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Linux systemd delta Guide

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Mattscreative edited this page Dec 5, 2025 · 2 revisions

Linux systemd-delta Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to systemd-delta on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including configuration file overrides, systemd file management, and configuration analysis.

Table of Contents

  1. Understanding systemd-delta
  2. systemd-delta Basics
  3. Configuration Overrides
  4. File Analysis
  5. Troubleshooting

Understanding systemd-delta

What is systemd-delta?

systemd-delta shows overridden configuration files.

Uses:

  • Find overrides: Find configuration overrides
  • Configuration analysis: Analyze configuration
  • File management: Manage config files
  • System understanding: Understand system config

Why it matters:

  • Configuration tracking: Track config changes
  • Override detection: Find overridden files
  • System management: Manage system configuration

systemd-delta Basics

Show Overrides

Basic usage:

# Show all overrides
systemd-delta

# Shows overridden configuration files

Override Types

Types shown:

# Shows:
# - Masked files
# - Redirected files
# - Extended files
# - Overridden files

Configuration Overrides

Masked Files

Masked units:

# Find masked files
systemd-delta | grep masked

# Shows masked unit files

Extended Files

Extended configs:

# Find extended files
systemd-delta | grep extended

# Shows extended configuration files

File Analysis

Specific Type

Filter by type:

# Show only overridden
systemd-delta --type=overridden

# Shows only overridden files

Verbose Output

Detailed info:

# Verbose output
systemd-delta --diff=yes

# Shows diff of changes

Troubleshooting

systemd-delta Not Found

Check systemd:

# systemd-delta is part of systemd
# Usually pre-installed on systemd systems

# Check systemd
systemctl --version

Summary

This guide covered systemd-delta usage, configuration analysis, and override detection for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions.

Next Steps

This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.

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