> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.microsandbox.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Booting under systemd > Hand PID 1 to systemd inside the guest so services run under a real init By default the microsandbox agent is PID 1. That's enough for one-shot processes, but anything that calls into `systemctl`, `loginctl`, or expects a session bus will fail. `--init auto` hands PID 1 over to systemd. The rest of the guest then behaves like a normal Linux box. ## Use systemd ```bash macOS & Linux theme={null} msb run ghcr.io/superradcompany/debian-systemd:12 \ --memory 1G --cpus 2 \ --init auto \ -- bash ``` ```powershell Windows theme={null} msb run ghcr.io/superradcompany/debian-systemd:12 ` --memory 1G --cpus 2 ` --init auto ` -- bash ``` `debian-systemd` is one of the optional bases we maintain in [guest-images](https://github.com/superradcompany/guest-images) for cases like this. `--init auto` uses a known init from the image ENTRYPOINT when one is declared, then falls back to probing common distro paths. Image-declared `/init` wrappers keep their OCI launch contract for attached `msb run`; bare systemd images still run your trailing command through agentd after boot. See [Custom init system](/sandboxes/bootstrap#custom-init-system) for the exact behavior and for pinning to an explicit path. ```bash theme={null} root@msb:/# systemctl status ● msb State: running Units: 113 loaded (incl. loaded aliases) systemd: 252.39-1~deb12u1 ``` Or check directly: ```bash theme={null} root@msb:/# cat /proc/1/comm systemd ``` `systemctl` works as it does on bare metal. Inspect a unit shipped with the image: ```bash theme={null} root@msb:/# systemctl status systemd-journald ● systemd-journald.service - Journal Service Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/systemd-journald.service; static) Active: active (running) ``` Install your own and start it: ```bash theme={null} root@msb:/# apt update && apt install -y nginx root@msb:/# systemctl enable --now nginx root@msb:/# curl -s localhost | head -1 ``` The guest detects microsandbox as a container, so packages with `policy-rc.d` deferral install but don't auto-start. `systemctl enable --now ` starts them in one step. ## Notes * **Image choice matters.** Distroless / minimal images (`python:3.13-slim`, `alpine`) don't ship a systemd init binary. `--init auto` will fail if it cannot resolve a known image ENTRYPOINT init or find a guest-side probe match. Use a systemd-equipped base or layer one in. * **Memory budget.** systemd's idle footprint is \~50 MiB; daemons add more. Bump `--memory` if your service is hungry. * **Other inits work.** `--init` accepts any absolute path. s6, OpenRC, runit, or a hand-rolled `/sbin/init` shell script are all fine; `auto` covers known image ENTRYPOINT inits plus common distro init paths.