One-shot Tasks

run (sequence)

Syntax: run NAME { command = "/path/to/cmd ARGS" }

Conditions, runlevels, and the other settings a run block takes are described in Service Options.

One-shot command to run in sequence when entering a runlevel, with optional arguments and description. run commands are guaranteed to be completed before running the next command. Useful when serialization is required.

Warning

Try to avoid the run command. It blocks much of the functionality in Finit, like (re)starting other (perhaps crashing) services while a run task is executing. Use other synchronization mechanisms instead, like conditions.

Incomplete list of unsupported initctl commands in run tasks:

• initctl runlevel N, setting runlevel
• initctl reboot
• initctl halt
• initctl poweroff
• initctl suspend

To prevent initctl from calling Finit when enabling and disabling services from inside a run task, use the --force option. See also the --quiet and --batch options.

task (parallel)

Syntax: task NAME { command = "/path/to/cmd ARGS" }

A task block takes the same settings as run, see Service Options.

One-shot like 'run', but starts in parallel with the next command.

Both run and task commands are run in a shell, so basic pipes and redirects can be used:

task bar {
    runlevel = "S"
    command  = "echo \"foo\" | cat >/tmp/bar"
}

Please note, ;, &&, ||, and similar are not supported. Any non-trivial constructs are better placed in a separate shell script.

remain-after-exit

By default, a run or task will re-run each time its runlevel is entered, and its exec-stop-post script does not run on completion.

With remain-after-exit, the task runs once and does not re-run on runlevel re-entry:

task firewall {
    description       = "Firewall setup"
    runlevel          = "2345"
    remain-after-exit = true
    command           = "/usr/sbin/setup-firewall"
}

This has the following effects:

• The task does not re-run on runlevel re-entry
• The exec-stop-post script runs when:
  • The task is explicitly stopped (initctl stop NAME)
  • The task leaves its valid runlevels (e.g., runlevel change)

This is useful for tasks that set up persistent state where:

• Cleanup should only happen on explicit stop or when leaving valid runlevels
• The setup should not be re-run on every runlevel entry

Example: Setting up firewall rules with cleanup on shutdown:

task firewall {
    description       = "Firewall setup"
    runlevel          = "2345"
    remain-after-exit = true
    exec-stop-post    = "/usr/sbin/teardown-firewall"
    command           = "/usr/sbin/setup-firewall"
}

The firewall rules are created once. The exec-stop-post script runs when entering runlevel 0 (halt) or 6 (reboot), or on explicit stop.

Note

The remain-after-exit setting is not supported for bootstrap-only tasks (tasks with only runlevel S). Bootstrap tasks are deleted immediately after completion, and their exec-stop-post scripts never run. A warning is logged if remain-after-exit is used on such tasks.