.TH nmstate\&.service 8 "October 01, 2026" "2.2.62" "nmstate.service man page"
.SH "NAME"
nmstate\&.service \- Apply /etc/nmstate network states
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.PP
nmstate\&.service
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
.PP
nmstate\&.service invokes \fBnmstatectl service\fR command which
apply all network state files ending with \fB.yml\fR or \fB.yaml\fR in
\fB/etc/nmstate\fR folder. When two files holding the same name but one with
`.yml` and another with `.yaml`, nmstate will not apply any but fail the
service.

.PP

By default, the service renames the network state file to a name with suffix
\fB.applied\fR after processing the file. This prevents applying the same file
again when the service runs next.

Alternatively, you can set the following in \fB/etc/nmstate/nmstate.conf\fR:

.EX
\fB
[service]\n
keep_state_file_after_apply = true
\fR
.EE

With \fBkeep_state_file_after_apply = true\fR, the service copies the network
state file to a file with \fB.applied\fR, but preserves the original file.

.PP
By default, nmstate merges network state file with current network state,
if you want to override interface settings without merging, please set
`override_iface = true` in `[service]` section in
\fB/etc/nmstate/nmstate.conf\fR:

.EX
\fB
[service]\n
override_iface = true
\fR
.EE

If `override_iface = true`, for network state to apply, nmstate.service will:

 * For `interfaces` section, any defined interface will be configured by
   desired state information only, undefined properties of this interface will
   use default value instead of merging from current state.

 * For other sections, no changes to their original behavior.

For example, if desired interface has no IPv4 section defined, nmstate
will treat it as disabled regardless current network status.

.SH BUG REPORTS
Report bugs on nmstate GitHub issues <https://github.com/nmstate/nmstate>.
.SH COPYRIGHT
License Apache 2.0 or any later version
<https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.txt>
.SH SEE ALSO
.B nmstatectl\fP(8)