Index and merged units

The index powers cross-file completion, navigation, the systemd Explorer, merged units, and dependency graphs.

Select the systemd server icon in the Activity Bar to open the Explorer. Workspace files are shown first. Indexed Linux or WSL files are grouped under Host.

On trusted Linux hosts, it can also read standard systemd paths. Set systemd.index.scope to workspace to skip them. Host files are read-only.

References without a local or indexed host file are labeled not indexed.

Show Effective Configuration applies drop-ins, precedence, resets, templates, aliases, and masks. Each result links to its source.

Show Dependency Graph shows relationships found in files, not running services.