List Services

All possible services are in:

1ls /etc/sv

The computer only uses those in /var/service, so symbolic links are made to start and stop services.

1ls /var/service

Start Services

Enable the sshd service, so that ssh will work every time you boot up:

1sudo ln -s /etc/sv/sshd /var/service

Then start the service:

1sudo sv start sshd

Stop Services

Stop mpd with:

1sudo sv stop mpd

And stop it automatically loading at startup with:

1sudo rm /var/service/mpd

You can also just make a file called 'down':

1sudo touch /var/service/mpd/down

This means you can start and stop the service without making symbolic links, but mpd will be 'down' when the computer starts.

Making a Service

Look in the /etc/sv directory, then in the existing services' 'run' files. You'll find a simple dash script (therefore Posix compliant).

You can write your own, just stick in the shebang #!/bin/sh.

If unsure, use #!/bin/bash as the first line. When Void Linux says sh, it means dash shell, not bash.

Confirm the shell you'll use:

1ls -l $(which sh)