From e76c60bf2a2bfd4193accadb7d29e2ac8f659623 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Zbigniew=20J=C4=99drzejewski-Szmek?= Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2020 14:10:18 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] man: rework section about configuration file precedence This section is loaded in a bunch of places, so this affects many man pages. 1. point the reader to the synopsis section, which has the exact paths that are used to load files. 2. put the "reference" part first, and recommendations later, in separate paragraphs. 3. describe how individual settings and whole files are replaces. Closes #12791. --- man/standard-conf.xml | 78 ++++++++++++++++++++----------------------- 1 file changed, 37 insertions(+), 41 deletions(-) diff --git a/man/standard-conf.xml b/man/standard-conf.xml index 1db859ac2fe..a58c76d85fa 100644 --- a/man/standard-conf.xml +++ b/man/standard-conf.xml @@ -11,30 +11,31 @@ Configuration Directories and Precedence - Configuration files are read from directories in /etc/, /run/, - /usr/local/lib/, and /usr/lib/, in order of precedence. Each - configuration file in these configuration directories shall be named in the style of - filename.conf. Files in /etc/ override files - with the same name in /run/, /usr/local/lib/, and - /usr/lib/. Files in /run/ override files with the same name under - /usr/. + Configuration files are read from directories in /etc/, + /run/, /usr/local/lib/, and /usr/lib/, in + order of precedence, as listed in the SYNOPSIS section above. Files must have the the + .conf extension. Files in /etc/ override files with the same name + in /run/, /usr/local/lib/, and + /usr/lib/. Files in /run/ override files with the same name + under /usr/. - Packages should install their configuration files in /usr/lib/ (distribution packages) - or /usr/local/lib/ (local installs). Files in /etc/ are - reserved for the local administrator, who may use this logic to override the - configuration files installed by vendor packages. All configuration files - are sorted by their filename in lexicographic order, regardless of which of - the directories they reside in. If multiple files specify the same option, - the entry in the file with the lexicographically latest name will take - precedence. It is recommended to prefix all filenames with a two-digit number - and a dash, to simplify the ordering of the files. + All configuration files are sorted by their filename in lexicographic order, regardless of which of + the directories they reside in. If multiple files specify the same option, the entry in the file with the + lexicographically latest name will take precedence. Thus, the configuration in a certain file may either + be replaced completely (by placing a file with the same name in a directory with higher priority), or + individual settings might be changed (by specifying additional settings in a file with a different name + that is ordered later). - If the administrator wants to disable a configuration file supplied by - the vendor, the recommended way is to place a symlink to - /dev/null in the configuration directory in - /etc/, with the same filename as the vendor - configuration file. If the vendor configuration file is included in - the initrd image, the image has to be regenerated. + Packages should install their configuration files in /usr/lib/ (distribution + packages) or /usr/local/lib/ (local installs). Files in /etc/ + are reserved for the local administrator, who may use this logic to override the configuration files + installed by vendor packages. It is recommended to prefix all filenames with a two-digit number and a + dash, to simplify the ordering of the files. + + If the administrator wants to disable a configuration file supplied by the vendor, the recommended + way is to place a symlink to /dev/null in the configuration directory in + /etc/, with the same filename as the vendor configuration file. If the vendor + configuration file is included in the initrd image, the image has to be regenerated. @@ -48,25 +49,20 @@ can be edited to create local overrides. - When packages need to customize the configuration, they can - install configuration snippets in - /usr/lib/systemd/*.conf.d/ or - /usr/local/lib/systemd/*.conf.d/. Files in - /etc/ are reserved for the local - administrator, who may use this logic to override the - configuration files installed by vendor packages. The main - configuration file is read before any of the configuration - directories, and has the lowest precedence; entries in a file in - any configuration directory override entries in the single - configuration file. Files in the *.conf.d/ - configuration subdirectories are sorted by their filename in lexicographic - order, regardless of which of the subdirectories they reside in. When - multiple files specify the same option, for options which accept just a - single value, the entry in the file with the lexicographically latest name - takes precedence. For options which accept a list of values, entries are - collected as they occur in files sorted lexicographically. It is recommended - to prefix all filenames in those subdirectories with a two-digit number and - a dash, to simplify the ordering of the files. + When packages need to customize the configuration, they can install configuration snippets in + /usr/lib/systemd/*.conf.d/ or /usr/local/lib/systemd/*.conf.d/. + The main configuration file is read before any of the configuration directories, and has the lowest + precedence; entries in a file in any configuration directory override entries in the single configuration + file. Files in the *.conf.d/ configuration subdirectories are sorted by their + filename in lexicographic order, regardless of in which of the subdirectories they reside. When multiple + files specify the same option, for options which accept just a single value, the entry in the file with + the lexicographically latest name takes precedence. For options which accept a list of values, entries + are collected as they occur in files sorted lexicographically. + + Files in /etc/ are reserved for the local administrator, who may use this + logic to override the configuration files installed by vendor packages. It is recommended to prefix all + filenames in those subdirectories with a two-digit number and a dash, to simplify the ordering of the + files. To disable a configuration file supplied by the vendor, the recommended way is to place a symlink to