If you wanted to run podman containers as a systemd service in the past, podman-generate-systemd was the way to go. Now in 2025, their Docs1 say this:
DEPRECATED: Note: podman generate systemd is deprecated. We recommend using Quadlet files when running Podman containers or pods under systemd. There are no plans to remove the command. It will receive urgent bug fixes but no new features.
Let’s see, how that works and convert a simple podman container to a quadlet.
Regular (rootless) podman
We’re using Uptime Kuma to monitor Services and Websites. The command2 to create that container is this:
podman run -d --name uptime-kuma --restart always -v /home/user/podman/uptime-kuma:/app/data --network=host docker.io/louislam/uptime-kuma:latest
Details on some of the parameters:
Restart the container in any circumstance.
--restart always
The configuration data must be persistent after reboots or if the container is removed.
-v /home/user/podman/uptime-kuma:/app/data
To reach other services, on the Host System as well as externally, we tell Podman to use the host network.
--network=host
Quadlet
Let’s first remove the container
podman stop uptime-kuma
podman rm uptime-kuma
Now let’s create a Systemd Container File3 for the new Container.
$EDITOR ~/.config/containers/systemd/uptime-kuma.container
[Unit]
Description=Uptime Kuma
After=network.target
[Container]
Image=docker.io/louislam/uptime-kuma:latest
AutoUpdate=registry
Network=host
Volume=/home/user/podman/uptime-kuma:/app/data
[Service]
Restart=always
[Install]
WantedBy=default.target
Start the container
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user start uptime-kuma
Autostart
Does it start automatically after reboot? Thank’s to this, it does!
[Install]
WantedBy=default.target