INVOKE-RC.D(8)							 Debian/GNU Linux						    INVOKE-RC.D(8)

NAME

       invoke-rc.d - executes System-V style init script actions

SYNOPSIS

       invoke-rc.d [--quiet] [--force] [--try-anyway] [--disclose-deny] [--query] [--no-fallback] name action [init script parameters...]

       invoke-rc.d [--help]

DESCRIPTION

       invoke-rc.d  is a generic interface to execute System V style init script /etc/init.d/name actions, obeying runlevel constraints as well as
       any local policies set by the system administrator.

       All access to the init scripts by Debian packages' maintainer scripts should be done through invoke-rc.d.

       This manpage documents only the usage and behavior of invoke-rc.d.  For a discussion of the System V style init script arrangements  please
       see  init(8) and the dpkg Programmers' Manual.  More information on invoke-rc.d can be found in the section on runlevels and init.d scripts
       of the Debian Policy Manual.

INIT SCRIPT ACTIONS

       The standard actions are: start, stop, force-stop, restart, reload, force-reload, and status.  Other actions are  accepted,  but  they  can
       cause problems to policy-rc.d (see the INIT SCRIPT POLICY section), so warnings are generated if the policy layer is active.

       Please  note  that  not	all  init scripts will implement all the actions listed above, and that the policy layer may override an action to
       another action(s), or even deny it.

       Any extra parameters will be passed to the init script(s) being executed.

       If an action must be carried out regardless of any local policies, use the --force switch.

OPTIONS

       --help Display usage help.

       --quiet
	      Quiet mode, no error messages are generated.

       --force
	      Tries to run the init script regardless of policy and init script subsystem errors.  Use of this option in Debian maintainer scripts
	      is severely discouraged.

       --try-anyway
	      Tries to run the init script if a non-fatal error is detected.

       --disclose-deny
	      Return status code 101 instead of status code 0 if the init script action is denied by the policy layer.

       --query
	      Returns one of the status codes 100-106. Does not run the init script, and implies --disclose-deny and --no-fallback.

       --no-fallback
	      Ignores  any  fallback  action  requests	by  the policy layer.  Warning: this is usually a very bad idea for any actions other than
	      start.

STATUS CODES

       Should an init script be executed, invoke-rc.d always returns the status code returned by the init script. Init scripts should  not  return
       status codes in the 100+ range (which is reserved in Debian and by the LSB). The status codes returned by invoke-rc.d proper are:

       0      Success.	 Either  the  init script was run and returned exit status 0 (note that a fallback action may have been run instead of the
	      one given in the command line), or it was not run because of runlevel/local policy constrains and --disclose-deny is not in effect.

       1 - 99 Reserved for init.d script, usually indicates a failure.

       100    Init script ID (name) unknown.  This means the init script was not registered successfully through  update-rc.d  or  that  the  init
	      script does not exist.

       101    Action not allowed.  The requested action will not be performed because of runlevel or local policy constraints.

       102    Subsystem  error.   Init	script	(or policy layer) subsystem malfunction. Also, forced init script execution due to --try-anyway or
	      --force failed.

       103    Syntax error.

       104    Action allowed.  Init script would be run, but --query is in effect.

       105    Behavior uncertain.  It cannot be determined if action should be carried out or not, and --query is in effect.

       106    Fallback action requested.  The policy layer denied the requested action, and  supplied  an  allowed  fallback  action  to  be  used
	      instead.

INIT SCRIPT POLICY

       invoke-rc.d  introduces	the concept of a policy layer which is used to verify if an init script should be run or not, or if something else
       should be done instead.	This layer has various uses, the most immediate ones being avoiding that package upgrades  start  daemons  out-of-
       runlevel, and that a package starts or stops daemons while inside a chroot jail.

       The  policy  layer has the following abilities: deny or approve the execution of an action; request that another action (called a fallback)
       is to be taken, instead of the action requested in invoke-rc.d's command line; or request multiple actions to be tried in order, until  one
       of them succeeds (a multiple fallback).

       invoke-rc.d  itself  only  pays attention to the current runlevel; it will block any attempts to start a service in a runlevel in which the
       service is disabled.  Other policies are implemented with the use of the policy-rc.d helper,  and  are  only  available	if  /usr/sbin/pol-
       icy-rc.d is installed in the system.

FILES

       /etc/init.d/*
	      System V init scripts.

       /usr/sbin/policy-rc.d
	      Init script policy layer helper (not required).

       /etc/runlevel.conf
	      file-rc runlevel configuration (if the file-rc package is being used).

       /etc/rc?.d/*
	      System V runlevel configuration (if the sysv-rc package is not being used).

NOTES

       invoke-rc.d special cases the status action, and returns exit status 4 instead of exit status 0 when it is denied.

BUGS

       Please  report any bugs using the Debian bug tracking system, http://bugs.debian.org/, packages sysv-rc or file-rc (depending on which ver-
       sion of invoke-rc.d you are using).

SEE ALSO

       dpkg Programmers' manual,
       /etc/init.d/skeleton,
       update-rc.d(8),
       init(8),
       /usr/share/doc/sysv-rc/README.policy-rc.d

Debian Project							   1 March 2001 						    INVOKE-RC.D(8)