By default, on Ubuntu, SphinxSearch is using /etc/sphinxsearch/sphinx.conf and /etc/default/sphinxsearch to start/stop daemon. If you need to use specific command line options (like -c ), you need to update your /etc/init.d/sphinxsearch In the do_start() function, change the line : start-stop-daemon –start –pidfile $PIDFILE –chuid www-data –exec ${DAEMON} with start-stop-daemon –start –pidfile $PIDFILE –chuid www-data –exec ${DAEMON} … →