Automate Linux Service Startup: rc.local, Crontab @reboot, and Systemd

Introduction

When a server loses power and restarts, manually launching many services can be tedious; configuring automatic startup scripts ensures critical processes resume without intervention.

Method 1: Using /etc/rc.local

cat /etc/rc.local
bash /root/script/restart.sh

Placing the script call in /etc/rc.local works but is considered less elegant.

Method 2: Using Crontab @reboot

crontab -e

@reboot /root/script/restart.sh

The @reboot directive runs the specified command each time the host boots.

Run the script after a delay (e.g., 5 minutes):

# Run script 5 minutes after boot
@reboot sleep 300 && /home/wwwjobs/clean-static-cache.sh

Method 3: Using a Systemd Service

# /lib/systemd/system/restart.service
[Unit]
Description=restart
After=default.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/root/script/restart.sh

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable restart.service

After enabling, the service executes the script automatically on each boot.

Reference Documents

https://www.google.com

https://tinyurl.com/6ryafefw

https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/linux-execute-cron-job-after-system-reboot/