Set up rc.local from scratch

If you wish to run a command at system startup, adding these commands to /etc/rc.local is a good option.

However, you may experience that the file does not exist, so let’s set it up. (If the file exists but it is not working, these steps can also be followed for troubleshooting).

1. Creating rc.local

Type the following to create rc.local.

sudo nano /etc/rc.local

1.1 Contents of rc.local

Insert the contents below into the file.

#!/bin/sh

# Insert your commands below

Close nano and save the file.

1.2 Setting permissions

Make sure the script is executable.

sudo chmod +x /etc/rc.local

To enable the rc.local service to run at boot, you also need to create a system service unit for it. Create a file for the service unit:

2. Create a service for rc.local

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/rc-local.service

2.1 Contents for rc-local.service

Add the following contents to the file you just created:

[Unit]
Description=/etc/rc.local Compatibility

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/etc/rc.local
TimeoutSec=0
StandardOutput=tty
RemainAfterExit=yes

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save the file and exit the text editor.

2.2 Handling the service

2.2.1 Reload daemons

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

2.2.2 Enable new daemon

sudo systemctl enable rc-local.service

2.2.3 Start the enabled daemon

sudo systemctl start rc-local.service

2.2.4 Check status of the started daemon

sudo systemctl status rc-local.service