How to configure ErsatzTV as a systemd service

Introduction

ErsatzTV can be used for creating custom live streaming channels from your media files.

Installation

1. Create a folder named ersatztv in the /opt directory.

sudo mkdir /opt/ersatztv

1. Download and then extract the latest release from GitHub to the /opt/ersatztv folder.

sudo tar --strip-components=1 -xvf ErsatzTV-v0.8.6-beta-linux-x64.tar.gz -C /opt/ersatztv

Configuration

1. Create the systemd service unit in the /usr/lib/systemd/user directory.

sudo vi /usr/lib/systemd/user/ersatztv.service

Add the following lines:

[Unit]
Description=ErsatzTV channel service
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/opt/ersatztv/ErsatzTV

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

1. Reload the systemctl daemon.

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

1. Enable the service.

systemctl --user enable ersatztv.service

1. Start the service.

systemctl --user start ersatztv.service

1. Run the loginctl command with the linger option to ensure the service runs in the background even when you are logged out.

sudo loginctl enable-linger <username>

Replace <username> with your actual username.

Summary

The Ersatztv service will now run in the background as a systemd service and be managed with systemctl commands.