When working with user-level services in Debian Stretch, encountering the error Process org.freedesktop.systemd1 exited with status 1 while running systemctl --user commands indicates a broken communication channel between the user instance and systemd manager. Despite services running normally, the control interface fails.

First confirm the user manager service is actually running:

ps aux | grep user@1000.service
journalctl --user-unit=user@1000.service -b

Check for common permission issues:

ls -la /run/user/$(id -u)/systemd/
stat /run/user/$(id -u)/bus

The root cause typically lies in DBus communication. Verify the session bus:

dbus-send --session --dest=org.freedesktop.DBus \
--type=method_call --print-reply /org/freedesktop/DBus \
org.freedesktop.DBus.ListNames

If this fails, check environment variables:

echo $DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS
env | grep -E 'DBUS|XDG'

Enable verbose logging for systemd user instance:

SYSTEMD_LOG_LEVEL=debug systemd --user
journalctl --user -f

Inspect socket activation:

systemctl --user list-sockets
lsof -Ua -p $(systemctl --user show --property=MainPID --value)

When standard fixes fail, try recreating the user session:

loginctl terminate-user $USER
# Then relogin

For persistent issues, manual DBUS socket recreation may help:

systemctl --user stop dbus.socket dbus.service
rm /run/user/$(id -u)/bus
systemctl --user start dbus.socket

Check for corruped state files:

systemd-analyze --user verify
systemd-analyze --user dump

Inspect cgroups hierarchy:

systemd-cgls --user

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When attempting to manage user services on a Debian Stretch system, you encounter the following errors:

systemctl --user
Failed to list units: Process org.freedesktop.systemd1 exited with status 1

systemctl --user status  
Failed to read server status: Input/output error

Curiously, all user services (including user@1000.service) appear to be running normally despite the broken CLI interface.

Before deep diving, perform these quick checks:

# Verify user instance is actually running
ps aux | grep user@1000

# Check dbus activation
systemctl --user is-active dbus

# Examine journal for user services
journalctl --user -xe -n 50

When basic checks don't reveal the issue, try these advanced methods:

1. DBus Communication Check

# Verify dbus session bus address
echo $DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS

# Manual dbus-send test
dbus-send --session --dest=org.freedesktop.systemd1 \
  --type=method_call --print-reply \
  /org/freedesktop/systemd1 \
  org.freedesktop.DBus.Properties.Get \
  string:org.freedesktop.systemd1.Manager \
  string:Version

2. Systemd User Instance Logs

# Get detailed logs from user manager
SYSTEMD_LOG_LEVEL=debug systemd --user

# Alternative logging approach
sudo journalctl -b /usr/lib/systemd/systemd --user -f

3. Socket Activation Verification

# Check listening sockets
ss -xlp | grep systemd

# Verify socket units
systemctl --user list-sockets --all

From Debian bug trackers and Stack Overflow reports, frequent culprits include:

• Broken dbus-daemon session instance
• Corrupted systemd user runtime directory (~/.config/systemd/user)
• Missing XDG_RUNTIME_DIR environment variable
• Permission issues with /run/user/$UID

Try these solutions in order:

Solution 1: Reset User Instance

loginctl terminate-user $USER
# Then relogin

Solution 2: Rebuild Runtime Environment

rm -rf ~/.config/systemd/user
rm -rf /run/user/$(id -u)/systemd
systemctl --user daemon-reload

Solution 3: Manual DBus Restart

pkill -U $USER dbus-daemon
systemctl --user start dbus.socket dbus.service

To avoid recurrence:

• Add XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/$(id -u) to shell rc files
• Regularly clean stale units: systemctl --user reset-failed
• Consider creating a ~/.config/systemd/user.conf with debug settings

For persistent cases:

# Nuclear option (backup first):
sudo mv /var/lib/systemd/linger/$USER /tmp/
sudo deluser $USER systemd-journal
sudo deluser $USER systemd-bus-proxy