diff --git a/HOWTO.rst b/HOWTO.rst
index 0350e9b..12d4a43 100644
--- a/HOWTO.rst
+++ b/HOWTO.rst
@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@ small - patches welcome.
            communication with the daemon.  I am using aiohttp-0.21.
 
 While not requirements for running ElectrumX, it is intended to be run
-with supervisor software such as Daniel Bernstein's daemontools, or
-Gerald Pape's runit package.  These make administration of secure
+with supervisor software such as Daniel Bernstein's daemontools, 
+Gerald Pape's runit package or systemd.  These make administration of secure
 unix servers very easy, and I strongly recommend you install one of these
 and familiarise yourself with them.  The instructions below and sample
 run scripts assume daemontools; adapting to runit should be trivial
@@ -55,6 +55,10 @@ on an SSD::
     mkdir /path/to/db_directory
     chown electrumx /path/to/db_directory
 
+
+Using daemontools
+-----------------
+
 Next create a daemontools service directory; this only holds symlinks
 (see daemontools documentation).  The 'svscan' program will ensure the
 servers in the directory are running by launching a 'supervise'
@@ -107,6 +111,35 @@ You can see its logs with::
     tail -F /path/to/log/dir/current | tai64nlocal
 
 
+Using systemd
+-------------
+
+This repository contains a sample systemd unit file that you can use to
+setup ElectrumX with systemd. Simply copy it to :code:`/etc/systemd/system`::
+
+    cp samples/systemd-unit /etc/systemd/system/electrumx.service
+
+The sample unit file assumes that the repository is located at 
+:code:`/home/electrumx/electrumx`. If that differs on your system, you need to
+change the unit file accordingly.
+
+You need to set a few configuration variables in :code:`/etc/electrumx.conf`,
+see `samples/NOTES` for the list of required variables.
+
+Now you can start ElectrumX using :code:`systemctl`::
+
+    systemctl start electrumx
+
+You can use :code:`journalctl` to check the log output::
+
+    journalctl -u electrumx -f
+
+Once configured, you may want to start ElectrumX at boot::
+
+    systemctl enable electrumx
+
+
+
 Sync Progress
 =============
 
diff --git a/samples/systemd-unit b/samples/systemd-unit
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..94b7d47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/samples/systemd-unit
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Electrumx
+After=network.target
+
+[Service]
+EnvironmentFile=/etc/electrumx.conf
+ExecStart=/home/electrumx/electrumx/server_main.py
+User=electrumx
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
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