From Fedora Project Wiki

(bold CTRL+ALT+F9)
(debug-shell is now packaged in systemd)
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In case of boot-time problems with systemd, it is useful to have a root shell available for debugging.
In case of boot-time problems with systemd, it is useful to have a root shell available for debugging.


* Save the following unit as '''/etc/systemd/system/debug-shell.service'''
{{admon/warning|This debug shell requires no authetnication and provides root privileges to anyone who has physical access to the machine. Turn in it on only as needed and disable afterwards.}}
<pre>
[Unit]
Description=early root shell on tty9 for debugging
DefaultDependencies=no
IgnoreOnIsolate=yes


[Service]
* Enable using <code>systemctl enable debug-shell</code>
Environment=TERM=linux
# /bin/bash could be used, but sushell ensures the correct SELinux context
ExecStart=/sbin/sushell
Restart=always
RestartSec=0
StandardInput=tty
TTYPath=/dev/tty9
TTYReset=yes
TTYVHangup=yes
KillMode=process
IgnoreSIGPIPE=no
# bash ignores SIGTERM
KillSignal=SIGHUP
 
# Unset locale for the console getty since the console has problems
# displaying some internationalized messages.
Environment=LANG= LANGUAGE= LC_CTYPE= LC_NUMERIC= LC_TIME= LC_COLLATE= LC_MONETARY= LC_MESSAGES= LC_PAPER= LC_NAME= LC_ADDRESS= LC_TELEPHONE= LC_MEASUREMENT= LC_IDENTIFICATION=
 
[Install]
WantedBy=sysinit.target
</pre>
 
* Enable it using <code>systemctl enable debug-shell.service</code>
{{admon/tip|Manual enabling|If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot use systemctl (e.g. when setting this up from a different booted system), you can enable the service manually:
{{admon/tip|Manual enabling|If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot use systemctl (e.g. when setting this up from a different booted system), you can enable the service manually:
<pre>cd $PATH_TO_FEDORA_ROOT/etc/systemd/system
<pre>cd $PATH_TO_FEDORA_ROOT/etc/systemd/system
mkdir sysinit.target.wants
mkdir sysinit.target.wants
ln -s ../debug-shell.service sysinit.target.wants/</pre>}}
ln -s /usr/lib/systemd/system/debug-shell.service sysinit.target.wants/</pre>}}
* Next time when booting, you will be able to switch to tty9 using '''CTRL+ALT+F9''' and have a root shell there available from an early point in the booting process.
* Next time when booting, you will be able to switch to tty9 using '''CTRL+ALT+F9''' and have a root shell there available from an early point in the booting process.
You can use the shell for checking the status of services, reading logs, looking for stuck jobs with <code>systemctl list-jobs</code>, etc.
You can use the shell for checking the status of services, reading logs, looking for stuck jobs with <code>systemctl list-jobs</code>, etc.
* When done, disable with <code>systemctl disable debug-shell</code>.


{{admon/warning|Use this shell only for debugging!|Do not forget to disable debug-shell.service after you've finished debugging your boot problems. Leaving the root shell always available would be a security risk.}}
{{admon/warning|Use this shell only for debugging!|Do not forget to disable debug-shell.service after you've finished debugging your boot problems. Leaving the root shell always available would be a security risk.}}

Revision as of 22:45, 10 January 2016

Setting up an early debug shell

In case of boot-time problems with systemd, it is useful to have a root shell available for debugging.

Warning.png
This debug shell requires no authetnication and provides root privileges to anyone who has physical access to the machine. Turn in it on only as needed and disable afterwards.
  • Enable using systemctl enable debug-shell
Idea.png
Manual enabling
If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot use systemctl (e.g. when setting this up from a different booted system), you can enable the service manually:
cd $PATH_TO_FEDORA_ROOT/etc/systemd/system
mkdir sysinit.target.wants
ln -s /usr/lib/systemd/system/debug-shell.service sysinit.target.wants/
  • Next time when booting, you will be able to switch to tty9 using CTRL+ALT+F9 and have a root shell there available from an early point in the booting process.

You can use the shell for checking the status of services, reading logs, looking for stuck jobs with systemctl list-jobs, etc.

  • When done, disable with systemctl disable debug-shell.
Warning.png
Use this shell only for debugging!
Do not forget to disable debug-shell.service after you've finished debugging your boot problems. Leaving the root shell always available would be a security risk.