To start CouchDB automatically at system startup, add the following to your system's /etc/rc.d/rc.local init script: if [ -x /etc/rc.d/rc.couchdb ]; then /etc/rc.d/rc.couchdb start fi To stop CouchDB automatically at system shutdown, add the following to your system's /etc/rc.d/rc.local_shutdown script: if [ -x /etc/rc.d/rc.couchdb ]; then /etc/rc.d/rc.couchdb stop fi