system

Manages system-level settings that don’t fit the other stdlib modules — login banners (/etc/motd, /etc/issue, /etc/issue.net), marker-gated reboots, and the system locale. Each declaration performs exactly one operation, selected by which param is set. Idempotent: re-applying a converged declaration reports no change.

Category: System & core

States

State	Meaning
`present`	The banner has the declared `content`, the locale equals `locale`, or (for `reboot`) a reboot is scheduled when the marker indicates one is needed.
`absent`	The banner file is emptied. Valid for the `banner` op only — `reboot` and `locale` reject `absent`.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`banner`	string		Banner to manage: `motd`, `issue`, or `issue_net`. Selects the banner op.
`content`	string	yes	Banner contents (required with `banner`; use `""` for an empty file). Banner op only.
`reboot`	bool		Set `true` to select the reboot op (schedules a reboot only when the marker indicates one is needed). `false` is rejected.
`when_file`	string		Reboot marker file checked before scheduling. Reboot op only. Default: `/var/run/reboot-required`.
`delay`	int		Minutes before the scheduled reboot (0–60; `0` reboots now). Reboot op only. Default: `1`.
`locale`	string		POSIX locale identifier (e.g. `en_US.UTF-8`). Selects the locale op.

Examples

Set the login banner

system:
  login-motd:
    state: present
    banner: motd
    content: |
      Authorized access only.
      All activity is logged.

Reboot when a kernel update flags one

Schedules a reboot only when the marker file is present; otherwise no-op.

system:
  apply-pending-reboot:
    state: present
    reboot: true
    delay: 5
    when_file: /var/run/reboot-required

Set the system locale

system:
  system-locale:
    state: present
    locale: en_US.UTF-8

Notes

Behaviour is distribution-agnostic; Linux has the full provider, other operating systems get a reduced one.
Exactly one of banner / reboot / locale must be set per declaration.
reboot is marker-gated: the when_file marker is checked first, then a host reboot-hint tool (needs-restarting -r on RHEL/Rocky/Fedora); hosts with neither (e.g. Alpine) rely on the marker alone.
reboot and locale support state: present only; absent applies to banner (empties the file).
Out of scope (planned, #22): reboot disconnect-tolerance, Arch reboot-hint detection, Debian’s /etc/default/locale dual-file, per-LC_* overrides, and absent semantics for reboot/locale.

service user