Linux Tips 01: systemd-inhibit

Ever started something important on your Linux machine and worried it might just go to sleep and ruin your flow? Like waiting for a big download, or burning a CD, or running some script that takes forever? Luckily, Linux has a neat little trick called systemd-inhibit that keeps your system awake as long as your task is running.

What is systemd-inhibit?

Here’s the lowdown: when you run a command with systemd-inhibit, it basically puts up a “Don’t disturb” sign for your system’s sleep and shutdown modes. So the computer won’t doze off or restart until whatever you’re running is done.

The simplest way to use it is:

systemd-inhibit your-command-here

As long as your-command-here is running, your system stays awake. When it’s done, normal sleep and shutdown rules kick back in.

Why should you care?

• No more interrupted backups or downloads.
• Prevent annoying sleep during important updates or installs.
• Keep your streaming or media server running without hiccups.
• Make sure your long scripts run through without a surprise sleep.

You can even get fancy with options, like telling it exactly what to block (--what=sleep), or giving a reason for your no-sleep mode (--why="Burning a CD").

Here’s a quick example that’ll stop your PC from sleeping while you burn an ISO image to a CD:

systemd-inhibit wodim my-cool-iso.iso

Quick Tip: Keep Your System Awake

If you want to keep your system awake for as long as you want without running a specific command, you can use:

systemd-inhibit bash

This will start a shell session that holds the inhibition lock until you exit the shell. Handy if you just want to prevent sleep temporarily without running other tasks.

Wrap Up

Simple, right? It’s one of those little Linux things that can save a ton of headaches. So next time you’ve got something important going on, just wrap your command in systemd-inhibit and relax, your Linux box won’t bail on you.