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this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2026
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I generally like some things that syatemd gives, but is there an easier way to create timed automations with systemd timers?
with cron, its just a single line with the recurrence pattern and the command. with systemd, you have to create a timer unit file with several lines, a service unit file with several lines, put them in the right directory, reload systemd, enable the timer. timers are not difficult, but much more convoluted than the crontab. if you have to make multiple pairs, or update something in them, it gets old fast.
here's a single line for you which creates a one-shot service+timer in one go, suspending the system in 4 hours:
If you want it to run repeatedly, simply replace
--on-activewith--on-calendar="*-*-* 04:00:00"for example.thank you. this creates it, but is there a way to view or edit its current configuration in a similar format? and this is not persisted, is it?
If you inspect the generated timer you see the same format in the OnCalendar line.
What do you mean by persisted? The service and timer will both be there as long as the timer doesn't end. Which it won't in my example.
If you want to copy it for later reference, you can simply copy the files.
but without the command
I mean saved to a file so that it will still be there after reboot
Yeah, but that's an easy one to parse, if you really need it.
I'm pretty sure if you use OnCalendar it will still be there after a reboot. Let me check.