jdx/mise · error

cannot remove user service '{name}': {}

Error message

cannot remove user service '{name}': {}

What it means

Removing a user service requires a supported service manager on the platform (systemd on Linux, launchd on macOS). If `is_available()` reports the manager is unavailable, `remove_named` fails with the reason from `unavailable_reason()`.

Source

Thrown at src/system/user_services.rs:659

        return Ok(());
    }
    if cfg!(target_os = "linux") {
        systemd::apply(&[request.systemd_request()?], dry_run).await
    } else if cfg!(target_os = "macos") {
        launchd::apply(&[request.launchd_request()?], dry_run).await
    } else {
        scheduled_tasks::apply(&[request.scheduled_task_request()], dry_run).await
    }
}

/// Remove the installed definition for `name`, declared or not. Returns
/// whether one existed.
pub(crate) async fn remove_named(name: &str, dry_run: bool) -> Result<bool> {
    if !valid_name(name) {
        bail!("user service name '{name}' must contain only letters, numbers, '.', '_', or '-'");
    }
    if !is_available() {
        bail!(
            "cannot remove user service '{name}': {}",
            unavailable_reason()
        );
    }
    if cfg!(target_os = "linux") {
        systemd::remove_service(name, dry_run).await
    } else if cfg!(target_os = "macos") {
        launchd::remove_agent(name, dry_run).await
    } else {
        scheduled_tasks::remove_task(name, dry_run).await
    }
}

#[cfg(test)]
mod tests {
    use super::*;
    use crate::system::services_common::ServiceScope;

View on GitHub (pinned to afd2eddd3a)

Solutions

1. Run on a system with systemd (Linux) or launchd (macOS) available
2. Ensure a user session/systemd user instance is running (`systemctl --user status` works)
3. Skip or gate user services in containers/CI config
4. Read `unavailable_reason()` in the message for the specific cause

Example fix

null

// Precheck (Linux): systemctl --user works?
// systemctl --user status >/dev/null 2>&1 || echo "systemd user session unavailable"

match result {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().starts_with("cannot remove user service") => {
        // log unavailable_reason() and skip user-service management on this host
    }
    other => other?,
}

When it happens

Trigger: `remove_named` called (via `apply_one`) on a system where the expected user-service manager is missing/unusable, e.g. Linux without systemd (containers, WSL1, non-systemd distros) or macOS where launchd access fails (src/system/user_services.rs:659).

Common situations: Running bootstrap service management inside Docker containers without systemd; minimal/CI environments without a user session bus (`systemctl --user` unavailable); non-systemd init distros.

Understand the failure class

Background: "unsupported platform" / "not supported on this platform" errors: what they mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 47 libraries.

Related errors

• user service '{name}' cannot be masked; use `state = "absent
• user service '{}' is also declared in [bootstrap.linux.syste
• user service '{}' is also declared in [bootstrap.macos.launc
• executable identity contains an unsupported environment vari
• only available on unix

AI-assisted analysis of jdx/mise@afd2eddd3a (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d860825524e587e5. Report an issue: GitHub.