Merge pull request #20123 from keszybz/extended-job-status

Nested job status for systemd+user service managers

16 files changed, 801 insertions, 720 deletions

diff --git a/src/core/automount.c b/src/core/automount.c
index 68e794ac2e..30226b9bde 100644
--- a/src/core/automount.c
+++ b/src/core/automount.c
@@ -1065,11 +1065,11 @@ static bool automount_supported(void) {
 }
 
 static const char* const automount_result_table[_AUTOMOUNT_RESULT_MAX] = {
-        [AUTOMOUNT_SUCCESS] = "success",
-        [AUTOMOUNT_FAILURE_RESOURCES] = "resources",
-        [AUTOMOUNT_FAILURE_START_LIMIT_HIT] = "start-limit-hit",
+        [AUTOMOUNT_SUCCESS]                       = "success",
+        [AUTOMOUNT_FAILURE_RESOURCES]             = "resources",
+        [AUTOMOUNT_FAILURE_START_LIMIT_HIT]       = "start-limit-hit",
         [AUTOMOUNT_FAILURE_MOUNT_START_LIMIT_HIT] = "mount-start-limit-hit",
-        [AUTOMOUNT_FAILURE_UNMOUNTED] = "unmounted",
+        [AUTOMOUNT_FAILURE_UNMOUNTED]             = "unmounted",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(automount_result, AutomountResult);
diff --git a/src/core/job.c b/src/core/job.c
index eb6728ad87..a526e5e4ee 100644
--- a/src/core/job.c
+++ b/src/core/job.c
@@ -1511,44 +1511,44 @@ static const char* const job_state_table[_JOB_STATE_MAX] = {
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(job_state, JobState);
 
 static const char* const job_type_table[_JOB_TYPE_MAX] = {
-        [JOB_START] = "start",
-        [JOB_VERIFY_ACTIVE] = "verify-active",
-        [JOB_STOP] = "stop",
-        [JOB_RELOAD] = "reload",
+        [JOB_START]           = "start",
+        [JOB_VERIFY_ACTIVE]   = "verify-active",
+        [JOB_STOP]            = "stop",
+        [JOB_RELOAD]          = "reload",
         [JOB_RELOAD_OR_START] = "reload-or-start",
-        [JOB_RESTART] = "restart",
-        [JOB_TRY_RESTART] = "try-restart",
-        [JOB_TRY_RELOAD] = "try-reload",
-        [JOB_NOP] = "nop",
+        [JOB_RESTART]         = "restart",
+        [JOB_TRY_RESTART]     = "try-restart",
+        [JOB_TRY_RELOAD]      = "try-reload",
+        [JOB_NOP]             = "nop",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(job_type, JobType);
 
 static const char* const job_mode_table[_JOB_MODE_MAX] = {
-        [JOB_FAIL] = "fail",
-        [JOB_REPLACE] = "replace",
+        [JOB_FAIL]                 = "fail",
+        [JOB_REPLACE]              = "replace",
         [JOB_REPLACE_IRREVERSIBLY] = "replace-irreversibly",
-        [JOB_ISOLATE] = "isolate",
-        [JOB_FLUSH] = "flush",
-        [JOB_IGNORE_DEPENDENCIES] = "ignore-dependencies",
-        [JOB_IGNORE_REQUIREMENTS] = "ignore-requirements",
-        [JOB_TRIGGERING] = "triggering",
+        [JOB_ISOLATE]              = "isolate",
+        [JOB_FLUSH]                = "flush",
+        [JOB_IGNORE_DEPENDENCIES]  = "ignore-dependencies",
+        [JOB_IGNORE_REQUIREMENTS]  = "ignore-requirements",
+        [JOB_TRIGGERING]           = "triggering",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(job_mode, JobMode);
 
 static const char* const job_result_table[_JOB_RESULT_MAX] = {
-        [JOB_DONE] = "done",
-        [JOB_CANCELED] = "canceled",
-        [JOB_TIMEOUT] = "timeout",
-        [JOB_FAILED] = "failed",
-        [JOB_DEPENDENCY] = "dependency",
-        [JOB_SKIPPED] = "skipped",
-        [JOB_INVALID] = "invalid",
-        [JOB_ASSERT] = "assert",
+        [JOB_DONE]        = "done",
+        [JOB_CANCELED]    = "canceled",
+        [JOB_TIMEOUT]     = "timeout",
+        [JOB_FAILED]      = "failed",
+        [JOB_DEPENDENCY]  = "dependency",
+        [JOB_SKIPPED]     = "skipped",
+        [JOB_INVALID]     = "invalid",
+        [JOB_ASSERT]      = "assert",
         [JOB_UNSUPPORTED] = "unsupported",
-        [JOB_COLLECTED] = "collected",
-        [JOB_ONCE] = "once",
+        [JOB_COLLECTED]   = "collected",
+        [JOB_ONCE]        = "once",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(job_result, JobResult);
diff --git a/src/core/main.c b/src/core/main.c
index 72d7c6b116..57d4f033dd 100644
--- a/src/core/main.c
+++ b/src/core/main.c
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@
 #include "machine-id-setup.h"
 #include "manager.h"
 #include "manager-dump.h"
+#include "manager-serialize.h"
 #include "mkdir.h"
 #include "mount-setup.h"
 #include "os-util.h"
diff --git a/src/core/manager-serialize.c b/src/core/manager-serialize.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..60a35f48f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/manager-serialize.c
@@ -0,0 +1,536 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later */
+
+#include "clean-ipc.h"
+#include "dbus.h"
+#include "fd-util.h"
+#include "fileio.h"
+#include "format-util.h"
+#include "macro.h"
+#include "manager-serialize.h"
+#include "manager.h"
+#include "parse-util.h"
+#include "serialize.h"
+#include "syslog-util.h"
+#include "unit-serialize.h"
+#include "user-util.h"
+
+int manager_open_serialization(Manager *m, FILE **ret_f) {
+        _cleanup_close_ int fd = -1;
+        FILE *f;
+
+        assert(ret_f);
+
+        fd = open_serialization_fd("systemd-state");
+        if (fd < 0)
+                return fd;
+
+        f = take_fdopen(&fd, "w+");
+        if (!f)
+                return -errno;
+
+        *ret_f = f;
+        return 0;
+}
+
+static bool manager_timestamp_shall_serialize(ManagerTimestamp t) {
+        if (!in_initrd())
+                return true;
+
+        /* The following timestamps only apply to the host system, hence only serialize them there */
+        return !IN_SET(t,
+                       MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_USERSPACE, MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_FINISH,
+                       MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_SECURITY_START, MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_SECURITY_FINISH,
+                       MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_GENERATORS_START, MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_GENERATORS_FINISH,
+                       MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_UNITS_LOAD_START, MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_UNITS_LOAD_FINISH);
+}
+
+static void manager_serialize_uid_refs_internal(
+                FILE *f,
+                Hashmap *uid_refs,
+                const char *field_name) {
+
+        void *p, *k;
+
+        assert(f);
+        assert(field_name);
+
+        /* Serialize the UID reference table. Or actually, just the IPC destruction flag of it, as
+         * the actual counter of it is better rebuild after a reload/reexec. */
+
+        HASHMAP_FOREACH_KEY(p, k, uid_refs) {
+                uint32_t c;
+                uid_t uid;
+
+                uid = PTR_TO_UID(k);
+                c = PTR_TO_UINT32(p);
+
+                if (!(c & DESTROY_IPC_FLAG))
+                        continue;
+
+                (void) serialize_item_format(f, field_name, UID_FMT, uid);
+        }
+}
+
+static void manager_serialize_uid_refs(Manager *m, FILE *f) {
+        manager_serialize_uid_refs_internal(f, m->uid_refs, "destroy-ipc-uid");
+}
+
+static void manager_serialize_gid_refs(Manager *m, FILE *f) {
+        manager_serialize_uid_refs_internal(f, m->gid_refs, "destroy-ipc-gid");
+}
+
+int manager_serialize(
+                Manager *m,
+                FILE *f,
+                FDSet *fds,
+                bool switching_root) {
+
+        const char *t;
+        Unit *u;
+        int r;
+
+        assert(m);
+        assert(f);
+        assert(fds);
+
+        _cleanup_(manager_reloading_stopp) _unused_ Manager *reloading = manager_reloading_start(m);
+
+        (void) serialize_item_format(f, "current-job-id", "%" PRIu32, m->current_job_id);
+        (void) serialize_item_format(f, "n-installed-jobs", "%u", m->n_installed_jobs);
+        (void) serialize_item_format(f, "n-failed-jobs", "%u", m->n_failed_jobs);
+        (void) serialize_bool(f, "taint-usr", m->taint_usr);
+        (void) serialize_bool(f, "ready-sent", m->ready_sent);
+        (void) serialize_bool(f, "taint-logged", m->taint_logged);
+        (void) serialize_bool(f, "service-watchdogs", m->service_watchdogs);
+
+        /* After switching root, udevd has not been started yet. So, enumeration results should not be emitted. */
+        (void) serialize_bool(f, "honor-device-enumeration", !switching_root);
+
+        if (m->show_status_overridden != _SHOW_STATUS_INVALID)
+                (void) serialize_item(f, "show-status-overridden",
+                                      show_status_to_string(m->show_status_overridden));
+
+        if (m->log_level_overridden)
+                (void) serialize_item_format(f, "log-level-override", "%i", log_get_max_level());
+        if (m->log_target_overridden)
+                (void) serialize_item(f, "log-target-override", log_target_to_string(log_get_target()));
+
+        (void) serialize_usec(f, "runtime-watchdog-overridden", m->watchdog_overridden[WATCHDOG_RUNTIME]);
+        (void) serialize_usec(f, "reboot-watchdog-overridden", m->watchdog_overridden[WATCHDOG_REBOOT]);
+        (void) serialize_usec(f, "kexec-watchdog-overridden", m->watchdog_overridden[WATCHDOG_KEXEC]);
+
+        for (ManagerTimestamp q = 0; q < _MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_MAX; q++) {
+                _cleanup_free_ char *joined = NULL;
+
+                if (!manager_timestamp_shall_serialize(q))
+                        continue;
+
+                joined = strjoin(manager_timestamp_to_string(q), "-timestamp");
+                if (!joined)
+                        return log_oom();
+
+                (void) serialize_dual_timestamp(f, joined, m->timestamps + q);
+        }
+
+        if (!switching_root)
+                (void) serialize_strv(f, "env", m->client_environment);
+
+        if (m->notify_fd >= 0) {
+                r = serialize_fd(f, fds, "notify-fd", m->notify_fd);
+                if (r < 0)
+                        return r;
+
+                (void) serialize_item(f, "notify-socket", m->notify_socket);
+        }
+
+        if (m->cgroups_agent_fd >= 0) {
+                r = serialize_fd(f, fds, "cgroups-agent-fd", m->cgroups_agent_fd);
+                if (r < 0)
+                        return r;
+        }
+
+        if (m->user_lookup_fds[0] >= 0) {
+                int copy0, copy1;
+
+                copy0 = fdset_put_dup(fds, m->user_lookup_fds[0]);
+                if (copy0 < 0)
+                        return log_error_errno(copy0, "Failed to add user lookup fd to serialization: %m");
+
+                copy1 = fdset_put_dup(fds, m->user_lookup_fds[1]);
+                if (copy1 < 0)
+                        return log_error_errno(copy1, "Failed to add user lookup fd to serialization: %m");
+
+                (void) serialize_item_format(f, "user-lookup", "%i %i", copy0, copy1);
+        }
+
+        bus_track_serialize(m->subscribed, f, "subscribed");
+
+        r = dynamic_user_serialize(m, f, fds);
+        if (r < 0)
+                return r;
+
+        manager_serialize_uid_refs(m, f);
+        manager_serialize_gid_refs(m, f);
+
+        r = exec_runtime_serialize(m, f, fds);
+        if (r < 0)
+                return r;
+
+        (void) fputc('\n', f);
+
+        HASHMAP_FOREACH_KEY(u, t, m->units) {
+                if (u->id != t)
+                        continue;
+
+                r = unit_serialize(u, f, fds, switching_root);
+                if (r < 0)
+                        return r;
+        }
+
+        r = fflush_and_check(f);
+        if (r < 0)
+                return log_error_errno(r, "Failed to flush serialization: %m");
+
+        r = bus_fdset_add_all(m, fds);
+        if (r < 0)
+                return log_error_errno(r, "Failed to add bus sockets to serialization: %m");
+
+        return 0;
+}
+
+static int manager_deserialize_one_unit(Manager *m, const char *name, FILE *f, FDSet *fds) {
+        Unit *u;
+        int r;
+
+        r = manager_load_unit(m, name, NULL, NULL, &u);
+        if (r < 0) {
+                if (r == -ENOMEM)
+                        return r;
+                return log_notice_errno(r, "Failed to load unit \"%s\", skipping deserialization: %m", name);
+        }
+
+        r = unit_deserialize(u, f, fds);
+        if (r < 0) {
+                if (r == -ENOMEM)
+                        return r;
+                return log_notice_errno(r, "Failed to deserialize unit \"%s\", skipping: %m", name);
+        }
+
+        return 0;
+}
+
+static int manager_deserialize_units(Manager *m, FILE *f, FDSet *fds) {
+        const char *unit_name;
+        int r;
+
+        for (;;) {
+                _cleanup_free_ char *line = NULL;
+                /* Start marker */
+                r = read_line(f, LONG_LINE_MAX, &line);
+                if (r < 0)
+                        return log_error_errno(r, "Failed to read serialization line: %m");
+                if (r == 0)
+                        break;
+
+                unit_name = strstrip(line);
+
+                r = manager_deserialize_one_unit(m, unit_name, f, fds);
+                if (r == -ENOMEM)
+                        return r;
+                if (r < 0) {
+                        r = unit_deserialize_skip(f);
+                        if (r < 0)
+                                return r;
+                }
+        }
+
+        return 0;
+}
+
+static void manager_deserialize_uid_refs_one_internal(
+                Hashmap** uid_refs,
+                const char *value) {
+
+        uid_t uid;
+        uint32_t c;
+        int r;
+
+        assert(uid_refs);
+        assert(value);
+
+        r = parse_uid(value, &uid);
+        if (r < 0 || uid == 0) {
+                log_debug("Unable to parse UID/GID reference serialization: " UID_FMT, uid);
+                return;
+        }
+
+        if (hashmap_ensure_allocated(uid_refs, &trivial_hash_ops) < 0) {
+                log_oom();
+                return;
+        }
+
+        c = PTR_TO_UINT32(hashmap_get(*uid_refs, UID_TO_PTR(uid)));
+        if (c & DESTROY_IPC_FLAG)
+                return;
+
+        c |= DESTROY_IPC_FLAG;
+
+        r = hashmap_replace(*uid_refs, UID_TO_PTR(uid), UINT32_TO_PTR(c));
+        if (r < 0) {
+                log_debug_errno(r, "Failed to add UID/GID reference entry: %m");
+                return;
+        }
+}
+
+static void manager_deserialize_uid_refs_one(Manager *m, const char *value) {
+        manager_deserialize_uid_refs_one_internal(&m->uid_refs, value);
+}
+
+static void manager_deserialize_gid_refs_one(Manager *m, const char *value) {
+        manager_deserialize_uid_refs_one_internal(&m->gid_refs, value);
+}
+
+int manager_deserialize(Manager *m, FILE *f, FDSet *fds) {
+        int r = 0;
+
+        assert(m);
+        assert(f);
+
+        if (DEBUG_LOGGING) {
+                if (fdset_isempty(fds))
+                        log_debug("No file descriptors passed");
+                else {
+                        int fd;
+
+                        FDSET_FOREACH(fd, fds) {
+                                _cleanup_free_ char *fn = NULL;
+
+                                r = fd_get_path(fd, &fn);
+                                if (r < 0)
+                                        log_debug_errno(r, "Received serialized fd %i → %m", fd);
+                                else
+                                        log_debug("Received serialized fd %i → %s", fd, strna(fn));
+                        }
+                }
+        }
+
+        log_debug("Deserializing state...");
+
+        /* If we are not in reload mode yet, enter it now. Not that this is recursive, a caller might already have
+         * increased it to non-zero, which is why we just increase it by one here and down again at the end of this
+         * call. */
+        _cleanup_(manager_reloading_stopp) _unused_ Manager *reloading = manager_reloading_start(m);
+
+        for (;;) {
+                _cleanup_free_ char *line = NULL;
+                const char *val, *l;
+
+                r = read_line(f, LONG_LINE_MAX, &line);
+                if (r < 0)
+                        return log_error_errno(r, "Failed to read serialization line: %m");
+                if (r == 0)
+                        break;
+
+                l = strstrip(line);
+                if (isempty(l)) /* end marker */
+                        break;
+
+                if ((val = startswith(l, "current-job-id="))) {
+                        uint32_t id;
+
+                        if (safe_atou32(val, &id) < 0)
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse current job id value '%s', ignoring.", val);
+                        else
+                                m->current_job_id = MAX(m->current_job_id, id);
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "n-installed-jobs="))) {
+                        uint32_t n;
+
+                        if (safe_atou32(val, &n) < 0)
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse installed jobs counter '%s', ignoring.", val);
+                        else
+                                m->n_installed_jobs += n;
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "n-failed-jobs="))) {
+                        uint32_t n;
+
+                        if (safe_atou32(val, &n) < 0)
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse failed jobs counter '%s', ignoring.", val);
+                        else
+                                m->n_failed_jobs += n;
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "taint-usr="))) {
+                        int b;
+
+                        b = parse_boolean(val);
+                        if (b < 0)
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse taint /usr flag '%s', ignoring.", val);
+                        else
+                                m->taint_usr = m->taint_usr || b;
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "ready-sent="))) {
+                        int b;
+
+                        b = parse_boolean(val);
+                        if (b < 0)
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse ready-sent flag '%s', ignoring.", val);
+                        else
+                                m->ready_sent = m->ready_sent || b;
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "taint-logged="))) {
+                        int b;
+
+                        b = parse_boolean(val);
+                        if (b < 0)
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse taint-logged flag '%s', ignoring.", val);
+                        else
+                                m->taint_logged = m->taint_logged || b;
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "service-watchdogs="))) {
+                        int b;
+
+                        b = parse_boolean(val);
+                        if (b < 0)
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse service-watchdogs flag '%s', ignoring.", val);
+                        else
+                                m->service_watchdogs = b;
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "honor-device-enumeration="))) {
+                        int b;
+
+                        b = parse_boolean(val);
+                        if (b < 0)
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse honor-device-enumeration flag '%s', ignoring.", val);
+                        else
+                                m->honor_device_enumeration = b;
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "show-status-overridden="))) {
+                        ShowStatus s;
+
+                        s = show_status_from_string(val);
+                        if (s < 0)
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse show-status-overridden flag '%s', ignoring.", val);
+                        else
+                                manager_override_show_status(m, s, "deserialize");
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "log-level-override="))) {
+                        int level;
+
+                        level = log_level_from_string(val);
+                        if (level < 0)
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse log-level-override value '%s', ignoring.", val);
+                        else
+                                manager_override_log_level(m, level);
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "log-target-override="))) {
+                        LogTarget target;
+
+                        target = log_target_from_string(val);
+                        if (target < 0)
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse log-target-override value '%s', ignoring.", val);
+                        else
+                                manager_override_log_target(m, target);
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "runtime-watchdog-overridden="))) {
+                        usec_t t;
+
+                        if (deserialize_usec(val, &t) < 0)
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse runtime-watchdog-overridden value '%s', ignoring.", val);
+                        else
+                                manager_override_watchdog(m, WATCHDOG_RUNTIME, t);
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "reboot-watchdog-overridden="))) {
+                        usec_t t;
+
+                        if (deserialize_usec(val, &t) < 0)
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse reboot-watchdog-overridden value '%s', ignoring.", val);
+                        else
+                                manager_override_watchdog(m, WATCHDOG_REBOOT, t);
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "kexec-watchdog-overridden="))) {
+                        usec_t t;
+
+                        if (deserialize_usec(val, &t) < 0)
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse kexec-watchdog-overridden value '%s', ignoring.", val);
+                        else
+                                manager_override_watchdog(m, WATCHDOG_KEXEC, t);
+
+                } else if (startswith(l, "env=")) {
+                        r = deserialize_environment(l + 4, &m->client_environment);
+                        if (r < 0)
+                                log_notice_errno(r, "Failed to parse environment entry: \"%s\", ignoring: %m", l);
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "notify-fd="))) {
+                        int fd;
+
+                        if (safe_atoi(val, &fd) < 0 || fd < 0 || !fdset_contains(fds, fd))
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse notify fd, ignoring: \"%s\"", val);
+                        else {
+                                m->notify_event_source = sd_event_source_disable_unref(m->notify_event_source);
+                                safe_close(m->notify_fd);
+                                m->notify_fd = fdset_remove(fds, fd);
+                        }
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "notify-socket="))) {
+                        r = free_and_strdup(&m->notify_socket, val);
+                        if (r < 0)
+                                return r;
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "cgroups-agent-fd="))) {
+                        int fd;
+
+                        if (safe_atoi(val, &fd) < 0 || fd < 0 || !fdset_contains(fds, fd))
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse cgroups agent fd, ignoring.: %s", val);
+                        else {
+                                m->cgroups_agent_event_source = sd_event_source_disable_unref(m->cgroups_agent_event_source);
+                                safe_close(m->cgroups_agent_fd);
+                                m->cgroups_agent_fd = fdset_remove(fds, fd);
+                        }
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "user-lookup="))) {
+                        int fd0, fd1;
+
+                        if (sscanf(val, "%i %i", &fd0, &fd1) != 2 || fd0 < 0 || fd1 < 0 || fd0 == fd1 || !fdset_contains(fds, fd0) || !fdset_contains(fds, fd1))
+                                log_notice("Failed to parse user lookup fd, ignoring: %s", val);
+                        else {
+                                m->user_lookup_event_source = sd_event_source_disable_unref(m->user_lookup_event_source);
+                                safe_close_pair(m->user_lookup_fds);
+                                m->user_lookup_fds[0] = fdset_remove(fds, fd0);
+                                m->user_lookup_fds[1] = fdset_remove(fds, fd1);
+                        }
+
+                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "dynamic-user=")))
+                        dynamic_user_deserialize_one(m, val, fds);
+                else if ((val = startswith(l, "destroy-ipc-uid=")))
+                        manager_deserialize_uid_refs_one(m, val);
+                else if ((val = startswith(l, "destroy-ipc-gid=")))
+                        manager_deserialize_gid_refs_one(m, val);
+                else if ((val = startswith(l, "exec-runtime=")))
+                        (void) exec_runtime_deserialize_one(m, val, fds);
+                else if ((val = startswith(l, "subscribed="))) {
+
+                        if (strv_extend(&m->deserialized_subscribed, val) < 0)
+                                return -ENOMEM;
+
+                } else {
+                        ManagerTimestamp q;
+
+                        for (q = 0; q < _MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_MAX; q++) {
+                                val = startswith(l, manager_timestamp_to_string(q));
+                                if (!val)
+                                        continue;
+
+                                val = startswith(val, "-timestamp=");
+                                if (val)
+                                        break;
+                        }
+
+                        if (q < _MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_MAX) /* found it */
+                                (void) deserialize_dual_timestamp(val, m->timestamps + q);
+                        else if (!startswith(l, "kdbus-fd=")) /* ignore kdbus */
+                                log_notice("Unknown serialization item '%s', ignoring.", l);
+                }
+        }
+
+        return manager_deserialize_units(m, f, fds);
+}
diff --git a/src/core/manager-serialize.h b/src/core/manager-serialize.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c52261e378
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/manager-serialize.h
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later */
+#pragma once
+
+#include <stdbool.h>
+
+#include "manager.h"
+#include "fdset.h"
+
+#define DESTROY_IPC_FLAG (UINT32_C(1) << 31)
+
+int manager_open_serialization(Manager *m, FILE **ret_f);
+int manager_serialize(Manager *m, FILE *f, FDSet *fds, bool switching_root);
+int manager_deserialize(Manager *m, FILE *f, FDSet *fds);
diff --git a/src/core/manager.c b/src/core/manager.c
index 18bdd83342..a3607ea44f 100644
--- a/src/core/manager.c
+++ b/src/core/manager.c
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@
 #include "macro.h"
 #include "manager.h"
 #include "manager-dump.h"
+#include "manager-serialize.h"
 #include "memory-util.h"
 #include "mkdir.h"
 #include "parse-util.h"
@@ -66,7 +67,6 @@
 #include "rlimit-util.h"
 #include "rm-rf.h"
 #include "selinux-util.h"
-#include "serialize.h"
 #include "signal-util.h"
 #include "socket-util.h"
 #include "special.h"
@@ -82,7 +82,6 @@
 #include "transaction.h"
 #include "umask-util.h"
 #include "unit-name.h"
-#include "unit-serialize.h"
 #include "user-util.h"
 #include "virt.h"
 #include "watchdog.h"
@@ -118,9 +117,19 @@ static int manager_run_generators(Manager *m);
 static void manager_vacuum(Manager *m);
 
 static usec_t manager_watch_jobs_next_time(Manager *m) {
-        return usec_add(now(CLOCK_MONOTONIC),
-                        show_status_on(m->show_status) ? JOBS_IN_PROGRESS_WAIT_USEC :
-                                                         JOBS_IN_PROGRESS_QUIET_WAIT_USEC);
+        usec_t timeout;
+
+        if (MANAGER_IS_USER(m))
+                /* Let the user manager without a timeout show status quickly, so the system manager can make
+                 * use of it, if it wants to. */
+                timeout = JOBS_IN_PROGRESS_WAIT_USEC * 2 / 3;
+        else if (show_status_on(m->show_status))
+                /* When status is on, just use the usual timeout. */
+                timeout = JOBS_IN_PROGRESS_WAIT_USEC;
+        else
+                timeout = JOBS_IN_PROGRESS_QUIET_WAIT_USEC;
+
+        return usec_add(now(CLOCK_MONOTONIC), timeout);
 }
 
 static void manager_watch_jobs_in_progress(Manager *m) {
@@ -200,7 +209,6 @@ static void manager_flip_auto_status(Manager *m, bool enable, const char *reason
 }
 
 static void manager_print_jobs_in_progress(Manager *m) {
-        _cleanup_free_ char *job_of_n = NULL;
         Job *j;
         unsigned counter = 0, print_nr;
         char cylon[6 + CYLON_BUFFER_EXTRA + 1];
@@ -230,26 +238,51 @@ static void manager_print_jobs_in_progress(Manager *m) {
 
         m->jobs_in_progress_iteration++;
 
+        char job_of_n[STRLEN("( of ) ") + DECIMAL_STR_MAX(unsigned)*2] = "";
         if (m->n_running_jobs > 1)
-                if (asprintf(&job_of_n, "(%u of %u) ", counter, m->n_running_jobs) < 0)
-                        job_of_n = NULL;
+                xsprintf(job_of_n, "(%u of %u) ", counter, m->n_running_jobs);
 
         bool have_timeout = job_get_timeout(j, &x) > 0;
 
         /* We want to use enough information for the user to identify previous lines talking about the same
          * unit, but keep the message as short as possible. So if 'Starting foo.service' or 'Starting
-         * foo.service (Description)' were used, 'foo.service' is enough here. On the other hand, if we used
+         * foo.service - Description' were used, 'foo.service' is enough here. On the other hand, if we used
          * 'Starting Description' before, then we shall also use 'Description' here. So we pass NULL as the
          * second argument to unit_status_string(). */
         const char *ident = unit_status_string(j->unit, NULL);
 
-        manager_status_printf(m, STATUS_TYPE_EPHEMERAL, cylon,
-                              "%sA %s job is running for %s (%s / %s)",
-                              strempty(job_of_n),
-                              job_type_to_string(j->type),
-                              ident,
-                              FORMAT_TIMESPAN(now(CLOCK_MONOTONIC) - j->begin_usec, 1*USEC_PER_SEC),
-                              have_timeout ? FORMAT_TIMESPAN(x - j->begin_usec, 1*USEC_PER_SEC) : "no limit");
+        const char *time = FORMAT_TIMESPAN(now(CLOCK_MONOTONIC) - j->begin_usec, 1*USEC_PER_SEC);
+        const char *limit = have_timeout ? FORMAT_TIMESPAN(x - j->begin_usec, 1*USEC_PER_SEC) : "no limit";
+
+        if (m->status_unit_format == STATUS_UNIT_FORMAT_DESCRIPTION)
+                /* When using 'Description', we effectively don't have enough space to show the nested status
+                 * without ellipsization, so let's not even try. */
+                manager_status_printf(m, STATUS_TYPE_EPHEMERAL, cylon,
+                                      "%sA %s job is running for %s (%s / %s)",
+                                      job_of_n,
+                                      job_type_to_string(j->type),
+                                      ident,
+                                      time, limit);
+        else {
+                const char *status_text = unit_status_text(j->unit);
+
+                manager_status_printf(m, STATUS_TYPE_EPHEMERAL, cylon,
+                                      "%sJob %s/%s running (%s / %s)%s%s",
+                                      job_of_n,
+                                      ident,
+                                      job_type_to_string(j->type),
+                                      time, limit,
+                                      status_text ? ": " : "",
+                                      strempty(status_text));
+        }
+
+        sd_notifyf(false,
+                   "STATUS=%sUser job %s/%s running (%s / %s)...",
+                   job_of_n,
+                   ident,
+                   job_type_to_string(j->type),
+                   time, limit);
+        m->status_ready = false;
 }
 
 static int have_ask_password(void) {
@@ -621,9 +654,7 @@ static char** sanitize_environment(char **l) {
                         NULL);
 
         /* Let's order the environment alphabetically, just to make it pretty */
-        strv_sort(l);
-
-        return l;
+        return strv_sort(l);
 }
 
 int manager_default_environment(Manager *m) {
@@ -1686,11 +1717,11 @@ static void manager_ready(Manager *m) {
         m->honor_device_enumeration = true;
 }
 
-static Manager* manager_reloading_start(Manager *m) {
+Manager* manager_reloading_start(Manager *m) {
         m->n_reloading++;
         return m;
 }
-static void manager_reloading_stopp(Manager **m) {
+void manager_reloading_stopp(Manager **m) {
         if (*m) {
                 assert((*m)->n_reloading > 0);
                 (*m)->n_reloading--;
@@ -2616,15 +2647,19 @@ turn_off:
         return 0;
 }
 
-static void manager_start_target(Manager *m, const char *name, JobMode mode) {
-        _cleanup_(sd_bus_error_free) sd_bus_error error = SD_BUS_ERROR_NULL;
-        int r;
+static void manager_start_special(Manager *m, const char *name, JobMode mode) {
+        Job *job;
 
-        log_debug("Activating special unit %s", name);
+        if (manager_add_job_by_name_and_warn(m, JOB_START, name, mode, NULL, &job) < 0)
+                return;
 
-        r = manager_add_job_by_name(m, JOB_START, name, mode, NULL, &error, NULL);
-        if (r < 0)
-                log_error("Failed to enqueue %s job: %s", name, bus_error_message(&error, r));
+        const char *s = unit_status_string(job->unit, NULL);
+
+        log_info("Activating special unit %s...", s);
+
+        sd_notifyf(false,
+                   "STATUS=Activating special unit %s...", s);
+        m->status_ready = false;
 }
 
 static void manager_handle_ctrl_alt_del(Manager *m) {
@@ -2633,7 +2668,7 @@ static void manager_handle_ctrl_alt_del(Manager *m) {
          * unless it was disabled in system.conf */
 
         if (ratelimit_below(&m->ctrl_alt_del_ratelimit) || m->cad_burst_action == EMERGENCY_ACTION_NONE)
-                manager_start_target(m, SPECIAL_CTRL_ALT_DEL_TARGET, JOB_REPLACE_IRREVERSIBLY);
+                manager_start_special(m, SPECIAL_CTRL_ALT_DEL_TARGET, JOB_REPLACE_IRREVERSIBLY);
         else
                 emergency_action(m, m->cad_burst_action, EMERGENCY_ACTION_WARN, NULL, -1,
                                 "Ctrl-Alt-Del was pressed more than 7 times within 2s");
@@ -2697,21 +2732,20 @@ static int manager_dispatch_signal_fd(sd_event_source *source, int fd, uint32_t
                 if (MANAGER_IS_SYSTEM(m))
                         manager_handle_ctrl_alt_del(m);
                 else
-                        manager_start_target(m, SPECIAL_EXIT_TARGET,
-                                             JOB_REPLACE_IRREVERSIBLY);
+                        manager_start_special(m, SPECIAL_EXIT_TARGET, JOB_REPLACE_IRREVERSIBLY);
                 break;
 
         case SIGWINCH:
                 /* This is a nop on non-init */
                 if (MANAGER_IS_SYSTEM(m))
-                        manager_start_target(m, SPECIAL_KBREQUEST_TARGET, JOB_REPLACE);
+                        manager_start_special(m, SPECIAL_KBREQUEST_TARGET, JOB_REPLACE);
 
                 break;
 
         case SIGPWR:
                 /* This is a nop on non-init */
                 if (MANAGER_IS_SYSTEM(m))
-                        manager_start_target(m, SPECIAL_SIGPWR_TARGET, JOB_REPLACE);
+                        manager_start_special(m, SPECIAL_SIGPWR_TARGET, JOB_REPLACE);
 
                 break;
 
@@ -2723,10 +2757,8 @@ static int manager_dispatch_signal_fd(sd_event_source *source, int fd, uint32_t
 
                         if (MANAGER_IS_SYSTEM(m))
                                 (void) bus_init_system(m);
-                } else {
-                        log_info("Starting D-Bus service...");
-                        manager_start_target(m, SPECIAL_DBUS_SERVICE, JOB_REPLACE);
-                }
+                } else
+                        manager_start_special(m, SPECIAL_DBUS_SERVICE, JOB_REPLACE);
 
                 break;
 
@@ -2777,8 +2809,7 @@ static int manager_dispatch_signal_fd(sd_event_source *source, int fd, uint32_t
                 if ((int) sfsi.ssi_signo >= SIGRTMIN+0 &&
                     (int) sfsi.ssi_signo < SIGRTMIN+(int) ELEMENTSOF(target_table)) {
                         int idx = (int) sfsi.ssi_signo - SIGRTMIN;
-                        manager_start_target(m, target_table[idx].target,
-                                             target_table[idx].mode);
+                        manager_start_special(m, target_table[idx].target, target_table[idx].mode);
                         break;
                 }
 
@@ -3143,10 +3174,8 @@ void manager_send_unit_plymouth(Manager *m, Unit *u) {
                 return;
         }
 
-        if (asprintf(&message, "U\002%c%s%n", (int) (strlen(u->id) + 1), u->id, &n) < 0) {
-                log_oom();
-                return;
-        }
+        if (asprintf(&message, "U\002%c%s%n", (int) (strlen(u->id) + 1), u->id, &n) < 0)
+                return (void) log_oom();
 
         errno = 0;
         if (write(fd, message, n + 1) != n + 1)
@@ -3154,242 +3183,6 @@ void manager_send_unit_plymouth(Manager *m, Unit *u) {
                         log_error_errno(errno, "Failed to write Plymouth message: %m");
 }
 
-int manager_open_serialization(Manager *m, FILE **_f) {
-        _cleanup_close_ int fd = -1;
-        FILE *f;
-
-        assert(_f);
-
-        fd = open_serialization_fd("systemd-state");
-        if (fd < 0)
-                return fd;
-
-        f = take_fdopen(&fd, "w+");
-        if (!f)
-                return -errno;
-
-        *_f = f;
-        return 0;
-}
-
-static bool manager_timestamp_shall_serialize(ManagerTimestamp t) {
-
-        if (!in_initrd())
-                return true;
-
-        /* The following timestamps only apply to the host system, hence only serialize them there */
-        return !IN_SET(t,
-                       MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_USERSPACE, MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_FINISH,
-                       MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_SECURITY_START, MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_SECURITY_FINISH,
-                       MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_GENERATORS_START, MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_GENERATORS_FINISH,
-                       MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_UNITS_LOAD_START, MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_UNITS_LOAD_FINISH);
-}
-
-#define DESTROY_IPC_FLAG (UINT32_C(1) << 31)
-
-static void manager_serialize_uid_refs_internal(
-                FILE *f,
-                Hashmap *uid_refs,
-                const char *field_name) {
-
-        void *p, *k;
-
-        assert(f);
-        assert(field_name);
-
-        /* Serialize the UID reference table. Or actually, just the IPC destruction flag of it, as
-         * the actual counter of it is better rebuild after a reload/reexec. */
-
-        HASHMAP_FOREACH_KEY(p, k, uid_refs) {
-                uint32_t c;
-                uid_t uid;
-
-                uid = PTR_TO_UID(k);
-                c = PTR_TO_UINT32(p);
-
-                if (!(c & DESTROY_IPC_FLAG))
-                        continue;
-
-                (void) serialize_item_format(f, field_name, UID_FMT, uid);
-        }
-}
-
-static void manager_serialize_uid_refs(Manager *m, FILE *f) {
-        manager_serialize_uid_refs_internal(f, m->uid_refs, "destroy-ipc-uid");
-}
-
-static void manager_serialize_gid_refs(Manager *m, FILE *f) {
-        manager_serialize_uid_refs_internal(f, m->gid_refs, "destroy-ipc-gid");
-}
-
-int manager_serialize(
-                Manager *m,
-                FILE *f,
-                FDSet *fds,
-                bool switching_root) {
-
-        const char *t;
-        Unit *u;
-        int r;
-
-        assert(m);
-        assert(f);
-        assert(fds);
-
-        _cleanup_(manager_reloading_stopp) _unused_ Manager *reloading = manager_reloading_start(m);
-
-        (void) serialize_item_format(f, "current-job-id", "%" PRIu32, m->current_job_id);
-        (void) serialize_item_format(f, "n-installed-jobs", "%u", m->n_installed_jobs);
-        (void) serialize_item_format(f, "n-failed-jobs", "%u", m->n_failed_jobs);
-        (void) serialize_bool(f, "taint-usr", m->taint_usr);
-        (void) serialize_bool(f, "ready-sent", m->ready_sent);
-        (void) serialize_bool(f, "taint-logged", m->taint_logged);
-        (void) serialize_bool(f, "service-watchdogs", m->service_watchdogs);
-
-        /* After switching root, udevd has not been started yet. So, enumeration results should not be emitted. */
-        (void) serialize_bool(f, "honor-device-enumeration", !switching_root);
-
-        if (m->show_status_overridden != _SHOW_STATUS_INVALID)
-                (void) serialize_item(f, "show-status-overridden",
-                                      show_status_to_string(m->show_status_overridden));
-
-        if (m->log_level_overridden)
-                (void) serialize_item_format(f, "log-level-override", "%i", log_get_max_level());
-        if (m->log_target_overridden)
-                (void) serialize_item(f, "log-target-override", log_target_to_string(log_get_target()));
-
-        (void) serialize_usec(f, "runtime-watchdog-overridden", m->watchdog_overridden[WATCHDOG_RUNTIME]);
-        (void) serialize_usec(f, "reboot-watchdog-overridden", m->watchdog_overridden[WATCHDOG_REBOOT]);
-        (void) serialize_usec(f, "kexec-watchdog-overridden", m->watchdog_overridden[WATCHDOG_KEXEC]);
-
-        for (ManagerTimestamp q = 0; q < _MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_MAX; q++) {
-                _cleanup_free_ char *joined = NULL;
-
-                if (!manager_timestamp_shall_serialize(q))
-                        continue;
-
-                joined = strjoin(manager_timestamp_to_string(q), "-timestamp");
-                if (!joined)
-                        return log_oom();
-
-                (void) serialize_dual_timestamp(f, joined, m->timestamps + q);
-        }
-
-        if (!switching_root)
-                (void) serialize_strv(f, "env", m->client_environment);
-
-        if (m->notify_fd >= 0) {
-                r = serialize_fd(f, fds, "notify-fd", m->notify_fd);
-                if (r < 0)
-                        return r;
-
-                (void) serialize_item(f, "notify-socket", m->notify_socket);
-        }
-
-        if (m->cgroups_agent_fd >= 0) {
-                r = serialize_fd(f, fds, "cgroups-agent-fd", m->cgroups_agent_fd);
-                if (r < 0)
-                        return r;
-        }
-
-        if (m->user_lookup_fds[0] >= 0) {
-                int copy0, copy1;
-
-                copy0 = fdset_put_dup(fds, m->user_lookup_fds[0]);
-                if (copy0 < 0)
-                        return log_error_errno(copy0, "Failed to add user lookup fd to serialization: %m");
-
-                copy1 = fdset_put_dup(fds, m->user_lookup_fds[1]);
-                if (copy1 < 0)
-                        return log_error_errno(copy1, "Failed to add user lookup fd to serialization: %m");
-
-                (void) serialize_item_format(f, "user-lookup", "%i %i", copy0, copy1);
-        }
-
-        bus_track_serialize(m->subscribed, f, "subscribed");
-
-        r = dynamic_user_serialize(m, f, fds);
-        if (r < 0)
-                return r;
-
-        manager_serialize_uid_refs(m, f);
-        manager_serialize_gid_refs(m, f);
-
-        r = exec_runtime_serialize(m, f, fds);
-        if (r < 0)
-                return r;
-
-        (void) fputc('\n', f);
-
-        HASHMAP_FOREACH_KEY(u, t, m->units) {
-                if (u->id != t)
-                        continue;
-
-                r = unit_serialize(u, f, fds, switching_root);
-                if (r < 0)
-                        return r;
-        }
-
-        r = fflush_and_check(f);
-        if (r < 0)
-                return log_error_errno(r, "Failed to flush serialization: %m");
-
-        r = bus_fdset_add_all(m, fds);
-        if (r < 0)
-                return log_error_errno(r, "Failed to add bus sockets to serialization: %m");
-
-        return 0;
-}
-
-static int manager_deserialize_one_unit(Manager *m, const char *name, FILE *f, FDSet *fds) {
-        Unit *u;
-        int r;
-
-        r = manager_load_unit(m, name, NULL, NULL, &u);
-        if (r < 0) {
-                if (r == -ENOMEM)
-                        return r;
-                return log_notice_errno(r, "Failed to load unit \"%s\", skipping deserialization: %m", name);
-        }
-
-        r = unit_deserialize(u, f, fds);
-        if (r < 0) {
-                if (r == -ENOMEM)
-                        return r;
-                return log_notice_errno(r, "Failed to deserialize unit \"%s\", skipping: %m", name);
-        }
-
-        return 0;
-}
-
-static int manager_deserialize_units(Manager *m, FILE *f, FDSet *fds) {
-        const char *unit_name;
-        int r;
-
-        for (;;) {
-                _cleanup_free_ char *line = NULL;
-                /* Start marker */
-                r = read_line(f, LONG_LINE_MAX, &line);
-                if (r < 0)
-                        return log_error_errno(r, "Failed to read serialization line: %m");
-                if (r == 0)
-                        break;
-
-                unit_name = strstrip(line);
-
-                r = manager_deserialize_one_unit(m, unit_name, f, fds);
-                if (r == -ENOMEM)
-                        return r;
-                if (r < 0) {
-                        r = unit_deserialize_skip(f);
-                        if (r < 0)
-                                return r;
-                }
-        }
-
-        return 0;
-}
-
 usec_t manager_get_watchdog(Manager *m, WatchdogType t) {
         assert(m);
 
@@ -3474,294 +3267,6 @@ void manager_retry_runtime_watchdog(Manager *m) {
                 m->runtime_watchdog_running = true;
 }
 
-static void manager_deserialize_uid_refs_one_internal(
-                Hashmap** uid_refs,
-                const char *value) {
-
-        uid_t uid;
-        uint32_t c;
-        int r;
-
-        assert(uid_refs);
-        assert(value);
-
-        r = parse_uid(value, &uid);
-        if (r < 0 || uid == 0) {
-                log_debug("Unable to parse UID/GID reference serialization: " UID_FMT, uid);
-                return;
-        }
-
-        if (hashmap_ensure_allocated(uid_refs, &trivial_hash_ops) < 0) {
-                log_oom();
-                return;
-        }
-
-        c = PTR_TO_UINT32(hashmap_get(*uid_refs, UID_TO_PTR(uid)));
-        if (c & DESTROY_IPC_FLAG)
-                return;
-
-        c |= DESTROY_IPC_FLAG;
-
-        r = hashmap_replace(*uid_refs, UID_TO_PTR(uid), UINT32_TO_PTR(c));
-        if (r < 0) {
-                log_debug_errno(r, "Failed to add UID/GID reference entry: %m");
-                return;
-        }
-}
-
-static void manager_deserialize_uid_refs_one(Manager *m, const char *value) {
-        manager_deserialize_uid_refs_one_internal(&m->uid_refs, value);
-}
-
-static void manager_deserialize_gid_refs_one(Manager *m, const char *value) {
-        manager_deserialize_uid_refs_one_internal(&m->gid_refs, value);
-}
-
-int manager_deserialize(Manager *m, FILE *f, FDSet *fds) {
-        int r = 0;
-
-        assert(m);
-        assert(f);
-
-        if (DEBUG_LOGGING) {
-                if (fdset_isempty(fds))
-                        log_debug("No file descriptors passed");
-                else {
-                        int fd;
-
-                        FDSET_FOREACH(fd, fds) {
-                                _cleanup_free_ char *fn = NULL;
-
-                                r = fd_get_path(fd, &fn);
-                                if (r < 0)
-                                        log_debug_errno(r, "Received serialized fd %i → %m", fd);
-                                else
-                                        log_debug("Received serialized fd %i → %s", fd, strna(fn));
-                        }
-                }
-        }
-
-        log_debug("Deserializing state...");
-
-        /* If we are not in reload mode yet, enter it now. Not that this is recursive, a caller might already have
-         * increased it to non-zero, which is why we just increase it by one here and down again at the end of this
-         * call. */
-        _cleanup_(manager_reloading_stopp) _unused_ Manager *reloading = manager_reloading_start(m);
-
-        for (;;) {
-                _cleanup_free_ char *line = NULL;
-                const char *val, *l;
-
-                r = read_line(f, LONG_LINE_MAX, &line);
-                if (r < 0)
-                        return log_error_errno(r, "Failed to read serialization line: %m");
-                if (r == 0)
-                        break;
-
-                l = strstrip(line);
-                if (isempty(l)) /* end marker */
-                        break;
-
-                if ((val = startswith(l, "current-job-id="))) {
-                        uint32_t id;
-
-                        if (safe_atou32(val, &id) < 0)
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse current job id value '%s', ignoring.", val);
-                        else
-                                m->current_job_id = MAX(m->current_job_id, id);
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "n-installed-jobs="))) {
-                        uint32_t n;
-
-                        if (safe_atou32(val, &n) < 0)
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse installed jobs counter '%s', ignoring.", val);
-                        else
-                                m->n_installed_jobs += n;
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "n-failed-jobs="))) {
-                        uint32_t n;
-
-                        if (safe_atou32(val, &n) < 0)
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse failed jobs counter '%s', ignoring.", val);
-                        else
-                                m->n_failed_jobs += n;
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "taint-usr="))) {
-                        int b;
-
-                        b = parse_boolean(val);
-                        if (b < 0)
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse taint /usr flag '%s', ignoring.", val);
-                        else
-                                m->taint_usr = m->taint_usr || b;
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "ready-sent="))) {
-                        int b;
-
-                        b = parse_boolean(val);
-                        if (b < 0)
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse ready-sent flag '%s', ignoring.", val);
-                        else
-                                m->ready_sent = m->ready_sent || b;
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "taint-logged="))) {
-                        int b;
-
-                        b = parse_boolean(val);
-                        if (b < 0)
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse taint-logged flag '%s', ignoring.", val);
-                        else
-                                m->taint_logged = m->taint_logged || b;
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "service-watchdogs="))) {
-                        int b;
-
-                        b = parse_boolean(val);
-                        if (b < 0)
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse service-watchdogs flag '%s', ignoring.", val);
-                        else
-                                m->service_watchdogs = b;
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "honor-device-enumeration="))) {
-                        int b;
-
-                        b = parse_boolean(val);
-                        if (b < 0)
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse honor-device-enumeration flag '%s', ignoring.", val);
-                        else
-                                m->honor_device_enumeration = b;
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "show-status-overridden="))) {
-                        ShowStatus s;
-
-                        s = show_status_from_string(val);
-                        if (s < 0)
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse show-status-overridden flag '%s', ignoring.", val);
-                        else
-                                manager_override_show_status(m, s, "deserialize");
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "log-level-override="))) {
-                        int level;
-
-                        level = log_level_from_string(val);
-                        if (level < 0)
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse log-level-override value '%s', ignoring.", val);
-                        else
-                                manager_override_log_level(m, level);
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "log-target-override="))) {
-                        LogTarget target;
-
-                        target = log_target_from_string(val);
-                        if (target < 0)
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse log-target-override value '%s', ignoring.", val);
-                        else
-                                manager_override_log_target(m, target);
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "runtime-watchdog-overridden="))) {
-                        usec_t t;
-
-                        if (deserialize_usec(val, &t) < 0)
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse runtime-watchdog-overridden value '%s', ignoring.", val);
-                        else
-                                manager_override_watchdog(m, WATCHDOG_RUNTIME, t);
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "reboot-watchdog-overridden="))) {
-                        usec_t t;
-
-                        if (deserialize_usec(val, &t) < 0)
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse reboot-watchdog-overridden value '%s', ignoring.", val);
-                        else
-                                manager_override_watchdog(m, WATCHDOG_REBOOT, t);
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "kexec-watchdog-overridden="))) {
-                        usec_t t;
-
-                        if (deserialize_usec(val, &t) < 0)
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse kexec-watchdog-overridden value '%s', ignoring.", val);
-                        else
-                                manager_override_watchdog(m, WATCHDOG_KEXEC, t);
-
-                } else if (startswith(l, "env=")) {
-                        r = deserialize_environment(l + 4, &m->client_environment);
-                        if (r < 0)
-                                log_notice_errno(r, "Failed to parse environment entry: \"%s\", ignoring: %m", l);
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "notify-fd="))) {
-                        int fd;
-
-                        if (safe_atoi(val, &fd) < 0 || fd < 0 || !fdset_contains(fds, fd))
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse notify fd, ignoring: \"%s\"", val);
-                        else {
-                                m->notify_event_source = sd_event_source_disable_unref(m->notify_event_source);
-                                safe_close(m->notify_fd);
-                                m->notify_fd = fdset_remove(fds, fd);
-                        }
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "notify-socket="))) {
-                        r = free_and_strdup(&m->notify_socket, val);
-                        if (r < 0)
-                                return r;
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "cgroups-agent-fd="))) {
-                        int fd;
-
-                        if (safe_atoi(val, &fd) < 0 || fd < 0 || !fdset_contains(fds, fd))
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse cgroups agent fd, ignoring.: %s", val);
-                        else {
-                                m->cgroups_agent_event_source = sd_event_source_disable_unref(m->cgroups_agent_event_source);
-                                safe_close(m->cgroups_agent_fd);
-                                m->cgroups_agent_fd = fdset_remove(fds, fd);
-                        }
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "user-lookup="))) {
-                        int fd0, fd1;
-
-                        if (sscanf(val, "%i %i", &fd0, &fd1) != 2 || fd0 < 0 || fd1 < 0 || fd0 == fd1 || !fdset_contains(fds, fd0) || !fdset_contains(fds, fd1))
-                                log_notice("Failed to parse user lookup fd, ignoring: %s", val);
-                        else {
-                                m->user_lookup_event_source = sd_event_source_disable_unref(m->user_lookup_event_source);
-                                safe_close_pair(m->user_lookup_fds);
-                                m->user_lookup_fds[0] = fdset_remove(fds, fd0);
-                                m->user_lookup_fds[1] = fdset_remove(fds, fd1);
-                        }
-
-                } else if ((val = startswith(l, "dynamic-user=")))
-                        dynamic_user_deserialize_one(m, val, fds);
-                else if ((val = startswith(l, "destroy-ipc-uid=")))
-                        manager_deserialize_uid_refs_one(m, val);
-                else if ((val = startswith(l, "destroy-ipc-gid=")))
-                        manager_deserialize_gid_refs_one(m, val);
-                else if ((val = startswith(l, "exec-runtime=")))
-                        (void) exec_runtime_deserialize_one(m, val, fds);
-                else if ((val = startswith(l, "subscribed="))) {
-
-                        if (strv_extend(&m->deserialized_subscribed, val) < 0)
-                                return -ENOMEM;
-
-                } else {
-                        ManagerTimestamp q;
-
-                        for (q = 0; q < _MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_MAX; q++) {
-                                val = startswith(l, manager_timestamp_to_string(q));
-                                if (!val)
-                                        continue;
-
-                                val = startswith(val, "-timestamp=");
-                                if (val)
-                                        break;
-                        }
-
-                        if (q < _MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_MAX) /* found it */
-                                (void) deserialize_dual_timestamp(val, m->timestamps + q);
-                        else if (!startswith(l, "kdbus-fd=")) /* ignore kdbus */
-                                log_notice("Unknown serialization item '%s', ignoring.", l);
-                }
-        }
-
-        return manager_deserialize_units(m, f, fds);
-}
-
 int manager_reload(Manager *m) {
         _cleanup_(manager_reloading_stopp) Manager *reloading = NULL;
         _cleanup_fdset_free_ FDSet *fds = NULL;
@@ -3974,28 +3479,32 @@ static void manager_notify_finished(Manager *m) {
 
         bus_manager_send_finished(m, firmware_usec, loader_usec, kernel_usec, initrd_usec, userspace_usec, total_usec);
 
-        sd_notifyf(false,
-                   m->ready_sent ? "STATUS=Startup finished in %s."
-                                 : "READY=1\n"
-                                   "STATUS=Startup finished in %s.",
-                   FORMAT_TIMESPAN(total_usec, USEC_PER_MSEC));
-        m->ready_sent = true;
-
         log_taint_string(m);
 }
 
-static void manager_send_ready(Manager *m) {
+static void user_manager_send_ready(Manager *m) {
         assert(m);
 
         /* We send READY=1 on reaching basic.target only when running in --user mode. */
         if (!MANAGER_IS_USER(m) || m->ready_sent)
                 return;
 
-        m->ready_sent = true;
-
         sd_notifyf(false,
                    "READY=1\n"
                    "STATUS=Reached " SPECIAL_BASIC_TARGET ".");
+        m->ready_sent = true;
+        m->status_ready = false;
+}
+
+static void manager_send_ready(Manager *m) {
+        if (m->ready_sent && m->status_ready)
+                /* Skip the notification if nothing changed. */
+                return;
+
+        sd_notifyf(false,
+                   "%sSTATUS=Ready.",
+                   m->ready_sent ? "READY=1\n" : "");
+        m->ready_sent = m->status_ready = true;
 }
 
 static void manager_check_basic_target(Manager *m) {
@@ -4012,7 +3521,7 @@ static void manager_check_basic_target(Manager *m) {
                 return;
 
         /* For user managers, send out READY=1 as soon as we reach basic.target */
-        manager_send_ready(m);
+        user_manager_send_ready(m);
 
         /* Log the taint string as soon as we reach basic.target */
         log_taint_string(m);
@@ -4043,6 +3552,11 @@ void manager_check_finished(Manager *m) {
         if (hashmap_buckets(m->jobs) > hashmap_size(m->units) / 10)
                 m->jobs = hashmap_free(m->jobs);
 
+        manager_send_ready(m);
+
+        if (MANAGER_IS_FINISHED(m))
+                return;
+
         manager_flip_auto_status(m, false, "boot finished");
 
         /* Notify Type=idle units that we are done now */
@@ -4057,9 +3571,6 @@ void manager_check_finished(Manager *m) {
         /* This is no longer the first boot */
         manager_set_first_boot(m, false);
 
-        if (MANAGER_IS_FINISHED(m))
-                return;
-
         dual_timestamp_get(m->timestamps + MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_FINISH);
 
         manager_notify_finished(m);
@@ -4929,33 +4440,33 @@ ManagerTimestamp manager_timestamp_initrd_mangle(ManagerTimestamp s) {
 
 static const char *const manager_state_table[_MANAGER_STATE_MAX] = {
         [MANAGER_INITIALIZING] = "initializing",
-        [MANAGER_STARTING] = "starting",
-        [MANAGER_RUNNING] = "running",
-        [MANAGER_DEGRADED] = "degraded",
-        [MANAGER_MAINTENANCE] = "maintenance",
-        [MANAGER_STOPPING] = "stopping",
+        [MANAGER_STARTING]     = "starting",
+        [MANAGER_RUNNING]      = "running",
+        [MANAGER_DEGRADED]     = "degraded",
+        [MANAGER_MAINTENANCE]  = "maintenance",
+        [MANAGER_STOPPING]     = "stopping",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(manager_state, ManagerState);
 
 static const char *const manager_timestamp_table[_MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_MAX] = {
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_FIRMWARE] = "firmware",
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_LOADER] = "loader",
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_KERNEL] = "kernel",
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_INITRD] = "initrd",
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_USERSPACE] = "userspace",
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_FINISH] = "finish",
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_SECURITY_START] = "security-start",
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_SECURITY_FINISH] = "security-finish",
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_GENERATORS_START] = "generators-start",
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_GENERATORS_FINISH] = "generators-finish",
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_UNITS_LOAD_START] = "units-load-start",
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_UNITS_LOAD_FINISH] = "units-load-finish",
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_INITRD_SECURITY_START] = "initrd-security-start",
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_INITRD_SECURITY_FINISH] = "initrd-security-finish",
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_INITRD_GENERATORS_START] = "initrd-generators-start",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_FIRMWARE]                 = "firmware",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_LOADER]                   = "loader",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_KERNEL]                   = "kernel",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_INITRD]                   = "initrd",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_USERSPACE]                = "userspace",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_FINISH]                   = "finish",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_SECURITY_START]           = "security-start",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_SECURITY_FINISH]          = "security-finish",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_GENERATORS_START]         = "generators-start",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_GENERATORS_FINISH]        = "generators-finish",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_UNITS_LOAD_START]         = "units-load-start",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_UNITS_LOAD_FINISH]        = "units-load-finish",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_INITRD_SECURITY_START]    = "initrd-security-start",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_INITRD_SECURITY_FINISH]   = "initrd-security-finish",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_INITRD_GENERATORS_START]  = "initrd-generators-start",
         [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_INITRD_GENERATORS_FINISH] = "initrd-generators-finish",
-        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_INITRD_UNITS_LOAD_START] = "initrd-units-load-start",
+        [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_INITRD_UNITS_LOAD_START]  = "initrd-units-load-start",
         [MANAGER_TIMESTAMP_INITRD_UNITS_LOAD_FINISH] = "initrd-units-load-finish",
 };
 
@@ -4963,8 +4474,8 @@ DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(manager_timestamp, ManagerTimestamp);
 
 static const char* const oom_policy_table[_OOM_POLICY_MAX] = {
         [OOM_CONTINUE] = "continue",
-        [OOM_STOP] = "stop",
-        [OOM_KILL] = "kill",
+        [OOM_STOP]     = "stop",
+        [OOM_KILL]     = "kill",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(oom_policy, OOMPolicy);
diff --git a/src/core/manager.h b/src/core/manager.h
index b3e7c68e6d..284ea42a9d 100644
--- a/src/core/manager.h
+++ b/src/core/manager.h
@@ -329,6 +329,9 @@ struct Manager {
         /* Have we already sent out the READY=1 notification? */
         bool ready_sent;
 
+        /* Was the last status sent "STATUS=Ready."? */
+        bool status_ready;
+
         /* Have we already printed the taint line if necessary? */
         bool taint_logged;
 
@@ -500,12 +503,9 @@ int manager_set_default_rlimits(Manager *m, struct rlimit **default_rlimit);
 
 int manager_loop(Manager *m);
 
-int manager_open_serialization(Manager *m, FILE **_f);
-
-int manager_serialize(Manager *m, FILE *f, FDSet *fds, bool switching_root);
-int manager_deserialize(Manager *m, FILE *f, FDSet *fds);
-
 int manager_reload(Manager *m);
+Manager* manager_reloading_start(Manager *m);
+void manager_reloading_stopp(Manager **m);
 
 void manager_reset_failed(Manager *m);
 
diff --git a/src/core/meson.build b/src/core/meson.build
index f0d2c6f642..1c364a53e2 100644
--- a/src/core/meson.build
+++ b/src/core/meson.build
@@ -87,6 +87,8 @@ libcore_sources = '''
         locale-setup.h
         manager-dump.c
         manager-dump.h
+        manager-serialize.c
+        manager-serialize.h
         manager.c
         manager.h
         mount.c
diff --git a/src/core/mount.c b/src/core/mount.c
index fe0cb2b965..608ead5bc4 100644
--- a/src/core/mount.c
+++ b/src/core/mount.c
@@ -2139,7 +2139,7 @@ static int mount_can_clean(Unit *u, ExecCleanMask *ret) {
 }
 
 static const char* const mount_exec_command_table[_MOUNT_EXEC_COMMAND_MAX] = {
-        [MOUNT_EXEC_MOUNT] = "ExecMount",
+        [MOUNT_EXEC_MOUNT]   = "ExecMount",
         [MOUNT_EXEC_UNMOUNT] = "ExecUnmount",
         [MOUNT_EXEC_REMOUNT] = "ExecRemount",
 };
@@ -2147,14 +2147,14 @@ static const char* const mount_exec_command_table[_MOUNT_EXEC_COMMAND_MAX] = {
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(mount_exec_command, MountExecCommand);
 
 static const char* const mount_result_table[_MOUNT_RESULT_MAX] = {
-        [MOUNT_SUCCESS] = "success",
-        [MOUNT_FAILURE_RESOURCES] = "resources",
-        [MOUNT_FAILURE_TIMEOUT] = "timeout",
-        [MOUNT_FAILURE_EXIT_CODE] = "exit-code",
-        [MOUNT_FAILURE_SIGNAL] = "signal",
-        [MOUNT_FAILURE_CORE_DUMP] = "core-dump",
+        [MOUNT_SUCCESS]                 = "success",
+        [MOUNT_FAILURE_RESOURCES]       = "resources",
+        [MOUNT_FAILURE_TIMEOUT]         = "timeout",
+        [MOUNT_FAILURE_EXIT_CODE]       = "exit-code",
+        [MOUNT_FAILURE_SIGNAL]          = "signal",
+        [MOUNT_FAILURE_CORE_DUMP]       = "core-dump",
         [MOUNT_FAILURE_START_LIMIT_HIT] = "start-limit-hit",
-        [MOUNT_FAILURE_PROTOCOL] = "protocol",
+        [MOUNT_FAILURE_PROTOCOL]        = "protocol",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(mount_result, MountResult);
diff --git a/src/core/path.c b/src/core/path.c
index 87930f637f..800524a308 100644
--- a/src/core/path.c
+++ b/src/core/path.c
@@ -813,19 +813,19 @@ static void path_reset_failed(Unit *u) {
 }
 
 static const char* const path_type_table[_PATH_TYPE_MAX] = {
-        [PATH_EXISTS] = "PathExists",
-        [PATH_EXISTS_GLOB] = "PathExistsGlob",
+        [PATH_EXISTS]              = "PathExists",
+        [PATH_EXISTS_GLOB]         = "PathExistsGlob",
         [PATH_DIRECTORY_NOT_EMPTY] = "DirectoryNotEmpty",
-        [PATH_CHANGED] = "PathChanged",
-        [PATH_MODIFIED] = "PathModified",
+        [PATH_CHANGED]             = "PathChanged",
+        [PATH_MODIFIED]            = "PathModified",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(path_type, PathType);
 
 static const char* const path_result_table[_PATH_RESULT_MAX] = {
-        [PATH_SUCCESS] = "success",
-        [PATH_FAILURE_RESOURCES] = "resources",
-        [PATH_FAILURE_START_LIMIT_HIT] = "start-limit-hit",
+        [PATH_SUCCESS]                      = "success",
+        [PATH_FAILURE_RESOURCES]            = "resources",
+        [PATH_FAILURE_START_LIMIT_HIT]      = "start-limit-hit",
         [PATH_FAILURE_UNIT_START_LIMIT_HIT] = "unit-start-limit-hit",
 };
 
diff --git a/src/core/scope.c b/src/core/scope.c
index b7848a0a5d..1b60af22f3 100644
--- a/src/core/scope.c
+++ b/src/core/scope.c
@@ -632,9 +632,9 @@ static void scope_enumerate_perpetual(Manager *m) {
 }
 
 static const char* const scope_result_table[_SCOPE_RESULT_MAX] = {
-        [SCOPE_SUCCESS] = "success",
+        [SCOPE_SUCCESS]           = "success",
         [SCOPE_FAILURE_RESOURCES] = "resources",
-        [SCOPE_FAILURE_TIMEOUT] = "timeout",
+        [SCOPE_FAILURE_TIMEOUT]   = "timeout",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(scope_result, ScopeResult);
diff --git a/src/core/service.c b/src/core/service.c
index a015df83f4..f4a79dc2af 100644
--- a/src/core/service.c
+++ b/src/core/service.c
@@ -4379,6 +4379,14 @@ static int service_exit_status(Unit *u) {
         return s->main_exec_status.status;
 }
 
+static const char* service_status_text(Unit *u) {
+        Service *s = SERVICE(u);
+
+        assert(s);
+
+        return s->status_text;
+}
+
 static int service_clean(Unit *u, ExecCleanMask mask) {
         _cleanup_strv_free_ char **l = NULL;
         Service *s = SERVICE(u);
@@ -4440,82 +4448,82 @@ static const char *service_finished_job(Unit *u, JobType t, JobResult result) {
 }
 
 static const char* const service_restart_table[_SERVICE_RESTART_MAX] = {
-        [SERVICE_RESTART_NO] = "no",
-        [SERVICE_RESTART_ON_SUCCESS] = "on-success",
-        [SERVICE_RESTART_ON_FAILURE] = "on-failure",
+        [SERVICE_RESTART_NO]          = "no",
+        [SERVICE_RESTART_ON_SUCCESS]  = "on-success",
+        [SERVICE_RESTART_ON_FAILURE]  = "on-failure",
         [SERVICE_RESTART_ON_ABNORMAL] = "on-abnormal",
         [SERVICE_RESTART_ON_WATCHDOG] = "on-watchdog",
-        [SERVICE_RESTART_ON_ABORT] = "on-abort",
-        [SERVICE_RESTART_ALWAYS] = "always",
+        [SERVICE_RESTART_ON_ABORT]    = "on-abort",
+        [SERVICE_RESTART_ALWAYS]      = "always",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(service_restart, ServiceRestart);
 
 static const char* const service_type_table[_SERVICE_TYPE_MAX] = {
-        [SERVICE_SIMPLE] = "simple",
+        [SERVICE_SIMPLE]  = "simple",
         [SERVICE_FORKING] = "forking",
         [SERVICE_ONESHOT] = "oneshot",
-        [SERVICE_DBUS] = "dbus",
-        [SERVICE_NOTIFY] = "notify",
-        [SERVICE_IDLE] = "idle",
-        [SERVICE_EXEC] = "exec",
+        [SERVICE_DBUS]    = "dbus",
+        [SERVICE_NOTIFY]  = "notify",
+        [SERVICE_IDLE]    = "idle",
+        [SERVICE_EXEC]    = "exec",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(service_type, ServiceType);
 
 static const char* const service_exec_command_table[_SERVICE_EXEC_COMMAND_MAX] = {
-        [SERVICE_EXEC_CONDITION] = "ExecCondition",
-        [SERVICE_EXEC_START_PRE] = "ExecStartPre",
-        [SERVICE_EXEC_START] = "ExecStart",
+        [SERVICE_EXEC_CONDITION]  = "ExecCondition",
+        [SERVICE_EXEC_START_PRE]  = "ExecStartPre",
+        [SERVICE_EXEC_START]      = "ExecStart",
         [SERVICE_EXEC_START_POST] = "ExecStartPost",
-        [SERVICE_EXEC_RELOAD] = "ExecReload",
-        [SERVICE_EXEC_STOP] = "ExecStop",
-        [SERVICE_EXEC_STOP_POST] = "ExecStopPost",
+        [SERVICE_EXEC_RELOAD]     = "ExecReload",
+        [SERVICE_EXEC_STOP]       = "ExecStop",
+        [SERVICE_EXEC_STOP_POST]  = "ExecStopPost",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(service_exec_command, ServiceExecCommand);
 
 static const char* const service_exec_ex_command_table[_SERVICE_EXEC_COMMAND_MAX] = {
-        [SERVICE_EXEC_CONDITION] = "ExecConditionEx",
-        [SERVICE_EXEC_START_PRE] = "ExecStartPreEx",
-        [SERVICE_EXEC_START] = "ExecStartEx",
+        [SERVICE_EXEC_CONDITION]  = "ExecConditionEx",
+        [SERVICE_EXEC_START_PRE]  = "ExecStartPreEx",
+        [SERVICE_EXEC_START]      = "ExecStartEx",
         [SERVICE_EXEC_START_POST] = "ExecStartPostEx",
-        [SERVICE_EXEC_RELOAD] = "ExecReloadEx",
-        [SERVICE_EXEC_STOP] = "ExecStopEx",
-        [SERVICE_EXEC_STOP_POST] = "ExecStopPostEx",
+        [SERVICE_EXEC_RELOAD]     = "ExecReloadEx",
+        [SERVICE_EXEC_STOP]       = "ExecStopEx",
+        [SERVICE_EXEC_STOP_POST]  = "ExecStopPostEx",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(service_exec_ex_command, ServiceExecCommand);
 
 static const char* const notify_state_table[_NOTIFY_STATE_MAX] = {
-        [NOTIFY_UNKNOWN] = "unknown",
-        [NOTIFY_READY] = "ready",
+        [NOTIFY_UNKNOWN]   = "unknown",
+        [NOTIFY_READY]     = "ready",
         [NOTIFY_RELOADING] = "reloading",
-        [NOTIFY_STOPPING] = "stopping",
+        [NOTIFY_STOPPING]  = "stopping",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(notify_state, NotifyState);
 
 static const char* const service_result_table[_SERVICE_RESULT_MAX] = {
-        [SERVICE_SUCCESS] = "success",
-        [SERVICE_FAILURE_RESOURCES] = "resources",
-        [SERVICE_FAILURE_PROTOCOL] = "protocol",
-        [SERVICE_FAILURE_TIMEOUT] = "timeout",
-        [SERVICE_FAILURE_EXIT_CODE] = "exit-code",
-        [SERVICE_FAILURE_SIGNAL] = "signal",
-        [SERVICE_FAILURE_CORE_DUMP] = "core-dump",
-        [SERVICE_FAILURE_WATCHDOG] = "watchdog",
+        [SERVICE_SUCCESS]                 = "success",
+        [SERVICE_FAILURE_RESOURCES]       = "resources",
+        [SERVICE_FAILURE_PROTOCOL]        = "protocol",
+        [SERVICE_FAILURE_TIMEOUT]         = "timeout",
+        [SERVICE_FAILURE_EXIT_CODE]       = "exit-code",
+        [SERVICE_FAILURE_SIGNAL]          = "signal",
+        [SERVICE_FAILURE_CORE_DUMP]       = "core-dump",
+        [SERVICE_FAILURE_WATCHDOG]        = "watchdog",
         [SERVICE_FAILURE_START_LIMIT_HIT] = "start-limit-hit",
-        [SERVICE_FAILURE_OOM_KILL] = "oom-kill",
-        [SERVICE_SKIP_CONDITION] = "exec-condition",
+        [SERVICE_FAILURE_OOM_KILL]        = "oom-kill",
+        [SERVICE_SKIP_CONDITION]          = "exec-condition",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(service_result, ServiceResult);
 
 static const char* const service_timeout_failure_mode_table[_SERVICE_TIMEOUT_FAILURE_MODE_MAX] = {
         [SERVICE_TIMEOUT_TERMINATE] = "terminate",
-        [SERVICE_TIMEOUT_ABORT] = "abort",
-        [SERVICE_TIMEOUT_KILL] = "kill",
+        [SERVICE_TIMEOUT_ABORT]     = "abort",
+        [SERVICE_TIMEOUT_KILL]      = "kill",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(service_timeout_failure_mode, ServiceTimeoutFailureMode);
@@ -4590,6 +4598,7 @@ const UnitVTable service_vtable = {
         .get_timeout = service_get_timeout,
         .needs_console = service_needs_console,
         .exit_status = service_exit_status,
+        .status_text = service_status_text,
 
         .status_message_formats = {
                 .finished_start_job = {
diff --git a/src/core/socket.c b/src/core/socket.c
index 0ae53e7336..8a2a688450 100644
--- a/src/core/socket.c
+++ b/src/core/socket.c
@@ -3425,24 +3425,24 @@ static int socket_can_clean(Unit *u, ExecCleanMask *ret) {
 }
 
 static const char* const socket_exec_command_table[_SOCKET_EXEC_COMMAND_MAX] = {
-        [SOCKET_EXEC_START_PRE] = "ExecStartPre",
+        [SOCKET_EXEC_START_PRE]   = "ExecStartPre",
         [SOCKET_EXEC_START_CHOWN] = "ExecStartChown",
-        [SOCKET_EXEC_START_POST] = "ExecStartPost",
-        [SOCKET_EXEC_STOP_PRE] = "ExecStopPre",
-        [SOCKET_EXEC_STOP_POST] = "ExecStopPost"
+        [SOCKET_EXEC_START_POST]  = "ExecStartPost",
+        [SOCKET_EXEC_STOP_PRE]    = "ExecStopPre",
+        [SOCKET_EXEC_STOP_POST]   = "ExecStopPost"
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(socket_exec_command, SocketExecCommand);
 
 static const char* const socket_result_table[_SOCKET_RESULT_MAX] = {
-        [SOCKET_SUCCESS] = "success",
-        [SOCKET_FAILURE_RESOURCES] = "resources",
-        [SOCKET_FAILURE_TIMEOUT] = "timeout",
-        [SOCKET_FAILURE_EXIT_CODE] = "exit-code",
-        [SOCKET_FAILURE_SIGNAL] = "signal",
-        [SOCKET_FAILURE_CORE_DUMP] = "core-dump",
-        [SOCKET_FAILURE_START_LIMIT_HIT] = "start-limit-hit",
-        [SOCKET_FAILURE_TRIGGER_LIMIT_HIT] = "trigger-limit-hit",
+        [SOCKET_SUCCESS]                         = "success",
+        [SOCKET_FAILURE_RESOURCES]               = "resources",
+        [SOCKET_FAILURE_TIMEOUT]                 = "timeout",
+        [SOCKET_FAILURE_EXIT_CODE]               = "exit-code",
+        [SOCKET_FAILURE_SIGNAL]                  = "signal",
+        [SOCKET_FAILURE_CORE_DUMP]               = "core-dump",
+        [SOCKET_FAILURE_START_LIMIT_HIT]         = "start-limit-hit",
+        [SOCKET_FAILURE_TRIGGER_LIMIT_HIT]       = "trigger-limit-hit",
         [SOCKET_FAILURE_SERVICE_START_LIMIT_HIT] = "service-start-limit-hit"
 };
 
@@ -3450,8 +3450,8 @@ DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(socket_result, SocketResult);
 
 static const char* const socket_timestamping_table[_SOCKET_TIMESTAMPING_MAX] = {
         [SOCKET_TIMESTAMPING_OFF] = "off",
-        [SOCKET_TIMESTAMPING_US] = "us",
-        [SOCKET_TIMESTAMPING_NS] = "ns",
+        [SOCKET_TIMESTAMPING_US]  = "us",
+        [SOCKET_TIMESTAMPING_NS]  = "ns",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(socket_timestamping, SocketTimestamping);
diff --git a/src/core/swap.c b/src/core/swap.c
index 81fb3bb2de..d7089f1c55 100644
--- a/src/core/swap.c
+++ b/src/core/swap.c
@@ -1589,19 +1589,19 @@ static int swap_can_clean(Unit *u, ExecCleanMask *ret) {
 }
 
 static const char* const swap_exec_command_table[_SWAP_EXEC_COMMAND_MAX] = {
-        [SWAP_EXEC_ACTIVATE] = "ExecActivate",
+        [SWAP_EXEC_ACTIVATE]   = "ExecActivate",
         [SWAP_EXEC_DEACTIVATE] = "ExecDeactivate",
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(swap_exec_command, SwapExecCommand);
 
 static const char* const swap_result_table[_SWAP_RESULT_MAX] = {
-        [SWAP_SUCCESS] = "success",
-        [SWAP_FAILURE_RESOURCES] = "resources",
-        [SWAP_FAILURE_TIMEOUT] = "timeout",
-        [SWAP_FAILURE_EXIT_CODE] = "exit-code",
-        [SWAP_FAILURE_SIGNAL] = "signal",
-        [SWAP_FAILURE_CORE_DUMP] = "core-dump",
+        [SWAP_SUCCESS]                 = "success",
+        [SWAP_FAILURE_RESOURCES]       = "resources",
+        [SWAP_FAILURE_TIMEOUT]         = "timeout",
+        [SWAP_FAILURE_EXIT_CODE]       = "exit-code",
+        [SWAP_FAILURE_SIGNAL]          = "signal",
+        [SWAP_FAILURE_CORE_DUMP]       = "core-dump",
         [SWAP_FAILURE_START_LIMIT_HIT] = "start-limit-hit",
 };
 
diff --git a/src/core/timer.c b/src/core/timer.c
index 3b03f4672e..2c7f304cdd 100644
--- a/src/core/timer.c
+++ b/src/core/timer.c
@@ -891,19 +891,19 @@ static int timer_can_clean(Unit *u, ExecCleanMask *ret) {
 }
 
 static const char* const timer_base_table[_TIMER_BASE_MAX] = {
-        [TIMER_ACTIVE] = "OnActiveSec",
-        [TIMER_BOOT] = "OnBootSec",
-        [TIMER_STARTUP] = "OnStartupSec",
-        [TIMER_UNIT_ACTIVE] = "OnUnitActiveSec",
+        [TIMER_ACTIVE]        = "OnActiveSec",
+        [TIMER_BOOT]          = "OnBootSec",
+        [TIMER_STARTUP]       = "OnStartupSec",
+        [TIMER_UNIT_ACTIVE]   = "OnUnitActiveSec",
         [TIMER_UNIT_INACTIVE] = "OnUnitInactiveSec",
-        [TIMER_CALENDAR] = "OnCalendar"
+        [TIMER_CALENDAR]      = "OnCalendar"
 };
 
 DEFINE_STRING_TABLE_LOOKUP(timer_base, TimerBase);
 
 static const char* const timer_result_table[_TIMER_RESULT_MAX] = {
-        [TIMER_SUCCESS] = "success",
-        [TIMER_FAILURE_RESOURCES] = "resources",
+        [TIMER_SUCCESS]                 = "success",
+        [TIMER_FAILURE_RESOURCES]       = "resources",
         [TIMER_FAILURE_START_LIMIT_HIT] = "start-limit-hit",
 };
 
diff --git a/src/core/unit.h b/src/core/unit.h
index 759104ffa7..48074d8ca5 100644
--- a/src/core/unit.h
+++ b/src/core/unit.h
@@ -631,6 +631,9 @@ typedef struct UnitVTable {
          * exit code of the "main" process of the service or similar. */
         int (*exit_status)(Unit *u);
 
+        /* Return a copy of the status string pointer. */
+        const char* (*status_text)(Unit *u);
+
         /* Like the enumerate() callback further down, but only enumerates the perpetual units, i.e. all units that
          * unconditionally exist and are always active. The main reason to keep both enumeration functions separate is
          * philosophical: the state of perpetual units should be put in place by coldplug(), while the state of those
@@ -744,6 +747,12 @@ static inline bool unit_is_extrinsic(Unit *u) {
                 (UNIT_VTABLE(u)->is_extrinsic && UNIT_VTABLE(u)->is_extrinsic(u));
 }
 
+static inline const char* unit_status_text(Unit *u) {
+        if (u && UNIT_VTABLE(u)->status_text)
+                return UNIT_VTABLE(u)->status_text(u);
+        return NULL;
+}
+
 void unit_add_to_load_queue(Unit *u);
 void unit_add_to_dbus_queue(Unit *u);
 void unit_add_to_cleanup_queue(Unit *u);