Running with systemd

For production use, it's recommended to run HyprDynamicMonitors as a systemd user service. This ensures automatic restart on failures and proper integration with your session management.

tip

Ensure you're properly pushing environment variables to systemd for correct Hyprland integration.

The default systemd service configuration assumes you're running Hyprland under systemd:

infrastructure/systemd/hyprdynamicmonitors.service

[Unit]
Description=HyprDynamicMonitors - Dynamic monitor configuration for Hyprland
Documentation=https://fiffeek.github.io/hyprdynamicmonitors/
PartOf=graphical-session.target
Requires=graphical-session.target
After=graphical-session.target
ConditionEnvironment=WAYLAND_DISPLAY

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/bin/hyprdynamicmonitors run
Slice=session.slice
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=graphical-session.target

This service file is automatically included in AUR and Nix deployments.

AUR

When installed via AUR, the service is automatically registered as a user service. Verify the installation:

# Reload service definitions
systemctl --user daemon-reload

# Check the current status
systemctl --user status hyprdynamicmonitors.service

If you're running Hyprland under systemd (the default for most installations), you can start the service immediately:

# Start the service once
systemctl --user start hyprdynamicmonitors.service

# Enable to automatically start on login
systemctl --user enable --now hyprdynamicmonitors.service

info

If you're running Hyprland outside of systemd, see the Running Hyprland outside of systemd section below.

Nix

HyprDynamicMonitors provides both a NixOS module and a Home Manager module for declarative configuration. Both modules automatically set up the systemd service.

NixOS Module

Add the flake to your NixOS configuration inputs:

flake.nix

{
  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
    hyprdynamicmonitors.url = "github:fiffeek/hyprdynamicmonitors";
  };

  outputs = { self, nixpkgs, hyprdynamicmonitors, ... }: {
    nixosConfigurations.yourhost = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
      modules = [
        hyprdynamicmonitors.nixosModules.default
        ./configuration.nix
      ];
    };
  };
}

Then configure the service in your configuration.nix:

configuration.nix

{
  services.hyprdynamicmonitors = {
    enable = true;
    mode = "user";  # "user", "system", or "none"

    # Optional: provide inline configuration
    config = ''
      [general]
      destination = "$HOME/.config/hypr/config.d/99_autogenerated-monitors.conf"
      debounce_time_ms = 1500
    '';

    # Or use a configuration file
    configFile = ./config.toml;

    # Optional: install additional files (e.g., monitor profiles)
    extraFiles = {
      "xdg/hyprdynamicmonitors/hyprconfigs" = ./hyprconfigs;
    };

    # Optional: customize systemd target (default: graphical-session.target)
    systemdTarget = "graphical-session.target";

    # Optional: pass extra flags to the binary
    extraFlags = [ "--debug" ];

    # Optional: override serviceConfig options
    serviceOptions = {
      # Add custom systemd service options here
    };
  };
}

Configuration options:

Option	Type	Default	Description
enable	boolean	false	Enable the service
mode	enum	"user"	Service type: "user", "system", or "none" (config only)
package	package	from flake	Package providing the binary
configPath	string	/etc/xdg/hyprdynamicmonitors/config.toml	Config file location
config	string	null	Inline TOML configuration (takes precedence over configFile)
configFile	path	null	Path to configuration file
extraFiles	attrs	null	Additional files to install under /etc/ (relative paths)
installExamples	boolean	true	Install example config if no config provided
systemdTarget	string	"graphical-session.target"	Systemd target to bind to
extraFlags	list of strings	[]	Extra command-line flags
serviceOptions	attrs	{}	Extra systemd service options

The module installs configuration to /etc/xdg/hyprdynamicmonitors/ and creates a systemd user or system service depending on the mode setting.

Home Manager Module

Add the flake to your Home Manager configuration:

flake.nix

{
  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
    home-manager = {
      url = "github:nix-community/home-manager";
      inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
    };
    hyprdynamicmonitors.url = "github:fiffeek/hyprdynamicmonitors";
  };

  outputs = { self, nixpkgs, home-manager, hyprdynamicmonitors, ... }: {
    homeConfigurations.youruser = home-manager.lib.homeManagerConfiguration {
      modules = [
        hyprdynamicmonitors.homeManagerModules.default
        ./home.nix
      ];
    };
  };
}

Configure in your home.nix:

home.nix

{
  home.hyprdynamicmonitors = {
    enable = true;

    # Optional: provide inline configuration
    config = ''
      [general]
      destination = "$HOME/.config/hypr/config.d/99_autogenerated-monitors.conf"
      debounce_time_ms = 1500
    '';

    # Or use a configuration file
    configFile = ./config.toml;

    # Optional: install additional files under ~/.config
    extraFiles = {
      "hyprdynamicmonitors/hyprconfigs" = ./hyprconfigs;
    };

    # Optional: customize systemd target
    # Defaults to config.wayland.systemd.target if set
    systemdTarget = "graphical-session.target";

    # Optional: pass extra flags to the binary
    extraFlags = [ "--debug" ];

    # Optional: override service options
    serviceOptions = {
      # Add custom systemd service options here
    };
  };
}

Configuration options:

Option	Type	Default	Description
enable	boolean	false	Enable the service
package	package	from flake	Package providing the binary
configPath	string	~/.config/hyprdynamicmonitors/config.toml	Config file location
config	string	null	Inline TOML configuration (takes precedence over configFile)
configFile	path	null	Path to configuration file
extraFiles	attrs	null	Additional files to install under ~/.config/ (relative paths)
installExamples	boolean	true	Install example config if no config provided
systemdTarget	string	config.wayland.systemd.target	Systemd target to bind to
extraFlags	list of strings	[]	Extra command-line flags
serviceOptions	attrs	{}	Extra systemd service options

The Home Manager module installs configuration to ~/.config/hyprdynamicmonitors/ and creates a systemd user service.

Using with NixOS + Home Manager

You can also use Home Manager as a NixOS module:

configuration.nix

{ inputs, ... }:
{
  imports = [ inputs.home-manager.nixosModules.home-manager ];

  home-manager.users.youruser = {
    imports = [ inputs.hyprdynamicmonitors.homeManagerModules.default ];

    home.hyprdynamicmonitors = {
      enable = true;
      configFile = ./config.toml;
    };
  };
}

Running Hyprland outside of systemd

If you're running Hyprland outside of systemd, you'll need to customize the service configuration. There are two approaches to modifying the service definition:

1. Using systemd overrides (via systemctl --user edit hyprdynamicmonitors.service):

   • Creates ~/.config/systemd/user/hyprdynamicmonitors.service.d/override.conf
   • Requires clearing certain fields before overriding them
   • More complex but preserves upstream changes

2. Replacing the unit file entirely (recommended):

   • Create ~/.config/systemd/user/hyprdynamicmonitors.service
   • Completely shadows the packaged definition
   • Simpler to understand and maintain

Choose one of the following strategies based on your setup:

Option 1: Restart-based initialization

This is the simplest approach. Start the service at boot and let systemd's restart mechanism handle initialization:

~/.config/systemd/user/hyprdynamicmonitors.service

[Unit]
Description=HyprDynamicMonitors - Dynamic monitor configuration for Hyprland
Documentation=https://fiffeek.github.io/hyprdynamicmonitors/

[Service]
Type=exec
ExecStart=/usr/bin/hyprdynamicmonitors run
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

How this works:

• The service continuously restarts until Hyprland launches
• Waits for environment variables to become available
• Automatically starts once the system is ready

Advantages:

• Simple configuration
• No additional dependencies
• Works with any Hyprland startup method

Option 2: Custom systemd target

For more precise control over service lifecycle, you can create a custom systemd target that Hyprland explicitly manages.

Advantages:

• Clean startup and shutdown
• Better integration with other services
• No unnecessary restart attempts

First, configure Hyprland to manage the custom target:

~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf

exec-once = systemctl --user start hyprland-custom-session.target
bind = $mainMod, X, exec, systemctl --user stop hyprland-custom-session.target

Next, create the custom target file:

~/.config/systemd/user/hyprland-custom-session.target

[Unit]
Description=A target for other services when Hyprland becomes ready
After=graphical-session-pre.target
Wants=graphical-session-pre.target
BindsTo=graphical-session.target

Finally, create the service file that depends on this target:

~/.config/systemd/user/hyprdynamicmonitors.service

[Unit]
Description=HyprDynamicMonitors - Dynamic monitor configuration for Hyprland
Documentation=https://fiffeek.github.io/hyprdynamicmonitors/
After=dbus.socket
Requires=dbus.socket
PartOf=hyprland-custom-session.target

[Service]
Type=exec
ExecStart=/usr/bin/hyprdynamicmonitors run
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=hyprland-custom-session.target

After creating these files, enable the service:

systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable hyprdynamicmonitors.service

The service will now automatically start when Hyprland launches the custom target.

Option 3: Wrapper script (without systemd)

If you prefer not to use systemd at all, you can create a simple bash wrapper with automatic restart:

~/bin/hyprdynamicmonitors-wrapper.sh

#!/bin/bash
while true; do
    /usr/bin/hyprdynamicmonitors run
    echo "HyprDynamicMonitors exited with code $?, restarting in 5 seconds..."
    sleep 5
done

Make it executable and launch it from Hyprland:

chmod +x ~/bin/hyprdynamicmonitors-wrapper.sh

~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf

exec-once = ~/bin/hyprdynamicmonitors-wrapper.sh

Manual Installation

If you installed HyprDynamicMonitors from source or using a GitHub release binary, you'll need to manually create the service file:

1. Copy one of the service configurations above to ~/.config/systemd/user/hyprdynamicmonitors.service
2. Adjust the ExecStart path if you installed the binary in a custom location
3. Reload systemd and start the service:

systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now hyprdynamicmonitors.service

Alternatively, use the wrapper script approach described above.

Service Management

Once set up as a systemd service, you can manage it with standard systemd commands:

# Check status
systemctl --user status hyprdynamicmonitors

# View logs
journalctl --user -u hyprdynamicmonitors -f

# Restart the service
systemctl --user restart hyprdynamicmonitors

# Reload configuration
systemctl --user reload hyprdynamicmonitors

# Stop the service
systemctl --user stop hyprdynamicmonitors

# Disable automatic start
systemctl --user disable hyprdynamicmonitors

Troubleshooting

Service fails to start

Check the logs:

journalctl --user -u hyprdynamicmonitors -n 50

Common issues:

• Hyprland not running yet (expected when using restart-based initialization)
• Missing environment variables (see tip at top of page)
• Invalid configuration file
• Binary not found at the specified path

Configuration changes not applying

Reload the service:

systemctl --user reload hyprdynamicmonitors

Or rely on automatic hot reload (enabled by default).

Environment variables not available

Ensure environment variables are properly exported to systemd. See Hyprland's systemd integration guide for detailed instructions.

See Also

• Signals - Signal handling and hot reload functionality
• Quick Start - Initial setup and configuration guide