diff --git a/contrib/Makefile.am b/contrib/Makefile.am
index 36ba2458..73611fd4 100644
--- a/contrib/Makefile.am
+++ b/contrib/Makefile.am
@@ -11,8 +11,15 @@
 
 SUBDIRS = Anope Debian MacOSX
 
-EXTRA_DIST = README ngircd.spec systrace.policy ngindent ngircd-bsd.sh \
-	ngIRCd-Logo.gif ngircd-redhat.init platformtest.sh
+EXTRA_DIST = README \
+	ngindent \
+	ngircd-bsd.sh \
+	ngIRCd-Logo.gif \
+	ngircd-redhat.init \
+	ngircd.service
+	ngircd.spec \
+	platformtest.sh \
+	systrace.policy
 
 maintainer-clean-local:
 	rm -f Makefile Makefile.in
diff --git a/contrib/ngircd.service b/contrib/ngircd.service
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b5bab060
--- /dev/null
+++ b/contrib/ngircd.service
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Next Generation IRC Daemon
+After=network.target
+
+[Service]
+# don't daemonize to simplify stuff
+ExecStart=/usr/sbin/ngircd -n
+ExecReload=/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target