Ubuntu 18.04: /etc/rc.local does not exist anymore - does it still work?

Written by Claudio Kuenzler - 8 comments

Published on June 11th 2018 - Listed in Linux

I was about to create a new Galera Cluster where a third node is simply being used as Arbitrator, not as data node. 

As this is a simple process starting up, I usually just added a line in /etc/rc.local to start the process. But in the new Ubuntu 18.04 this file does not exist anymore:

root@arbitrator:~# file /etc/rc.local
/etc/rc.local: cannot open `/etc/rc.local' (No such file or directory)

Sure, I could write a SystemD unit file for a garbd.service now, but lazy, you know.

So I wondered if and how /etc/rc.local is still working in Ubuntu 18.04 and I stumbled on the manpage of systemd-rc-local-generator:

"systemd-rc-local-generator is a generator that checks whether /etc/rc.local exists and is executable, and if it is pulls the rc-local.service unit into the boot process[...]"

Cool, let's give it a shot.

root@arbitrator:~# echo "/usr/bin/garbd --cfg /etc/garbd.conf &" > /etc/rc.local
root@arbitrator:~# echo "exit 0" >> /etc/rc.local
root@arbitrator:~# chmod 755 /etc/rc.local

After a reboot, the process didn't show up. What happened?

root@arbitrator:~# systemctl status rc-local
? rc-local.service - /etc/rc.local Compatibility
   Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/rc-local.service; enabled-runtime; vendor preset: enabled)
  Drop-In: /lib/systemd/system/rc-local.service.d
           ??debian.conf
   Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Mon 2018-06-11 16:53:47 CEST; 1min 53s ago
     Docs: man:systemd-rc-local-generator(8)
  Process: 1182 ExecStart=/etc/rc.local start (code=exited, status=203/EXEC)

Jun 11 16:53:46 arbitrator systemd[1]: Starting /etc/rc.local Compatibility...
Jun 11 16:53:47 arbitrator systemd[1182]: rc-local.service: Failed to execute command: Exec format error
Jun 11 16:53:47 arbitrator systemd[1182]: rc-local.service: Failed at step EXEC spawning /etc/rc.local: Exec format error
Jun 11 16:53:47 arbitrator systemd[1]: rc-local.service: Control process exited, code=exited status=203
Jun 11 16:53:47 arbitrator systemd[1]: rc-local.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Jun 11 16:53:47 arbitrator systemd[1]: Failed to start /etc/rc.local Compatibility.

Exec format error? Huh?

I came across an older article from SUSE (SLES12), which looked kind of similar: The after.local.service fails to start with exec format error. The resolution on that knowledge base article:

"Add a hashpling to the begining [...]"

D'oh! I compared with a /etc/rc.local from another system (Xenial) and indeed it starts with the shell, like a normal shell script. I changed my /etc/rc.local and added #!/bin/bash:

root@arbitrator:~# cat /etc/rc.local
#!/bin/bash
/usr/bin/garbd --cfg /etc/garbd.conf &
exit 0

The rc-local service could now be restarted with success:

root@arbitrator:~# systemctl restart rc-local

root@arbitrator:~# systemctl status rc-local
? rc-local.service - /etc/rc.local Compatibility
   Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/rc-local.service; enabled-runtime; vendor preset: enabled)
  Drop-In: /lib/systemd/system/rc-local.service.d
           ??debian.conf
   Active: active (running) since Mon 2018-06-11 16:59:31 CEST; 11s ago
     Docs: man:systemd-rc-local-generator(8)
  Process: 1948 ExecStart=/etc/rc.local start (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
    Tasks: 3 (limit: 4664)
   CGroup: /system.slice/rc-local.service
           ??1949 /usr/bin/garbd --cfg /etc/garbd.conf

Jun 11 16:59:31 arbitrator systemd[1]: Starting /etc/rc.local Compatibility...
Jun 11 16:59:31 arbitrator systemd[1]: Started /etc/rc.local Compatibility.

And garbd is started:

root@arbitrator:~# ps auxf | grep garb | grep -v grep
root      1949  0.0  0.2 181000  9664 ?        Sl   16:59   0:00 /usr/bin/garbd --cfg /etc/garbd.conf

TL;DR

/etc/rc.local still works in Ubuntu 18.04, when
1) it exists
2) is executable
3) Starts with a valid shell hashpling (is that really the name for it?)

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Comments (newest first)

Polo from wrote on Aug 6th, 2021:

Thanks a lot, very clear and short explanation !

Thomas from Los Angeles wrote on May 1st, 2021:

Just what I needed. Works like a charm. Thanks.

Jason from United States wrote on Dec 19th, 2020:

To answer your question, the correct term for the two-character string "#!" is "shebang" vice "hashpling."

Ken from wrote on Jan 29th, 2020:

Hashbang, Poundbang, Shebang...Banger & Hash?...idk, all different ways of saying the same thing I guess. Though admittedly, hashpling is a new one for me haha

Ingo Baab from Deutschland wrote on Jul 28th, 2019:

shebang: https://bash.cyberciti.biz/guide/Shebang

dbkeys from wrote on Jun 20th, 2019:

I always heard it (#!) was called Pound Bang
Makes sense, because when you pound you hear (or feel) a bang.
Thanks for the help !

Frank from wrote on Apr 3rd, 2019:

Thanks! This is exactly what I needed, very nicely formatted. I never knew about the "systemctl restart rc-local" command. I would always reboot the machine to test.

Oliver R. from wrote on Nov 29th, 2018:

hashpling ... just call it "shebang", this is probably the most common and correct term for it.