A new tool from the MX Linux team: “MX Service Manager”, simplifies service management, allowing users to streamline boot-time services and take full control of their Linux system.
If you enjoy the simplicity and stability of the popular lightweight systemd-free distribution MX Linux, then a piece of exciting news for you.
MX Linux team has just announced a new addition to its toolkit – the MX Service Manager. This new mx-tool promises to make managing services and daemons on your Linux system like a cakewalk, giving you more control over what starts at boot time.
Table of Contents
Daemons & Services
First things first, let’s clarify some terminology. In the Linux world, a service is a program that responds to user commands through a graphical interface or the command line. Services are essential for a smooth user experience and the functioning of other programs.
On the other hand, a daemon is a utility program that operates quietly in the background, serving a specific purpose. It’s like the unsung hero of your system, supervising critical components or providing essential functionality to other processes.
MX Service Manager
When it comes to managing services and daemons, you need to tread carefully. Especially if you are a new user. The MX Service Manager gives you a friendly “warning” at the top of the window about the potential to render your system partially or completely inoperable if misused.
Here’s how the tool looks:
Layout and features
You’ll notice a straightforward and intuitive layout once you’ve launched the MX Service Manager. The main screen is divided into two columns, keeping things organized and easy to navigate.
On the left, you’ll find a list of services and daemons present on your system. They’re colour-coded, helping you identify what’s currently running and what’s set to start at boot time. Right below the list, you’ll see two informative summary lines.
At the top left corner of this column, you’ll spot two handy controls:
- List Filter: This allows you to filter the displayed services and daemons based on your needs. Choose from options like “All services” (the default), “Running services,” “Services enabled at boot,” or “Services disabled at boot.”
- Search Box: Need to find a specific service quickly? This search box can come to your rescue. However, keep in mind that it searches service names only. So, if you want to disable a service like Samba, which relies on key daemons like
smbdandnmbd, the search box might not catch them.
The right pane is where you’ll find detailed information about the selected service or daemon. This information is directly sourced from the item’s sysVinit file or, if systemd is enabled, from the output of the “systemctl service status” command.
Putting MX Service Manager into Action
Now, let’s talk about how you can put MX Service Manager to work effectively. Below the information window in the right column, you’ll find two action buttons:
- Left Button: This button changes the state of the selected service or daemon. If the item is currently running, the button will read “Stop,” and if it’s not running, it will read “Start.”
- Right Button: This button allows you to change the boot status of the item to “Disable at boot.”
Using MX Service Manager is as simple as highlighting the service or daemon you want to manage and clicking the appropriate button(s). Watch for pop-up messages confirming that your changes have been successfully implemented.
Closing Notes
To sum up, the latest MX Service Manager from MX Linux aims to make service and daemon management easier for MX Linux users. Its interface is user-friendly and its tools are powerful, which makes it a necessary addition for those who want to optimize their Linux system.
This tool is yet to arrive in the MX Linux repo in your installation as of publishing. If you want to install it right now, you can do so using the below command:
sudo apt install mx-service-manager
Via MX Linux Blog, source
