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Windows Linux PowerShell Equivalents Expanded guide Services

Windows PowerShell Get-Service equivalent in Linux

Shows loaded services and their current active, inactive or failed state.

Windows PowerShell Get-Service
→
Linux equivalents
Debian/Ubuntu apt + systemd
systemctl list-units --type=service
Fedora dnf + systemd
systemctl list-units --type=service
Arch pacman + systemd
systemctl list-units --type=service

Overview

What this command does

On Windows, "PowerShell Get-Service" is used to list system services. On Linux, the closest practical mapping shown here is "systemctl list-units --type=service". Shows loaded services and their current active, inactive or failed state. This reference is grouped under PowerShell Equivalents → Services.

Migration tip: Add <code>--all</code> to include inactive loaded services, or use <code>list-unit-files</code> to inspect startup enablement.

Windows → Linux context

What changes when you use this on Linux?

Equivalent task, different tool

Windows PowerShell Get-Service maps to systemctl list-units --type=service for this task. Treat this as a workflow mapping rather than a character-for-character syntax translation.

Portable across the compared distros

The Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch rows use the same command in this mapping. Package availability or defaults can still vary, so check the installed tool version when an option behaves differently.

Practical tasks

Common use cases

List system services

Shows loaded services and their current active, inactive or failed state.

systemctl list-units --type=service

List active service units

systemctl list-units --type=service --all

Include inactive services

systemctl --failed

Show failed units

Ready to run

Copyable Linux commands

Review paths, device names, package names and permissions before running any command.

systemctl list-units --type=service
systemctl list-units --type=service --all
systemctl --failed

Walkthrough

Examples with explanations

systemctl list-units --type=service # list service units
systemctl list-units --type=service --all # include inactive services
systemctl --failed # show failed services

Reference

Common options and variations

Command or optionUse
systemctl list-units --type=serviceList active service units
systemctl list-units --type=service --allInclude inactive services
systemctl --failedShow failed units

Distro differences

Debian/Ubuntu vs Fedora vs Arch

The command "systemctl list-units --type=service" is the same in all three rows, while package or base details differ: Debian/Ubuntu uses apt + systemd; Fedora uses dnf + systemd; Arch uses pacman + systemd.

DistributionPackage manager / baseEquivalent commandDifference to notice
Debian/Ubuntu apt + systemd systemctl list-units --type=service Same systemctl/journalctl syntax on systemd-based Debian and Ubuntu systems.
Fedora dnf + systemd systemctl list-units --type=service Same command syntax; service names can differ by package.
Arch pacman + systemd systemctl list-units --type=service Same command syntax; enable services explicitly after package installation.

Keep learning

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