diff --git a/.github/scripts/smoke-test-deb.sh b/.github/scripts/smoke-test-deb.sh
index 24a4e1a08..2bb84a55c 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/smoke-test-deb.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/smoke-test-deb.sh
@@ -167,6 +167,9 @@ check_config_init
 info "Checking systemd unit file…"
 check_unit_file "fail"
 
+info "Checking service file has exactly one ExecStart directive…"
+check_single_execstart
+
 # ── Service startup (best-effort) ─────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 check_service_startup
diff --git a/.github/scripts/smoke-test-lib.sh b/.github/scripts/smoke-test-lib.sh
index d0f19f4a4..585db78ed 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/smoke-test-lib.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/smoke-test-lib.sh
@@ -140,6 +140,27 @@ check_unit_file() {
     fi
 }
 
+check_single_execstart() {
+    local unit_file="" count
+    for path in "${UNIT_FILE_PATHS[@]}"; do
+        if [ -f "$path" ]; then
+            unit_file="$path"
+            break
+        fi
+    done
+    if [ -z "$unit_file" ]; then
+        warn "Skipping ExecStart check: no unit file found (check_unit_file already reported this)."
+        return
+    fi
+    # Match only non-empty ExecStart= lines; bare 'ExecStart=' is a reset directive.
+    count=$(grep -c '^ExecStart=[^[:space:]]' "$unit_file" 2>/dev/null || true)
+    if [ "$count" -eq 1 ]; then
+        pass "Service file has exactly one ExecStart directive"
+    else
+        fail "Service file has $count ExecStart directives (expected exactly 1)"
+    fi
+}
+
 check_service_startup() {
     info "[Best-effort] Checking service startup…"
     warn "systemd service startup testing is best-effort in containers."
diff --git a/.github/scripts/smoke-test-rpm.sh b/.github/scripts/smoke-test-rpm.sh
index c5b89155c..2fce4b71f 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/smoke-test-rpm.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/smoke-test-rpm.sh
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 #   - Package installs correctly via dnf
 #   - Expected files and directories are present
 #   - Binary is functional (--help, --config-init-only)
-#   - Service registration creates the expected systemd unit file
+#   - systemd unit file is installed (part of the .rpm package)
 #   - Default configuration file is generated
 #
 # Environment variables (required):
@@ -19,18 +19,8 @@
 #   script (after-install) gates ALL service-related actions on the
 #   presence of /run/systemd/system. This means:
 #     - Config initialization is skipped.
-#     - Service registration is skipped (no unit file is created).
 #     - Service enable/start is skipped.
-#   This script compensates by running --config-init-only and
-#   service register manually.
-#
-# DIFFERENCE FROM DEB:
-#   The .deb package includes the systemd unit file directly (installed
-#   by dpkg via dh_installsystemd). The .rpm package does NOT bundle the
-#   unit file; instead, the postinst calls `devolutions-gateway service
-#   register` to create it at install time. This means that in a container
-#   without systemd, the unit file will only exist if we manually run
-#   `service register`.
+#   This script compensates by running --config-init-only manually.
 # ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 set -euo pipefail
@@ -50,10 +40,8 @@ WEBAPP_DIR=/usr/share/devolutions-gateway/webapp
 CONFIG_DIR=/etc/devolutions-gateway
 CONFIG_FILE=$CONFIG_DIR/gateway.json
 
-# The .rpm package does NOT bundle the unit file; it is created by
-# `devolutions-gateway service register` at install time (or manually below).
+# The .rpm package bundles the unit file directly (installed by fpm/rpm).
 UNIT_FILE_PATHS=(
-    /etc/systemd/system/devolutions-gateway.service
     /usr/lib/systemd/system/devolutions-gateway.service
     /lib/systemd/system/devolutions-gateway.service
 )
@@ -171,27 +159,18 @@ check_binary_help
 info "Checking config initialization…"
 check_config_init
 
-# ── Service registration ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-# The RPM does NOT bundle the systemd unit file. The postinst calls
-# `devolutions-gateway service register` to create it. In containers
-# without systemd, the postinst skips this, so we try it manually.
-
-info "Checking service registration…"
-info "Running service registration manually…"
-SERVICE_REG_OUTPUT=$("$BINARY" service register 2>&1) && SERVICE_REG_RC=$? || SERVICE_REG_RC=$?
-if [ "$SERVICE_REG_RC" -eq 0 ]; then
-    pass "Service registration command succeeded"
-else
-    warn "Service registration returned exit code $SERVICE_REG_RC (may require systemd)."
-    info "Output: $SERVICE_REG_OUTPUT"
-fi
-
 # ── systemd unit file ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-# Unit file is only present if service register succeeded above;
-# absence is a warning rather than a hard failure.
+# The .rpm package bundles the unit file directly, so it must be present
+# after installation regardless of whether systemd is running.
 
 info "Checking systemd unit file…"
-check_unit_file "warn"
+check_unit_file "fail"
+
+# ── Single ExecStart directive ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Regression guard: two ExecStart= lines make systemd refuse to start the service.
+
+info "Checking service file has exactly one ExecStart directive…"
+check_single_execstart
 
 # ── Service startup (best-effort) ─────────────────────────────────────────────
 
diff --git a/ci/package-gateway-rpm.ps1 b/ci/package-gateway-rpm.ps1
index 1dbfc4ecd..f233f60df 100644
--- a/ci/package-gateway-rpm.ps1
+++ b/ci/package-gateway-rpm.ps1
@@ -69,12 +69,14 @@ function New-GatewayRpm() {
         '--url', 'https://devolutions.net'
         '--license', 'Apache-2.0 OR MIT'
         '--rpm-attr', '755,root,root:/usr/bin/devolutions-gateway'
+        '--rpm-attr', '644,root,root:/usr/lib/systemd/system/devolutions-gateway.service'
         '--rpm-changelog', $pkgChangelog
         '--after-install', 'package/Linux/gateway/rpm/postinst'
         '--before-remove', 'package/Linux/gateway/rpm/prerm'
         '--after-remove', 'package/Linux/gateway/rpm/postrm'
         '--'
         "$Bin=/usr/bin/devolutions-gateway"
+        'package/Linux/gateway/rpm/service=/usr/lib/systemd/system/devolutions-gateway.service'
         "$generatedUpstreamChangelog=/usr/share/doc/devolutions-gateway/ChangeLog"
         "$pkgDir/copyright=/usr/share/doc/devolutions-gateway/copyright"
         "$LibxmfFile=/usr/lib/devolutions-gateway/libxmf.so"
diff --git a/ci/tlk.ps1 b/ci/tlk.ps1
index cf0fc0aef..effead9db 100755
--- a/ci/tlk.ps1
+++ b/ci/tlk.ps1
@@ -867,7 +867,7 @@ class TlkRecipe
         $s = New-Changelog -Format 'RpmPackaging' -InputFile $UpstreamChangelogFile -Packager $Packager -Email $Email
         Set-Content -Path $RpmPackagingChangelogFile -Value $s
 
-        $FpmArgs = @(
+        $FpmOptions = @(
             '--force'
             '--verbose'
             '-s', 'dir'
@@ -882,24 +882,28 @@ class TlkRecipe
             '--license', 'Apache-2.0 OR MIT'
             '--rpm-attr', "755,root,root:/usr/bin/$PkgName"
             '--rpm-changelog', $RpmPackagingChangelogFile
-             '--after-install', "$InputPackagePath/$($this.Product)/rpm/postinst"
+            '--after-install', "$InputPackagePath/$($this.Product)/rpm/postinst"
             '--before-remove', "$InputPackagePath/$($this.Product)/rpm/prerm"
             '--after-remove', "$InputPackagePath/$($this.Product)/rpm/postrm"
-            '--'
+        )
+
+        $FpmFiles = @(
             "$Executable=/usr/bin/$PkgName"
             "$RpmUpstreamChangelogFile=/usr/share/doc/$PkgName/ChangeLog"
             "$CopyrightFile=/usr/share/doc/$PkgName/copyright"
         )
 
         if ($this.Product -eq "gateway") {
-            $FpmArgs += @(
+            $FpmOptions += '--rpm-attr', '644,root,root:/usr/lib/systemd/system/devolutions-gateway.service'
+            $FpmFiles += @(
+                "$InputPackagePath/gateway/rpm/service=/usr/lib/systemd/system/devolutions-gateway.service",
                 "$DGatewayWebClient=/usr/share/devolutions-gateway/webapp/client",
                 "$DGatewayWebPlayer=/usr/share/devolutions-gateway/webapp/player",
                 "$DGatewayLibXmf=/usr/lib/devolutions-gateway/libxmf.so"
             )
         }
 
-        & 'fpm' @FpmArgs | Out-Host
+        & 'fpm' @FpmOptions '--' @FpmFiles | Out-Host
 
         if (Test-Path Env:TARGET_OUTPUT_PATH) {
             $TargetOutputPath = $Env:TARGET_OUTPUT_PATH
diff --git a/devolutions-gateway/src/main.rs b/devolutions-gateway/src/main.rs
index 8fda2c75e..05b9e9b8f 100644
--- a/devolutions-gateway/src/main.rs
+++ b/devolutions-gateway/src/main.rs
@@ -107,6 +107,7 @@ fn run() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
                         After=network-online.target
 
                         [Service]
+                        ExecStart=
                         ExecStart=/usr/bin/devolutions-gateway --service
                         Restart=on-failure
 
diff --git a/package/Linux/gateway/debian/service b/package/Linux/gateway/debian/service
index 86ec75014..225b847b7 100644
--- a/package/Linux/gateway/debian/service
+++ b/package/Linux/gateway/debian/service
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 [Unit]
+Description=Devolutions Gateway
 After=network-online.target
 
 [Service]
@@ -6,4 +7,4 @@ ExecStart=/usr/bin/devolutions-gateway --service
 Restart=on-failure
  
 [Install]
-WantedBy=multi-user.target
\ No newline at end of file
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
diff --git a/package/Linux/gateway/rpm/postinst b/package/Linux/gateway/rpm/postinst
index f1655efd8..a603368ec 100644
--- a/package/Linux/gateway/rpm/postinst
+++ b/package/Linux/gateway/rpm/postinst
@@ -6,9 +6,8 @@ if [ ! -d /etc/devolutions-gateway ]; then
 fi
 
 if [ -d /run/systemd/system ]; then
-	/usr/bin/devolutions-gateway service register >/dev/null
 	systemctl daemon-reload
 	/usr/bin/devolutions-gateway --config-init-only >/dev/null
-	systemctl enable --now devolutions-gateway >/dev/null 2>&1
-	systemctl restart devolutions-gateway >/dev/null 2>&1
+	systemctl enable --now devolutions-gateway >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+	systemctl restart devolutions-gateway >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
 fi
diff --git a/package/Linux/gateway/rpm/postrm b/package/Linux/gateway/rpm/postrm
index 53708f9f5..057eb06ca 100644
--- a/package/Linux/gateway/rpm/postrm
+++ b/package/Linux/gateway/rpm/postrm
@@ -4,8 +4,12 @@ set -e
 
 action="$1"
 
-# Only do complete clean-up on purge.
-if [ "$action" != "purge" ] ; then
+if [ -d /run/systemd/system ]; then
+  systemctl daemon-reload >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+fi
+
+# Only do complete clean-up on final erase ($1 == 0); upgrades pass $1 >= 1.
+if [ "$action" -ne 0 ] ; then
   exit 0
 fi
 
diff --git a/package/Linux/gateway/rpm/prerm b/package/Linux/gateway/rpm/prerm
index 47e982c6a..7c995b036 100644
--- a/package/Linux/gateway/rpm/prerm
+++ b/package/Linux/gateway/rpm/prerm
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ if [ "$action" = "upgrade" ] ; then
 fi
 
 if [ -d /run/systemd/system ]; then
-  systemctl stop devolutions-gateway >/dev/null 2>&1
-  /usr/bin/devolutions-gateway service unregister >/dev/null
-  systemctl daemon-reload
-fi
\ No newline at end of file
+  systemctl stop devolutions-gateway >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+  systemctl disable devolutions-gateway >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+fi
diff --git a/package/Linux/gateway/rpm/service b/package/Linux/gateway/rpm/service
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..defef6792
--- /dev/null
+++ b/package/Linux/gateway/rpm/service
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Devolutions Gateway
+After=network-online.target
+
+[Service]
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/devolutions-gateway --service
+Restart=on-failure
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target