runlevel – show previous and current runlevel
runlevel shows the previous and current system runlevel. On systemd systems, use systemctl get-default instead.
Synopsis
runlevel
Examples
Show runlevel
$ runlevel
N 5
Output: N 5 means previous runlevel was N (none/boot) and current is 5.
Runlevels
| Runlevel | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | Halt |
| 1, S | Single user |
| 2 | Multi-user (no network on some systems) |
| 3 | Multi-user with network |
| 4 | Undefined (user-defined) |
| 5 | Multi-user with GUI |
| 6 | Reboot |
Modern systemd Equivalent
# Get current target (runlevel)
$ systemctl get-default
graphical.target
# List all targets
$ systemctl list-units --type=target
# Change target
$ sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target
Runlevel to Target Mapping
| Runlevel | systemd Target |
|---|---|
| 0 | poweroff.target |
| 1 | rescue.target |
| 3 | multi-user.target |
| 5 | graphical.target |
| 6 | reboot.target |
Tips
- Use systemctl: On modern systems with systemd
- Legacy SysVinit: runlevel is from the init system era
- Change runlevel:
sudo init 3orsudo systemctl isolate multi-user.target
