Yocto startup scripts systemd

To have a custom headless application start up at boot a systemd service needs to be created. Create the file /etc/systemd/system/yourapp.service with contents similar to below:

[Unit]
Description=Run an application on the i.MX6

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/your_app_or_script

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

If an application depends on networking, the systemd script will want to have After=network.target in the Unit section. Once this file is in place, it can be added to automatic startup with the following:

# Enable the application to be started on boot up
systemctl enable yourapp.service

# Start the application now, but will not affect automatic startup
systemctl start yourapp.service

Note:

See the systemd documentation for in depth documentation on services.

To set up a graphical application startup, modify the /usr/bin/mini-x-session file

At the end of the script replace matchbox-terminal with the desired application (absolute path may need to be specified):

matchbox-terminal &
exec matchbox-window-manager

The exec statement must be last in the script in order to take over this script's PID for correct operation.