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manreferencesReviewed March 6, 2026

Files, sockets, and service units

This page is the quick lookup table for the names operators tend to forget during an incident. Common systemd units | Unit | Purpose | | | | | libvirtd.service | Historical compatibility daemon | | libvirtd.socket | Comp

systemdfilessocketspaths

This page is the quick lookup table for the names operators tend to forget during an incident.

Common systemd units

UnitPurpose
libvirtd.serviceHistorical compatibility daemon
libvirtd.socketCompatibility socket entry point
virtqemud.serviceQEMU domain management
virtqemud.socketSocket activation for QEMU domain management
virtproxyd.serviceCompatibility proxy daemon
virtproxyd.socketLocal proxy socket
virtproxyd-tls.socketTLS listener for remote clients

Compatibility units

libvirtd.service and libvirtd.socket are the historical compatibility names. They may still exist even when the real work happens in modular daemons.

QEMU units

virtqemud.service and virtqemud.socket own QEMU domain operations on modular hosts.

Remote listener units

virtproxyd.socket and virtproxyd-tls.socket are the units to inspect when remote or compatibility clients can connect but real operations still fail.

Common filesystem locations

operator-reference.txttext
/etc/libvirt/
/etc/libvirt/qemu/
/var/lib/libvirt/images/
/run/libvirt/
/var/log/libvirt/

One command that helps a lot

BASH
systemctl list-unit-files "virt*" "libvirtd*"

That single command often tells you more than manually checking one guessed unit name at a time.

Related

  • libvirtd overview and the compatibility daemon
  • Socket activation versus traditional daemon mode
  • Troubleshooting playbook

On this page

  • Common systemd units
  • Compatibility units
  • QEMU units
  • Remote listener units
  • Common filesystem locations
  • One command that helps a lot