Which command sets the default boot target?

• A. Enable a service at boot
• B. Show the default boot target
• C. Set the default boot target
• D. Disable a service at boot

Answer: (C)

The setting that controls what the system starts into by default is the default boot target. In systemd, targets define what services and units get started at boot, and you change the overall boot behavior by choosing which target to boot into by default. The way you set that is with the command that designates a new default target. It updates the /etc/systemd/system/default.target symlink to point to the chosen target, so on the next boot systemd follows that path automatically. For example, you can set the system to boot into multi-user.target for a non-graphical, multi-user environment, or graphical.target for a GUI session. If you just want to see what is currently set, you can query the default target separately. Enabling or disabling a service at boot changes whether a specific service runs, but it does not change which target is used as the system-wide default boot target.