How to Create Custom Startup and Shutdown Scripts in Debian Linux


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Modern Debian systems use systemd as their init system, though some legacy systems might still use SysVinit. We'll cover both approaches to ensure compatibility.

For Debian 8 and newer versions, systemd provides a robust way to manage services:

# Create a service unit file
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/myservice.service

Sample service file content:

[Unit]
Description=My Custom Service
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/path/to/startup.sh
ExecStop=/path/to/shutdown.sh
Restart=on-failure
User=myuser

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable myservice.service
sudo systemctl start myservice.service

For older Debian systems, use the traditional init.d method:

sudo cp startup.sh /etc/init.d/myservice
sudo chmod +x /etc/init.d/myservice
sudo update-rc.d myservice defaults

For shutdown scripts, create a symlink in the appropriate runlevel:

sudo ln -s /etc/init.d/myservice /etc/rc0.d/K01myservice
sudo ln -s /etc/init.d/myservice /etc/rc6.d/K01myservice

Your scripts should:

  • Include proper shebang (#!/bin/bash)
  • Implement status return codes (0 for success, others for errors)
  • Include logging functionality
  • Handle SIGTERM properly for graceful shutdowns
#!/bin/bash

# Logging setup
LOG_FILE=/var/log/myservice.log
exec > >(tee -a "$LOG_FILE")
exec 2>&1

echo "$(date) - Starting My Service"

# Your startup commands here
/path/to/your/server --daemon

exit 0

#!/bin/bash

# Logging setup
LOG_FILE=/var/log/myservice.log
exec > >(tee -a "$LOG_FILE")
exec 2>&1

echo "$(date) - Stopping My Service"

# Graceful shutdown procedure
if [ -f /var/run/myservice.pid ]; then
    kill -TERM $(cat /var/run/myservice.pid)
    rm -f /var/run/myservice.pid
fi

exit 0

Check service status:

systemctl status myservice  # For systemd
service myservice status    # For SysVinit

View logs:

journalctl -u myservice -b  # For systemd
tail -f /var/log/myservice.log  # For both methods

Debian traditionally used System V init system, but modern versions may use systemd. We'll cover both approaches to ensure compatibility.

For legacy systems or when you need maximum compatibility:


# Create your startup script
sudo nano /etc/init.d/myserver

#!/bin/bash
### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides:          myserver
# Required-Start:    $remote_fs $syslog
# Required-Stop:     $remote_fs $syslog
# Default-Start:     2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop:      0 1 6
# Short-Description: My Server Application
# Description:       Custom server application startup/shutdown script
### END INIT INFO

case "$1" in
  start)
    echo "Starting myserver"
    /path/to/startup.sh
    ;;
  stop)
    echo "Stopping myserver"
    /path/to/shutdown.sh
    ;;
  *)
    echo "Usage: /etc/init.d/myserver start|stop"
    exit 1
    ;;
esac

exit 0

Make it executable and register:


sudo chmod +x /etc/init.d/myserver
sudo update-rc.d myserver defaults

For systems using systemd (Debian 8+):


# Create service file
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/myserver.service

[Unit]
Description=My Server Application
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/path/to/startup.sh
ExecStop=/path/to/shutdown.sh
Type=oneshot
RemainAfterExit=yes

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start the service:


sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable myserver.service
sudo systemctl start myserver.service

To check if your script is working:


# For System V
sudo service myserver status

# For systemd
sudo systemctl status myserver.service

# View boot logs
journalctl -b
  • Always test scripts manually before adding to startup
  • Include proper error handling in your scripts
  • Consider using absolute paths in your scripts
  • Document any dependencies your scripts require

For simple cases, you can also use:


# Adding to rc.local (not recommended for production)
sudo nano /etc/rc.local
/path/to/startup.sh &
exit 0

Or using cron:


@reboot /path/to/startup.sh