nmstate.service - Man Page

Apply /etc/nmstate network states

nmstate.service invokes nmstatectl service command which apply all network state files ending with .yml in /etc/nmstate folder. By default, the network state file will be renamed with the suffix .applied after applying it. This is to prevent it being applied again when the service runs next.

With /etc/nmstate/nmstate.conf holding below content:

[service] keep_state_file_after_apply = true

The nmstate.service will not remove network state file, just copy applied network stata to file with the suffix .applied after applying it.