diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/amqp/rabbitmq.nix b/nixos/modules/services/amqp/rabbitmq.nix
index 7373be2a9b0b..302b94de1965 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/amqp/rabbitmq.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/amqp/rabbitmq.nix
@@ -179,11 +179,11 @@ in {
       } //  optionalAttrs (cfg.config != "") { RABBITMQ_ADVANCED_CONFIG_FILE = advanced_config_file; };
 
       serviceConfig = {
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true; # preStart must be run as root
         ExecStart = "${cfg.package}/sbin/rabbitmq-server";
         ExecStop = "${cfg.package}/sbin/rabbitmqctl shutdown";
         User = "rabbitmq";
         Group = "rabbitmq";
+        LogsDirectory = "rabbitmq";
         WorkingDirectory = cfg.dataDir;
         Type = "notify";
         NotifyAccess = "all";
@@ -197,11 +197,8 @@ in {
       preStart = ''
         ${optionalString (cfg.cookie != "") ''
             echo -n ${cfg.cookie} > ${cfg.dataDir}/.erlang.cookie
-            chown rabbitmq:rabbitmq ${cfg.dataDir}/.erlang.cookie
             chmod 600 ${cfg.dataDir}/.erlang.cookie
         ''}
-        mkdir -p /var/log/rabbitmq
-        chown rabbitmq:rabbitmq /var/log/rabbitmq
       '';
     };
 
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/audio/liquidsoap.nix b/nixos/modules/services/audio/liquidsoap.nix
index 66f84ef20762..3a047d10a631 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/audio/liquidsoap.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/audio/liquidsoap.nix
@@ -14,15 +14,10 @@ let
         description = "${name} liquidsoap stream";
         wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
         path = [ pkgs.wget ];
-        preStart =
-          ''
-            mkdir -p /var/log/liquidsoap
-            chown liquidsoap -R /var/log/liquidsoap
-          '';
         serviceConfig = {
-          PermissionsStartOnly="true";
           ExecStart = "${pkgs.liquidsoap}/bin/liquidsoap ${stream}";
           User = "liquidsoap";
+          LogsDirectory = "liquidsoap";
         };
       };
     };
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/audio/mpd.nix b/nixos/modules/services/audio/mpd.nix
index 5bfe2b6a22ad..0df8f9688d25 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/audio/mpd.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/audio/mpd.nix
@@ -158,18 +158,18 @@ in {
       };
     };
 
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${cfg.dataDir}' - ${cfg.user} ${cfg.group} - -"
+      "d '${cfg.playlistDirectory}' - ${cfg.user} ${cfg.group} - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.mpd = {
       after = [ "network.target" "sound.target" ];
       description = "Music Player Daemon";
       wantedBy = optional (!cfg.startWhenNeeded) "multi-user.target";
 
-      preStart = ''
-        mkdir -p "${cfg.dataDir}" && chown -R ${cfg.user}:${cfg.group} "${cfg.dataDir}"
-        mkdir -p "${cfg.playlistDirectory}" && chown -R ${cfg.user}:${cfg.group} "${cfg.playlistDirectory}"
-      '';
       serviceConfig = {
         User = "${cfg.user}";
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
         ExecStart = "${pkgs.mpd}/bin/mpd --no-daemon ${mpdConf}";
         Type = "notify";
         LimitRTPRIO = 50;
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/backup/mysql-backup.nix b/nixos/modules/services/backup/mysql-backup.nix
index f0c273ffebf1..ba6e154f6b3d 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/backup/mysql-backup.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/backup/mysql-backup.nix
@@ -117,14 +117,12 @@ in
         enable = true;
         serviceConfig = {
           User = cfg.user;
-          PermissionsStartOnly = true;
         };
-        preStart = ''
-          mkdir -m 0700 -p ${cfg.location}
-          chown -R ${cfg.user} ${cfg.location}
-        '';
         script = backupScript;
       };
+      tmpfiles.rules = [
+        "d ${cfg.location} 0700 ${cfg.user} - - -"
+      ];
     };
   };
 
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/backup/postgresql-backup.nix b/nixos/modules/services/backup/postgresql-backup.nix
index 11efa47ec5b2..17b410a97f3e 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/backup/postgresql-backup.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/backup/postgresql-backup.nix
@@ -14,11 +14,6 @@ let
 
       requires = [ "postgresql.service" ];
 
-      preStart = ''
-        mkdir -m 0700 -p ${cfg.location}
-        chown postgres ${cfg.location}
-      '';
-
       script = ''
         umask 0077 # ensure backup is only readable by postgres user
 
@@ -32,7 +27,6 @@ let
 
       serviceConfig = {
         Type = "oneshot";
-        PermissionsStartOnly = "true";
         User = "postgres";
       };
 
@@ -107,6 +101,11 @@ in {
         message = "config.services.postgresqlBackup.backupAll cannot be used together with config.services.postgresqlBackup.databases";
       }];
     }
+    (mkIf cfg.enable {
+      systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+        "d '${cfg.location}' 0700 postgres - - -"
+      ];
+    })
     (mkIf (cfg.enable && cfg.backupAll) {
       systemd.services.postgresqlBackup =
         postgresqlBackupService "all" "${config.services.postgresql.package}/bin/pg_dumpall";
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/databases/clickhouse.nix b/nixos/modules/services/databases/clickhouse.nix
index 21e0cee34151..dbabcae43ee5 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/databases/clickhouse.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/databases/clickhouse.nix
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 { config, lib, pkgs, ... }:
 let
   cfg = config.services.clickhouse;
-  confDir = "/etc/clickhouse-server";
-  stateDir = "/var/lib/clickhouse";
 in
 with lib;
 {
@@ -43,20 +41,13 @@ with lib;
 
       after = [ "network.target" ];
 
-      preStart = ''
-        mkdir -p ${stateDir}
-        chown clickhouse:clickhouse ${confDir} ${stateDir}
-      '';
-
-      script = ''
-        cd "${confDir}"
-        exec ${pkgs.clickhouse}/bin/clickhouse-server
-      '';
-
       serviceConfig = {
         User = "clickhouse";
         Group = "clickhouse";
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
+        ConfigurationDirectory = "clickhouse-server";
+        StateDirectory = "clickhouse";
+        LogsDirectory = "clickhouse";
+        ExecStart = "${pkgs.clickhouse}/bin/clickhouse-server --config-file=${pkgs.clickhouse}/etc/clickhouse-server/config.xml";
       };
     };
 
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/databases/couchdb.nix b/nixos/modules/services/databases/couchdb.nix
index 84d108d9c747..5ddf8ba4bfbd 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/databases/couchdb.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/databases/couchdb.nix
@@ -158,27 +158,21 @@ in {
     services.couchdb.configFile = mkDefault
       (if useVersion2 then "/var/lib/couchdb/local.ini" else "/var/lib/couchdb/couchdb.ini");
 
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${dirOf cfg.uriFile}' - ${cfg.user} ${cfg.group} - -"
+      "d '${dirOf cfg.logFile}' - ${cfg.user} ${cfg.group} - -"
+      "d '${cfg.databaseDir}' -  ${cfg.user} ${cfg.group} - -"
+      "d '${cfg.viewIndexDir}' -  ${cfg.user} ${cfg.group} - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.couchdb = {
       description = "CouchDB Server";
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
 
       preStart =
         ''
-        mkdir -p `dirname ${cfg.uriFile}`;
-        mkdir -p `dirname ${cfg.logFile}`;
-        mkdir -p ${cfg.databaseDir};
-        mkdir -p ${cfg.viewIndexDir};
         touch ${cfg.configFile}
         touch -a ${cfg.logFile}
-
-        if [ "$(id -u)" = 0 ]; then
-          chown ${cfg.user}:${cfg.group} `dirname ${cfg.uriFile}`;
-          (test -f ${cfg.uriFile} && chown ${cfg.user}:${cfg.group} ${cfg.uriFile}) || true
-          chown ${cfg.user}:${cfg.group} ${cfg.databaseDir}
-          chown ${cfg.user}:${cfg.group} ${cfg.viewIndexDir}
-          chown ${cfg.user}:${cfg.group} ${cfg.configFile}
-          chown ${cfg.user}:${cfg.group} ${cfg.logFile}
-        fi
         '';
 
       environment = mkIf useVersion2 {
@@ -191,7 +185,6 @@ in {
       };
 
       serviceConfig = {
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
         User = cfg.user;
         Group = cfg.group;
         ExecStart = executable;
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/databases/influxdb.nix b/nixos/modules/services/databases/influxdb.nix
index 888bf13c3df8..6868050c8446 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/databases/influxdb.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/databases/influxdb.nix
@@ -157,20 +157,19 @@ in
 
   config = mkIf config.services.influxdb.enable {
 
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${cfg.dataDir}' 0770 ${cfg.user} ${cfg.group} - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.influxdb = {
       description = "InfluxDB Server";
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
       after = [ "network.target" ];
       serviceConfig = {
         ExecStart = ''${cfg.package}/bin/influxd -config "${configFile}"'';
-        User = "${cfg.user}";
-        Group = "${cfg.group}";
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
+        User = cfg.user;
+        Group = cfg.group;
       };
-      preStart = ''
-        mkdir -m 0770 -p ${cfg.dataDir}
-        if [ "$(id -u)" = 0 ]; then chown -R ${cfg.user}:${cfg.group} ${cfg.dataDir}; fi
-      '';
       postStart =
         let
           scheme = if configOptions.http.https-enabled then "-k https" else "http";
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/databases/memcached.nix b/nixos/modules/services/databases/memcached.nix
index 7af452e4dced..052ff1f308eb 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/databases/memcached.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/databases/memcached.nix
@@ -78,11 +78,6 @@ in
       after = [ "network.target" ];
 
       serviceConfig = {
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
-        ExecStartPre = optionals cfg.enableUnixSocket [
-          "${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/install -d -o ${cfg.user} /run/memcached/"
-          "${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/chown -R ${cfg.user} /run/memcached/"
-        ];
         ExecStart =
         let
           networking = if cfg.enableUnixSocket
@@ -91,12 +86,13 @@ in
         in "${memcached}/bin/memcached ${networking} -m ${toString cfg.maxMemory} -c ${toString cfg.maxConnections} ${concatStringsSep " " cfg.extraOptions}";
 
         User = cfg.user;
+        RuntimeDirectory = "memcached";
       };
     };
   };
   imports = [
     (mkRemovedOptionModule ["services" "memcached" "socket"] ''
-      This option was replaced by a fixed unix socket path at /run/memcached/memcached.sock enabled using services.memached.enableUnixSocket.
+      This option was replaced by a fixed unix socket path at /run/memcached/memcached.sock enabled using services.memcached.enableUnixSocket.
     '')
   ];
 
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/databases/stanchion.nix b/nixos/modules/services/databases/stanchion.nix
index 9fe49f51edd2..97e55bc70c47 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/databases/stanchion.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/databases/stanchion.nix
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ in
         type = types.path;
         default = "/var/log/stanchion";
         description = ''
-          Log directory for Stanchino.
+          Log directory for Stanchion.
         '';
       };
 
@@ -152,6 +152,11 @@ in
 
     users.groups.stanchion.gid = config.ids.gids.stanchion;
 
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${cfg.logDir}' - stanchion stanchion --"
+      "d '${cfg.dataDir}' 0700 stanchion stanchion --"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.stanchion = {
       description = "Stanchion Server";
 
@@ -168,25 +173,12 @@ in
       environment.STANCHION_LOG_DIR = "${cfg.logDir}";
       environment.STANCHION_ETC_DIR = "/etc/stanchion";
 
-      preStart = ''
-        if ! test -e ${cfg.logDir}; then
-          mkdir -m 0755 -p ${cfg.logDir}
-          chown -R stanchion:stanchion ${cfg.logDir}
-        fi
-
-        if ! test -e ${cfg.dataDir}; then
-          mkdir -m 0700 -p ${cfg.dataDir}
-          chown -R stanchion:stanchion ${cfg.dataDir}
-        fi
-      '';
-
       serviceConfig = {
         ExecStart = "${cfg.package}/bin/stanchion console";
         ExecStop = "${cfg.package}/bin/stanchion stop";
         StandardInput = "tty";
         User = "stanchion";
         Group = "stanchion";
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
         # Give Stanchion a decent amount of time to clean up.
         TimeoutStopSec = 120;
         LimitNOFILE = 65536;
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/mail/nullmailer.nix b/nixos/modules/services/mail/nullmailer.nix
index 418c02af4b7f..9997d287013e 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/mail/nullmailer.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/mail/nullmailer.nix
@@ -212,6 +212,10 @@ with lib;
       };
     };
 
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d /var/spool/nullmailer - ${cfg.user} - - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.nullmailer = {
       description = "nullmailer";
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
@@ -220,13 +224,11 @@ with lib;
       preStart = ''
         mkdir -p /var/spool/nullmailer/{queue,tmp}
         rm -f /var/spool/nullmailer/trigger && mkfifo -m 660 /var/spool/nullmailer/trigger
-        chown ${cfg.user} /var/spool/nullmailer/*
       '';
 
       serviceConfig = {
         User = cfg.user;
         Group = cfg.group;
-        PermissionsStartOnly=true;
         ExecStart = "${pkgs.nullmailer}/bin/nullmailer-send";
         Restart = "always";
       };
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/mail/rss2email.nix b/nixos/modules/services/mail/rss2email.nix
index 5f3b2877008f..a123736005ab 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/mail/rss2email.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/mail/rss2email.nix
@@ -94,6 +94,10 @@ in {
 
     services.rss2email.config.to = cfg.to;
 
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d /var/rss2email 0700 rss2email rss2email - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.rss2email = let
       conf = pkgs.writeText "rss2email.cfg" (lib.generators.toINI {} ({
           DEFAULT = cfg.config;
@@ -105,22 +109,16 @@ in {
     in
     {
       preStart = ''
-        mkdir -p /var/rss2email
-        chmod 700 /var/rss2email
-
         cp ${conf} /var/rss2email/conf.cfg
         if [ ! -f /var/rss2email/db.json ]; then
           echo '{"version":2,"feeds":[]}' > /var/rss2email/db.json
         fi
-
-        chown -R rss2email:rss2email /var/rss2email
       '';
       path = [ pkgs.system-sendmail ];
       serviceConfig = {
         ExecStart =
           "${pkgs.rss2email}/bin/r2e -c /var/rss2email/conf.cfg -d /var/rss2email/db.json run";
         User = "rss2email";
-        PermissionsStartOnly = "true";
       };
     };
 
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/misc/etcd.nix b/nixos/modules/services/misc/etcd.nix
index 2d1893dae64b..e4d5322f9b5f 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/misc/etcd.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/misc/etcd.nix
@@ -142,6 +142,10 @@ in {
   };
 
   config = mkIf cfg.enable {
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${cfg.dataDir}' 0700 etcd - - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.etcd = {
       description = "etcd key-value store";
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
@@ -176,14 +180,8 @@ in {
         Type = "notify";
         ExecStart = "${pkgs.etcd.bin}/bin/etcd";
         User = "etcd";
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
         LimitNOFILE = 40000;
       };
-
-      preStart = ''
-        mkdir -m 0700 -p ${cfg.dataDir}
-        if [ "$(id -u)" = 0 ]; then chown etcd ${cfg.dataDir}; fi
-      '';
     };
 
     environment.systemPackages = [ pkgs.etcdctl ];
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/misc/jackett.nix b/nixos/modules/services/misc/jackett.nix
index b18ce2b1f81a..a07f20e5c24b 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/misc/jackett.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/misc/jackett.nix
@@ -38,24 +38,19 @@ in
   };
 
   config = mkIf cfg.enable {
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${cfg.dataDir}' 0700 ${cfg.user} ${cfg.group} - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.jackett = {
       description = "Jackett";
       after = [ "network.target" ];
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
-      preStart = ''
-        test -d ${cfg.dataDir} || {
-          echo "Creating jackett data directory in ${cfg.dataDir}"
-          mkdir -p ${cfg.dataDir}
-        }
-        chown -R ${cfg.user}:${cfg.group} ${cfg.dataDir}
-        chmod 0700 ${cfg.dataDir}
-      '';
 
       serviceConfig = {
         Type = "simple";
         User = cfg.user;
         Group = cfg.group;
-        PermissionsStartOnly = "true";
         ExecStart = "${pkgs.jackett}/bin/Jackett --NoUpdates --DataFolder '${cfg.dataDir}'";
         Restart = "on-failure";
       };
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/misc/lidarr.nix b/nixos/modules/services/misc/lidarr.nix
index 627f22334fe8..f466402abfc7 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/misc/lidarr.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/misc/lidarr.nix
@@ -17,20 +17,15 @@ in
       description = "Lidarr";
       after = [ "network.target" ];
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
-      preStart = ''
-        [ ! -d /var/lib/lidarr ] && mkdir -p /var/lib/lidarr
-        chown -R lidarr:lidarr /var/lib/lidarr
-      '';
 
       serviceConfig = {
         Type = "simple";
         User = "lidarr";
         Group = "lidarr";
-        PermissionsStartOnly = "true";
         ExecStart = "${pkgs.lidarr}/bin/Lidarr";
         Restart = "on-failure";
 
-        StateDirectory = "/var/lib/lidarr/";
+        StateDirectory = "lidarr";
         StateDirectoryMode = "0770";
       };
     };
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/misc/mesos-master.nix b/nixos/modules/services/misc/mesos-master.nix
index 0523c6549ed6..572a9847e46c 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/misc/mesos-master.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/misc/mesos-master.nix
@@ -95,6 +95,9 @@ in {
 
 
   config = mkIf cfg.enable {
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${cfg.workDir}' 0700 - - - -"
+    ];
     systemd.services.mesos-master = {
       description = "Mesos Master";
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
@@ -114,11 +117,7 @@ in {
             ${toString cfg.extraCmdLineOptions}
         '';
         Restart = "on-failure";
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
       };
-      preStart = ''
-        mkdir -m 0700 -p ${cfg.workDir}
-      '';
     };
   };
 
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/misc/mesos-slave.nix b/nixos/modules/services/misc/mesos-slave.nix
index 468c7f36ecc5..170065d0065e 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/misc/mesos-slave.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/misc/mesos-slave.nix
@@ -184,6 +184,9 @@ in {
   };
 
   config = mkIf cfg.enable {
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${cfg.workDir}' 0701 - - - -"
+    ];
     systemd.services.mesos-slave = {
       description = "Mesos Slave";
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
@@ -210,11 +213,7 @@ in {
             --executor_environment_variables=${lib.escapeShellArg (builtins.toJSON cfg.executorEnvironmentVariables)} \
             ${toString cfg.extraCmdLineOptions}
         '';
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
       };
-      preStart = ''
-        mkdir -m 0701 -p ${cfg.workDir}
-      '';
     };
   };
 
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/misc/radarr.nix b/nixos/modules/services/misc/radarr.nix
index 9ab26d848325..74444e24043f 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/misc/radarr.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/misc/radarr.nix
@@ -38,24 +38,19 @@ in
   };
 
   config = mkIf cfg.enable {
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${cfg.dataDir}' 0700 ${cfg.user} ${cfg.group} - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.radarr = {
       description = "Radarr";
       after = [ "network.target" ];
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
-      preStart = ''
-        test -d ${cfg.dataDir} || {
-          echo "Creating radarr data directory in ${cfg.dataDir}"
-          mkdir -p ${cfg.dataDir}
-        }
-        chown -R ${cfg.user}:${cfg.group} ${cfg.dataDir}
-        chmod 0700 ${cfg.dataDir}
-      '';
 
       serviceConfig = {
         Type = "simple";
         User = cfg.user;
         Group = cfg.group;
-        PermissionsStartOnly = "true";
         ExecStart = "${pkgs.radarr}/bin/Radarr -nobrowser -data='${cfg.dataDir}'";
         Restart = "on-failure";
       };
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/misc/sonarr.nix b/nixos/modules/services/misc/sonarr.nix
index a99445a268d7..77c7f0582d0b 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/misc/sonarr.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/misc/sonarr.nix
@@ -39,24 +39,19 @@ in
   };
 
   config = mkIf cfg.enable {
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${cfg.dataDir}' 0700 ${cfg.user} ${cfg.group} - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.sonarr = {
       description = "Sonarr";
       after = [ "network.target" ];
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
-      preStart = ''
-        test -d ${cfg.dataDir} || {
-          echo "Creating sonarr data directory in ${cfg.dataDir}"
-          mkdir -p ${cfg.dataDir}
-        }
-        chown -R ${cfg.user}:${cfg.group} ${cfg.dataDir}
-        chmod 0700 ${cfg.dataDir}
-      '';
 
       serviceConfig = {
         Type = "simple";
         User = cfg.user;
         Group = cfg.group;
-        PermissionsStartOnly = "true";
         ExecStart = "${pkgs.sonarr}/bin/NzbDrone -nobrowser -data='${cfg.dataDir}'";
         Restart = "on-failure";
       };
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/misc/zookeeper.nix b/nixos/modules/services/misc/zookeeper.nix
index cb7cc97d5a5c..50c84e3c6b80 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/misc/zookeeper.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/misc/zookeeper.nix
@@ -119,6 +119,10 @@ in {
   config = mkIf cfg.enable {
     environment.systemPackages = [cfg.package];
 
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${cfg.dataDir}' 0700 zookeeper - - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.zookeeper = {
       description = "Zookeeper Daemon";
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
@@ -135,11 +139,8 @@ in {
             ${configDir}/zoo.cfg
         '';
         User = "zookeeper";
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
       };
       preStart = ''
-        mkdir -m 0700 -p ${cfg.dataDir}
-        if [ "$(id -u)" = 0 ]; then chown zookeeper ${cfg.dataDir}; fi
         echo "${toString cfg.id}" > ${cfg.dataDir}/myid
       '';
     };
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/monitoring/collectd.nix b/nixos/modules/services/monitoring/collectd.nix
index 45e3312c0f44..6a4c678eb21f 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/monitoring/collectd.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/monitoring/collectd.nix
@@ -79,6 +79,10 @@ in {
   };
 
   config = mkIf cfg.enable {
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${cfg.dataDir}' - ${cfg.user} - - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.collectd = {
       description = "Collectd Monitoring Agent";
       after = [ "network.target" ];
@@ -87,16 +91,9 @@ in {
       serviceConfig = {
         ExecStart = "${cfg.package}/sbin/collectd -C ${conf} -f";
         User = cfg.user;
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
         Restart = "on-failure";
         RestartSec = 3;
       };
-
-      preStart = ''
-        mkdir -p "${cfg.dataDir}"
-        chmod 755 "${cfg.dataDir}"
-        chown -R ${cfg.user} "${cfg.dataDir}"
-      '';
     };
 
     users.users = optional (cfg.user == "collectd") {
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/network-filesystems/ipfs.nix b/nixos/modules/services/network-filesystems/ipfs.nix
index d4fa1eccdf3b..f19bf9d81396 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/network-filesystems/ipfs.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/network-filesystems/ipfs.nix
@@ -226,18 +226,19 @@ in {
       ipfs.gid = config.ids.gids.ipfs;
     };
 
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${cfg.dataDir}' - ${cfg.user} ${cfg.group} - -"
+    ] ++ optionals cfg.autoMount [
+      "d '${cfg.ipfsMountDir}' - ${cfg.user} ${cfg.group} - -"
+      "d '${cfg.ipnsMountDir}' - ${cfg.user} ${cfg.group} - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.ipfs-init = recursiveUpdate commonEnv {
       description = "IPFS Initializer";
 
       after = [ "local-fs.target" ];
       before = [ "ipfs.service" "ipfs-offline.service" "ipfs-norouting.service" ];
 
-      preStart = ''
-        install -m 0755 -o ${cfg.user} -g ${cfg.group} -d ${cfg.dataDir}
-      '' + optionalString cfg.autoMount ''
-        install -m 0755 -o ${cfg.user} -g ${cfg.group} -d ${cfg.ipfsMountDir}
-        install -m 0755 -o ${cfg.user} -g ${cfg.group} -d ${cfg.ipnsMountDir}
-      '';
       script = ''
         if [[ ! -f ${cfg.dataDir}/config ]]; then
           ipfs init ${optionalString cfg.emptyRepo "-e"} \
@@ -253,7 +254,6 @@ in {
       serviceConfig = {
         Type = "oneshot";
         RemainAfterExit = true;
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
       };
     };
 
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/networking/mxisd.nix b/nixos/modules/services/networking/mxisd.nix
index 0aa6d0d9ecd3..0b9824f29fd7 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/networking/mxisd.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/networking/mxisd.nix
@@ -116,7 +116,6 @@ in {
         Group = "mxisd";
         ExecStart = "${cfg.package}/bin/mxisd --spring.config.location=${cfg.dataDir}/ --spring.profiles.active=systemd --java.security.egd=file:/dev/./urandom";
         WorkingDirectory = cfg.dataDir;
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
         SuccessExitStatus = 143;
         Restart = "on-failure";
       };
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/networking/smokeping.nix b/nixos/modules/services/networking/smokeping.nix
index 9ba6e48f417c..fab3ed5bb39d 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/networking/smokeping.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/networking/smokeping.nix
@@ -285,12 +285,12 @@ in
       uid = config.ids.uids.smokeping;
       description = "smokeping daemon user";
       home = smokepingHome;
+      createHome = true;
     };
     systemd.services.smokeping = {
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target"];
       serviceConfig = {
         User = cfg.user;
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
         Restart = "on-failure";
       };
       preStart = ''
@@ -300,7 +300,6 @@ in
         cp ${cgiHome} ${smokepingHome}/smokeping.fcgi
         ${cfg.package}/bin/smokeping --check --config=${configPath}
         ${cfg.package}/bin/smokeping --static --config=${configPath}
-        chown -R ${cfg.user} ${smokepingHome}
       '';
       script = ''${cfg.package}/bin/smokeping --config=${configPath} --nodaemon'';
     };
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/networking/syncthing.nix b/nixos/modules/services/networking/syncthing.nix
index 702481ec5177..114a64dfb175 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/networking/syncthing.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/networking/syncthing.nix
@@ -151,7 +151,6 @@ in {
           RestartForceExitStatus="3 4";
           User = cfg.user;
           Group = cfg.group;
-          PermissionsStartOnly = true;
           ExecStart = ''
             ${cfg.package}/bin/syncthing \
               -no-browser \
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/security/munge.nix b/nixos/modules/services/security/munge.nix
index 504bc66c6d10..1c4f8e20552f 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/security/munge.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/security/munge.nix
@@ -49,21 +49,16 @@ in
 
       path = [ pkgs.munge pkgs.coreutils ];
 
-      preStart = ''
-        chmod 0400 ${cfg.password}
-        mkdir -p /var/lib/munge -m 0711
-        chown -R munge:munge /var/lib/munge
-        mkdir -p /run/munge -m 0755
-        chown -R munge:munge /run/munge
-      '';
-
       serviceConfig = {
+        ExecStartPre = "+${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/chmod 0400 ${cfg.password}";
         ExecStart = "${pkgs.munge}/bin/munged --syslog --key-file ${cfg.password}";
         PIDFile = "/run/munge/munged.pid";
         ExecReload = "${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID";
-        PermissionsStartOnly = "true";
         User = "munge";
         Group = "munge";
+        StateDirectory = "munge";
+        StateDirectoryMode = "0711";
+        RuntimeDirectory = "munge";
       };
 
     };
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/security/vault.nix b/nixos/modules/services/security/vault.nix
index 0b28bc894458..8176c168ca94 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/security/vault.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/security/vault.nix
@@ -119,6 +119,10 @@ in
     };
     users.groups.vault.gid = config.ids.gids.vault;
 
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = optional (cfg.storagePath != null) [
+      "d '${cfg.storagePath}' 0700 vault vault - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.vault = {
       description = "Vault server daemon";
 
@@ -128,14 +132,9 @@ in
 
       restartIfChanged = false; # do not restart on "nixos-rebuild switch". It would seal the storage and disrupt the clients.
 
-      preStart = optionalString (cfg.storagePath != null) ''
-        install -d -m0700 -o vault -g vault "${cfg.storagePath}"
-      '';
-
       serviceConfig = {
         User = "vault";
         Group = "vault";
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
         ExecStart = "${cfg.package}/bin/vault server -config ${configFile}";
         PrivateDevices = true;
         PrivateTmp = true;
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/torrent/peerflix.nix b/nixos/modules/services/torrent/peerflix.nix
index bed6661f84d6..a74f65984328 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/torrent/peerflix.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/torrent/peerflix.nix
@@ -39,6 +39,10 @@ in {
   ###### implementation
 
   config = mkIf cfg.enable {
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${cfg.stateDir}' - peerflix - - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.peerflix = {
       description = "Peerflix Daemon";
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
@@ -47,13 +51,11 @@ in {
 
       preStart = ''
         mkdir -p "${cfg.stateDir}"/{torrents,.config/peerflix-server}
-        if [ "$(id -u)" = 0 ]; then chown -R peerflix "${cfg.stateDir}"; fi
         ln -fs "${configFile}" "${cfg.stateDir}/.config/peerflix-server/config.json"
       '';
 
       serviceConfig = {
         ExecStart = "${pkgs.nodePackages.peerflix-server}/bin/peerflix-server";
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
         User = "peerflix";
       };
     };
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/web-apps/codimd.nix b/nixos/modules/services/web-apps/codimd.nix
index ee2fc2b9d857..7ae7cd9c52d8 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/web-apps/codimd.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/web-apps/codimd.nix
@@ -899,10 +899,6 @@ in
       description = "CodiMD Service";
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
       after = [ "networking.target" ];
-      preStart = ''
-        mkdir -p ${cfg.workDir}
-        chown -R codimd: ${cfg.workDir}
-      '';
       serviceConfig = {
         WorkingDirectory = cfg.workDir;
         ExecStart = "${pkgs.codimd}/bin/codimd";
@@ -912,7 +908,6 @@ in
         ];
         Restart = "always";
         User = "codimd";
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
         PrivateTmp = true;
       };
     };
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/web-apps/nexus.nix b/nixos/modules/services/web-apps/nexus.nix
index 050f8757fa5f..052dbed6d4f8 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/web-apps/nexus.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/web-apps/nexus.nix
@@ -83,6 +83,8 @@ in
     users.users."${cfg.user}" = {
       isSystemUser = true;
       group = cfg.group;
+      home = cfg.home;
+      createHome = true;
     };
 
     users.groups."${cfg.group}" = {};
@@ -104,8 +106,6 @@ in
       preStart = ''
         mkdir -p ${cfg.home}/nexus3/etc
 
-        chown -R ${cfg.user}:${cfg.group} ${cfg.home}
-
         if [ ! -f ${cfg.home}/nexus3/etc/nexus.properties ]; then
           echo "# Jetty section" > ${cfg.home}/nexus3/etc/nexus.properties
           echo "application-port=${toString cfg.listenPort}" >> ${cfg.home}/nexus3/etc/nexus.properties
@@ -124,7 +124,6 @@ in
         User = cfg.user;
         Group = cfg.group;
         PrivateTmp = true;
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
         LimitNOFILE = 102642;
       };
     };
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/minio.nix b/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/minio.nix
index f78a966989b6..cd123000f009 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/minio.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/minio.nix
@@ -72,19 +72,16 @@ in
   };
 
   config = mkIf cfg.enable {
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${cfg.configDir}' - minio minio - -"
+      "d '${cfg.dataDir}' - minio minio - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.minio = {
       description = "Minio Object Storage";
       after = [ "network.target" ];
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
-      preStart = ''
-        # Make sure directories exist with correct owner
-        mkdir -p ${cfg.configDir}
-        chown -R minio:minio ${cfg.configDir}
-        mkdir -p ${cfg.dataDir}
-        chown minio:minio ${cfg.dataDir}
-      '';
       serviceConfig = {
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
         ExecStart = "${cfg.package}/bin/minio server --json --address ${cfg.listenAddress} --config-dir=${cfg.configDir} ${cfg.dataDir}";
         Type = "simple";
         User = "minio";
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/traefik.nix b/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/traefik.nix
index 4674ed0177e6..5bac895d43ac 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/traefik.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/traefik.nix
@@ -84,18 +84,16 @@ in {
   };
 
   config = mkIf cfg.enable {
+    systemd.tmpfiles.rules = [
+      "d '${cfg.dataDir}' 0700 traefik traefik - -"
+    ];
+
     systemd.services.traefik = {
       description = "Traefik web server";
       after = [ "network-online.target" ];
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
       serviceConfig = {
-        PermissionsStartOnly = true;
         ExecStart = ''${cfg.package.bin}/bin/traefik --configfile=${configFile}'';
-        ExecStartPre = [
-          ''${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/mkdir -p "${cfg.dataDir}"''
-          ''${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/chmod 700 "${cfg.dataDir}"''
-          ''${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/chown -R traefik:traefik "${cfg.dataDir}"''
-        ];
         Type = "simple";
         User = "traefik";
         Group = cfg.group;