systemctl-reload

Reload service configuration without restart

TLDR

Reload a service's configuration

$ systemctl reload nginx

Reload multiple services

$ systemctl reload [unit1] [unit2]

Reload a service for the current user

$ systemctl reload pipewire --user

SYNOPSIS

systemctl [OPTIONS...] reload PATTERN...

systemctl reload asks the service to reload its configuration files without stopping. This reloads the service application's own configuration (like nginx.conf or apache's httpd.conf), not the systemd unit file.The service must support reload operations (typically via SIGHUP signal). If the service doesn't support reload, the command will fail. For services that don't support reload, use systemctl restart instead.

PARAMETERS

--user

Reload user service manager units instead of system units

--no-block

Do not wait for the operation to complete

INSTALL

sudo apt install systemd

sudo dnf install systemd

sudo pacman -S systemd

sudo zypper install systemd

brew install systemd

nix profile install nixpkgs#systemd

CAVEATS

Not all services support reload; check the service documentation. This reloads the service's configuration, not the systemd unit file. To reload unit files, use systemctl daemon-reload. If reload fails, the service continues running with old configuration.