What type of files does systemctl manage?

Systemctl is a command-line utility that is a part of the systemd system and service manager used in many Linux distributions. It primarily manages system services and their states, which are defined in service files. These service files contain information about how to start, stop, restart, and manage services on a Linux system.

Service files are typically located in specific directories such as /etc/systemd/system/ and /lib/systemd/system/ and have a .service extension. Systemctl can enable, disable, start, stop, and check the status of these services, making it a cornerstone of system management in Linux distributions that utilize systemd.

The other types of files mentioned do not correspond directly to the specific management capabilities of systemctl. Init files are part of older initialization systems (like SysVinit), configuration files are broader in scope and could belong to various applications, and "hanging files" isn’t a recognized term in this context. Therefore, the focus on service files highlights the primary function and capabilities of systemctl.