runlevel

RUNLEVEL(8)                        runlevel                        RUNLEVEL(8)

NAME
       runlevel - Print previous and current SysV runlevel

SYNOPSIS
       runlevel [options...]

OVERVIEW
       "Runlevels" are an obsolete way to start and stop groups of services
       used in SysV init. systemd provides a compatibility layer that maps
       runlevels to targets, and associated binaries like runlevel.
       Nevertheless, only one runlevel can be "active" at a given time, while
       systemd can activate multiple targets concurrently, so the mapping to
       runlevels is confusing and only approximate. Runlevels should not be
       used in new code, and are mostly useful as a shorthand way to refer the
       matching systemd targets in kernel boot parameters.

       Table 1. Mapping between runlevels and systemd targets
       +---------+-------------------+
       |Runlevel | Target            |
       +---------+-------------------+
       |0        | poweroff.target   |
       +---------+-------------------+
       |1        | rescue.target     |
       +---------+-------------------+
       |2, 3, 4  | multi-user.target |
       +---------+-------------------+
       |5        | graphical.target  |
       +---------+-------------------+
       |6        | reboot.target     |
       +---------+-------------------+

DESCRIPTION
       runlevel prints the previous and current SysV runlevel if they are
       known.

       The two runlevel characters are separated by a single space character.
       If a runlevel cannot be determined, N is printed instead. If neither
       can be determined, the word "unknown" is printed.

       Unless overridden in the environment, this will check the utmp database
       for recent runlevel changes.

OPTIONS
       The following option is understood:

       --help
           Print a short help text and exit.

EXIT STATUS
       If one or both runlevels could be determined, 0 is returned, a non-zero
       failure code otherwise.

ENVIRONMENT
       $RUNLEVEL
           If $RUNLEVEL is set, runlevel will print this value as current
           runlevel and ignore utmp.

       $PREVLEVEL
           If $PREVLEVEL is set, runlevel will print this value as previous
           runlevel and ignore utmp.

FILES
       /run/utmp
           The utmp database runlevel reads the previous and current runlevel
           from.

SEE ALSO
       systemd(1), systemd.target(5), systemctl(1)

systemd 245                                                        RUNLEVEL(8)