    @build = auto
    @runas = user
    @timeout-finish = 10000

    @destination = /run/log
    @backup = 10
    @timestamp = iso</pre>
  <pre>    [logger]
    @build = auto
    @timestamp = iso</pre>
</ul>

<br><hr>

<h2 id="environment">Section: [environment]</h2>

<p>This section is <em>optional</em>.</p>
<p>It will only have an effect when the value <tt>env</tt> is added to the
<tt>@options</tt> key in the <tt>[main]</tt> section.</p>
<p>A file named <em>key</em> with the <em>value</em> as contain will be
created by default at %%service_admconf%%/name_of_service directory. The default can also be changed at compile-time by 
  passing the <tt>--with-sysadmin-service-conf=<em>DIR</em></tt> option to <tt>./configure</tt>.</p>

<h3>Valid <em>key</em> names:</h3>

<ul>
 <li><h4>Any <em>key=value</em> pair</h4></li>
 <h5>Without equivalent, this key is unique to 66 tools.</h5>
 <p><tt>mandatory</tt> : no</p>
 <p><tt>syntax</tt> : pair</p>
 <p><tt>valid value</tt> :</p>
  <ul>
   <p>You can define any variables that you want to add to the environment
   of the service. For example:</p>
<pre>
   [environment]
   dir_run=/run/openntpd
   cmd_args=-d -s
</pre>
   <p>The '!' character can be put in front
   of the <em>value</em> like this :</p>
<pre>
   [environment]
   dir_run=!/run/openntpd
   cmd_args=!-d -s
</pre>
   <p>This will explicitly <em>not</em> set the <em>value</em> 
   of the <em>key</em> for the runtime process but only at the start of the service. 
   In this example the <em>key=value</em> pair passed to the command line does not need
   to be present in the general environment variable of the service.</p> 
  </ul>
 </ul>
 <br><hr>

<h2>A word about the @execute key</h2>

<p>As described above the <tt>@execute</tt> key can be written
in any language as long as you define the key <tt>@build</tt> as <em>custom</em>
and the <tt>@shebang</tt> key to the language interpreter to use. For example 
if you want to write your <tt>@execute</tt> field with bash :
<pre>    @build = custom
    @shebang = "/usr/bin/bash"
    @execute = ( 
        echo "This script displays available services"
        for i in $(ls %%service_system%%); do
            echo "daemon : ${i} is available"
        done
    )
</pre>
This is an unnecessary example but it shows how to construct this use case. The parser will 
put your <tt>@shebang</tt> at the beginning of the script and copy the contents of the <tt>@execute</tt> field. So, the resulting file will be :
<pre>    #!/usr/bin/bash
    echo "This script displays available services"
    for i in $(ls %%service_system%%); do
        echo "daemon : ${i} is available"
    done</pre>
When using this sort of custom function <tt>@runas</tt> has <strong>no effect</strong>. You must define with care what you want to happen in a <em>custom</em>
case.</p>
<p>Furthermore when you set <tt>@build</tt> to <em>auto</em> the parser will take care about the 
redirection of the ouput of the service when the logger is activated. 
When setting <tt>@build</tt> to <em>custom</em> though the parser will 
not do this automatically. You need to explicitly tell it to:
<pre>    #!/usr/bin/bash
    exec 2>&1
    echo "This script redirects file descriptor 2 to the file descriptor 1"
    echo "Then the logger reads the file descriptor 1 and you have"
    echo "the error of the daemon written into the appropriate file"</pre>
</p>
<p>Moreover, for <em>oneshot</em> type the <tt>@shebang</tt> needs to 
contain the interpreter options as below:
<pre>    @build = custom
    @shebang = "/usr/bin/bash -c"
    @execute = ( echo "this is a oneshot service with a correct shebang definition" )</pre> </p>
<p>Finally you need to take care about how you define your environment variable
in the section <tt><a href="#environment">[environment]</a></tt>. When setting 
<tt>@build</tt> to <em>auto</em> the parser will also take care about 
the '!' character if you use it. This character will have <strong>no effect</strong> 
in the case of <em>custom</em>. 
</p>
<p>This same behavior applies to the <tt><a href="#logger">[logger]</a></tt> section.
The fields <tt>@destination, @backup, @maxsize</tt> and <tt>@timestamp</tt> will have <strong>no effect</strong>
in a <em>custom</em> case. You need to explicitly define the program to use the logger and the options
for it in your <tt>@execute</tt> field.</p>
</ul>

<br><hr>

<h2 id="instance">Instance service file creation</h2>
	<p>An <em>instance</em> service file is of the same syntax as 
	decribed in this document for any other service. It can be any <em>type</em> 
	of service. However some differences exist :
		<ul>
			<li>the name of the file needs to be appended with an '@' (commercial at) character.</li>
			<li>every value replaced in an instance file needs to be written with '@I'.</li>
		</ul>
   <p>Example :</p>
	<pre>    File name : tty@
   
    Contents :
    
    [main]
    @type = classic
    @description = "Launch @I"
    @user = ( root )
    
    [start]
    @build = auto
    @execute = ( agetty -J 38400 @I } )
	</pre>
	<p>By using <tt><a href="66-enable.html">66-enable tty@tty1</a></tt>, the resulting file will then be: </p>
	<pre>    [main]
    @type = classic
    @description = "Launch tty1"
    @user = ( root )
    
    [start]
    @build = auto
    @execute = ( agetty -J 38400 tty1 } )</pre>
	</p>
<br><hr>
<h2 id="proto">Prototype of a frontend file</h2>
<p>This prototype contain all valid <em>section</em> with all valid <em>key=value</em> pair.</p>
<pre>
    [main]
    @type = classic,bundle,longrun,oneshot
    @name = 
    @description = ""
    @depends = ()
    @contents = ()
    @options = ( log env pipeline )
    @flags = ( down nosetsid )
    @notify = 
    @user = ()
    @timeout-finish =
    @timeout-kill =
    @timeout-up =
    @timeout-down =
    @maxdeath = 
    @down-signal =
    @hiercopy = ()
    
    [start]
    @build = auto,custom
    @runas = 
    @shebang = "/path"
    @execute = ()
    
    [stop]
    @build = auto,custom
    @runas = 
    @shebang = "/path"
    @execute = ()
    
    [logger]
    @build = auto,custom
    @runas = 
    @shebang = "/path"
    @destination = /path
    @backup = 
    @maxsize = 
    @timestamp = 
    @timeout-finish = 
    @timeout-kill =
    @execute = ()
    
    [environment]
    MYKEY=myvalue
    ANOTHERKEY=!antohervalue
    </pre>
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