---
tags:
  - operating-systems
---

# Daemons

A programme that runs in the background, performing a system function. A daemon
typically starts at boot or login without having to be specifically launched and
keeps running permanently or until manually stopped.

The custom is for the process name of daemons to end in the letter `d`.

> In the original Greek _daemon_ is translated as 'helper', it doesn't have the
> medieval connotation of a dark spirit but was used to denote the actions of a
> god rather than the god itself. A person could have a personal _daemon_ which
> determines their fate.
