Systemd service

dms systemd manages dms.service for the compositor session. It ties the service to the compositor's own session unit, so DMS starts with that compositor and nowhere else.

Usage

dms systemd enable              # start dms.service with the running compositor
dms systemd enable --now        # and start it right away
dms systemd enable --compositor niri
dms systemd disable             # stop starting it with any compositor
dms systemd status              # which sessions start it, and its current state
dms systemd start | stop | restart

What enable does

enable runs systemctl --user add-wants <unit> dms against the compositor's native session unit:

Compositor	Unit	Notes
niri	niri.service	niri's own systemd integration
Hyprland	hyprland-session.target	Shipped by Hyprland 0.57+. On older Hyprland, DMS writes the target to ~/.config/systemd/user/ and the hyprland.lua from dms setup starts it
MangoWC	mango-session.target	Mango 0.17.1+. Older Mango has no target, so enable fails and the Mango config starts DMS instead

The compositor is the one you are logged into. Outside a session, or to pick another one, pass --compositor hyprland|niri|mango.

This is deliberately not systemctl --user enable dms. That ties the service to graphical-session.target, which every desktop starts, so DMS would also launch when you log into GNOME or Plasma on the same user.

dms setup with systemd and the Dux Installer run the same step, so you only need this command when the link went missing or you switch compositors. dms doctor reports Nothing starts dms.service with <unit> when the running compositor does not want the service.

disable

Removes the dms.service wants link from all three compositor units and reloads systemd. Add --now to also stop the running service. If your compositor config starts DMS itself (spawn-at-startup "dms" "run", hl.exec_cmd("dms run"), exec-once=dms run), it keeps doing so.

status

dms.service: enabled, active
Starts with: niri.service, hyprland-session.target

Starts with lists the compositor units that currently want the service, which is what dms systemd enable adds and dms systemd disable removes.