man/systemd-systemd.conf: describe DefaultEnvironment= and ManagerEnvironment= better

The description of ME= said "see above", but it was actually above the other
one. So change the order. But while reading this, I found it very hard to
understand. So reword things, hopefully in a way that is easier to understand.
The current behaviour is rather complex and unintuitive, but this description
just tries to describe it truthfully.

(cherry picked from commit 938f7fea7c)
This commit is contained in:
Zbigniew Jędrzejewski-Szmek
2025-10-10 18:28:09 +02:00
committed by Luca Boccassi
parent 0021c3d5a6
commit 814ca4cf6f

View File

@@ -640,35 +640,15 @@
<title>Environment</title>
<variablelist class='config-directives'>
<varlistentry>
<term><varname>ManagerEnvironment=</varname></term>
<listitem><para>Takes the same arguments as <varname>DefaultEnvironment=</varname>, see above. Sets
environment variables for the manager process itself. These variables are inherited by processes
spawned by user managers, but not the system manager - use <varname>DefaultEnvironment=</varname>
for that. Note that these variables are merged into the existing environment block. In particular, in
case of the system manager, this includes variables set by the kernel based on the kernel command line.
As with <varname>DefaultEnvironment=</varname>, this environment block is internal, and changes are not
reflected in the manager's <filename>/proc/PID/environ</filename>.</para>
<para>Setting environment variables for the manager process may be useful to modify its behaviour.
See <ulink url="https://systemd.io/ENVIRONMENT">Known Environment Variables</ulink> for a
descriptions of some variables understood by <command>systemd</command>.</para>
<para>Simple <literal>%</literal>-specifier expansion is supported, see below for a list of supported
specifiers.</para>
<xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v248"/>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><varname>DefaultEnvironment=</varname></term>
<listitem><para>Configures environment variables passed to all executed processes. Takes a
space-separated list of variable assignments. See <citerefentry
project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>environ</refentrytitle><manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry> for
details about environment variables.</para>
details about environment variables. This environment block is internal, and changes are not
reflected in the manager's <filename>/proc/PID/environ</filename>.
</para>
<para>Simple <literal>%</literal>-specifier expansion is supported, see below for a list of supported
specifiers.</para>
@@ -684,6 +664,30 @@
<xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v205"/></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><varname>ManagerEnvironment=</varname></term>
<listitem><para>Sets environment variables for the manager process itself. Takes a space-separated
list of variable assignment in the same format as <varname>DefaultEnvironment=</varname>, see above.
These variables are merged into the existing environment block of the manager process. In particular,
in case of the system manager, this block includes variables set by the kernel based on the kernel
command line, and in case of the user manager, the variables passed by the system manager. After
those variables have been merged, they will persist until overriden, even if the manager is reloaded
or reexecuted. In case of the user manager, these variables are also inherited by processes spawned
by the manager. As with <varname>DefaultEnvironment=</varname>, this environment block is internal,
and changes are not reflected in the manager's <filename>/proc/PID/environ</filename>.</para>
<para>Setting environment variables for the manager process may be useful to modify its behaviour.
See <ulink url="https://systemd.io/ENVIRONMENT">Known Environment Variables</ulink> for a description
of some variables understood by <command>systemd</command>.</para>
<para>Simple <literal>%</literal>-specifier expansion is supported, see below for a list of supported
specifiers.</para>
<xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v248"/>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</refsect1>