diff --git a/docs/generate-man-pages.py b/docs/generate-man-pages.py
index ddf7e0d73bd1..22a718d44ce3 100755
--- a/docs/generate-man-pages.py
+++ b/docs/generate-man-pages.py
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 import argparse
 import glob
 import itertools
-import os
 import subprocess
 import sys
 import venv
@@ -14,8 +13,8 @@ def main():
     """Start the script."""
     args = create_argument_parser()
 
-    source_root = Path(os.environ["MESON_SOURCE_ROOT"])
-    build_root = Path(os.environ["MESON_BUILD_ROOT"])
+    source_root = args.source_root
+    build_root = args.build_root
 
     # Create the venv.
     venv_directory = build_root.joinpath(args.venv_name)
@@ -30,8 +29,8 @@ def main():
     # Install some stuff into the venv.
     requirements_file = source_root.joinpath(args.requirements_file)
     pip = venv_directory.joinpath("bin").joinpath("pip")
-    subprocess.run([pip, "install", "-U", "pip", "setuptools", "wheel"])
-    subprocess.run([pip, "install", "-r", requirements_file])
+    subprocess.run([pip, "install", "-U", "pip", "setuptools", "wheel"], check=True)
+    subprocess.run([pip, "install", "-r", requirements_file], check=True)
 
     # Run sphinx to generate the man-pages.
     source_directory = source_root.joinpath(args.source_directory)
@@ -47,7 +46,8 @@ def main():
             source_directory,
             target_directory,
         ]
-        + files
+        + files,
+        check=True
     )
 
 
@@ -56,6 +56,18 @@ def create_argument_parser():
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
         description="Create a virtualenv from a requirements file"
     )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--build-root",
+        type=Path,
+        required=True,
+        help="Build root",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--source-root",
+        type=Path,
+        required=True,
+        help="Source root",
+    )
     parser.add_argument(
         "--venv-name",
         type=str,
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 6a67f093ec0d..f914ed454038 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -1011,16 +1011,30 @@ summary('Path', python.full_path(), section: 'Manual Pages')
 summary('Version', python.version(), section: 'Manual Pages')
 
 if python.found()
-  run_target(
-    'man-pages',
-    command: [
-      python,
-      product_source_dir / docs_dir / 'generate-man-pages.py',
-      '--venv-name', 'venv-auth-man-pages',
-      '--requirements-file', docs_dir / 'requirements.txt',
-      '--source-directory', docs_dir,
-      '--target-directory', 'auth-man-pages',
-    ] + man_pages,
+  generated_man_pages = []
+  foreach tool, info: tools
+    if 'manpages' in info
+      foreach man_page: info['manpages']
+        generated_man_pages += man_page
+      endforeach
+    endif
+  endforeach
+  custom_target(
+     'man-pages',
+     input: man_pages,
+     output: generated_man_pages,
+     install: true,
+     install_dir: join_paths(get_option('mandir'), 'man1'),
+     command: [
+       python,
+       product_source_dir / docs_dir / 'generate-man-pages.py',
+       '--build-root', '@BUILD_ROOT@',
+       '--source-root', '@SOURCE_ROOT@',
+       '--venv-name', 'venv-auth-man-pages',
+       '--requirements-file', docs_dir / 'requirements.txt',
+       '--source-directory', docs_dir,
+       '--target-directory', '@BUILD_ROOT@',
+     ] + man_pages,
   )
 endif
 
diff --git a/pdns/dnsdistdist/dnsdist.service.meson.in b/pdns/dnsdistdist/dnsdist.service.meson.in
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..41501cc4cd52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pdns/dnsdistdist/dnsdist.service.meson.in
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=@Description@
+Documentation=man:dnsdist(1)
+Documentation=https://dnsdist.org
+Wants=network-online.target
+After=network-online.target time-sync.target
+
+[Service]
+ExecStartPre=@BinDir@/dnsdist --check-config
+# Note: when editing the ExecStart command, keep --supervised and --disable-syslog
+ExecStart=@BinDir@/dnsdist --supervised --disable-syslog
+User=@ServiceUser@
+Group=@ServiceGroup@
+SyslogIdentifier=dnsdist
+Type=notify
+Restart=on-failure
+RestartSec=2
+TimeoutStopSec=5
+StartLimitInterval=0
+
+# Tuning
+TasksMax=8192
+LimitNOFILE=16384
+# Note: increasing the amount of lockable memory is required to use eBPF support
+# LimitMEMLOCK=infinity
+
+# Sandboxing
+# Note: adding CAP_SYS_ADMIN is required to use eBPF support,
+# and CAP_NET_RAW to be able to set the source interface to contact a backend
+# If an AppArmor policy is in use, it might have to be updated to allow dnsdist to keep the
+# capability: adding a 'capability sys_admin,' line to the policy is usually enough.
+CapabilityBoundingSet=CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE
+AmbientCapabilities=CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE
+@LockPersonality@
+NoNewPrivileges=true
+@PrivateDevices@
+@PrivateTmp@
+# Setting PrivateUsers=true prevents us from opening our sockets
+@ProtectClock@
+@ProtectControlGroups@
+@ProtectHome@
+@ProtectHostname@
+@ProtectKernelLogs@
+@ProtectKernelModules@
+@ProtectKernelTunables@
+@ProtectSystem@
+@RestrictAddressFamilies@
+@RestrictNamespaces@
+@RestrictRealtime@
+@RestrictSUIDSGID@
+@SystemCallArchitectures@
+@SystemCallFilter@
+@ProtectProc@
+@PrivateIPC@
+@RemoveIPC@
+DevicePolicy=closed
+# Not enabled by default because it does not play well with LuaJIT
+@MemoryDenyWriteExecute@
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
diff --git a/pdns/dnsdistdist/docs/generate-man-pages.py b/pdns/dnsdistdist/docs/generate-man-pages.py
new file mode 120000
index 000000000000..c19dc3bef129
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pdns/dnsdistdist/docs/generate-man-pages.py
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+../../../docs/generate-man-pages.py
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/pdns/dnsdistdist/meson.build b/pdns/dnsdistdist/meson.build
index 4baa479869d9..1cc990021fe5 100644
--- a/pdns/dnsdistdist/meson.build
+++ b/pdns/dnsdistdist/meson.build
@@ -416,6 +416,7 @@ tools = {
       dep_json11,
       dep_systemd,
     ],
+    'install': true,
   },
 }
 
@@ -523,6 +524,7 @@ foreach tool, info: tools
   files_extra = 'files-extra' in info ? info['files-extra'] : []
   deps_extra = 'deps-extra' in info ? info['deps-extra'] : []
   link_args = 'link-args' in info ? info['link-args'] : []
+  install = 'install' in info ? info['install'] : false
 
   set_variable(
     var_name,
@@ -537,6 +539,7 @@ foreach tool, info: tools
         libdnsdist_common,
         deps_extra,
       ],
+      install: install,
     )
   )
 
@@ -559,16 +562,129 @@ summary('Python', python.found(), bool_yn: true, section: 'Manual Pages')
 summary('Path', python.full_path(), section: 'Manual Pages')
 summary('Version', python.version(), section: 'Manual Pages')
 
-if python.found()
-  run_target(
-    'man-pages',
-    command: [
-      python,
-      product_source_dir / docs_dir / 'generate-man-pages.py',
-      '--venv-name', 'venv-dnsdist-man-pages',
-      '--requirements-file', docs_dir / 'requirements.txt',
-      '--source-directory', docs_dir,
-      '--target-directory', 'dnsdist-man-pages',
-    ] + man_pages,
+if get_option('man-pages') and python.found()
+  generated_man_pages = []
+  foreach tool, info: tools
+    if 'manpages' in info
+      foreach man_page: info['manpages']
+        generated_man_pages += man_page
+      endforeach
+    endif
+  endforeach
+  custom_target(
+     'man-pages',
+     input: man_pages,
+     output: generated_man_pages,
+     install: true,
+     install_dir: join_paths(get_option('mandir'), 'man1'),
+     command: [
+       python,
+       product_source_dir / docs_dir / 'generate-man-pages.py',
+       '--build-root', '@BUILD_ROOT@',
+       '--source-root', '@SOURCE_ROOT@',
+       '--venv-name', 'venv-dnsdist-man-pages',
+       '--requirements-file', docs_dir / 'requirements.txt',
+       '--source-directory', docs_dir,
+       '--target-directory', '@BUILD_ROOT@',
+     ] + man_pages,
   )
 endif
+
+if dep_systemd_prog.found()
+
+  systemd_system_unit_dir = dep_systemd_prog.get_variable(
+    'systemdsystemunitdir',
+  )
+
+  systemd_service_conf = configuration_data()
+  systemd_service_conf.set('Description', 'DNS Loadbalancer')
+  systemd_service_conf.set('BinDir', get_option('prefix') / get_option('bindir'))
+  systemd_service_user = get_option('systemd-service-user')
+  systemd_service_group = get_option('systemd-service-group')
+  systemd_service_conf.set('ServiceUser', systemd_service_user)
+  systemd_service_conf.set('ServiceGroup', systemd_service_group)
+  summary('Service User', systemd_service_user, section: 'Systemd')
+  summary('Service Group', systemd_service_group, section: 'Systemd')
+
+  systemd_service_conf.set(
+    'ProtectSystem', have_systemd_protect_system ? 'ProtectSystem=full' : '',
+  )
+  systemd_service_conf.set(
+    'SystemCallArchitectures',
+    have_systemd_system_call_architectures ? 'SystemCallArchitectures=native' : '',
+  )
+  systemd_system_call_filter = '~ @clock @debug @module @mount @raw-io @reboot @swap @cpu-emulation @obsolete'
+  systemd_service_conf.set(
+    'SystemCallFilter',
+    have_systemd_system_call_filter ? 'SystemCallFilter=' + systemd_system_call_filter : '',
+  )
+  systemd_service_conf.set(
+    'ProtectProc',
+    have_systemd_protect_proc ? 'ProtectProc=invisible' : '',
+  )
+
+  systemd_features = {
+    'LockPersonality': have_systemd_lock_personality,
+    'PrivateDevices': have_systemd_private_devices,
+    'PrivateTmp': have_systemd_private_tmp,
+    'PrivateUsers': false, # Setting it to true prevents us from opening our sockets.
+    'ProtectClock': have_systemd_protect_clock,
+    'ProtectControlGroups': have_systemd_protect_control_groups,
+    'ProtectHome': have_systemd_protect_home,
+    'ProtectHostname': have_systemd_protect_hostname,
+    'ProtectKernelLogs': have_systemd_protect_kernel_logs,
+    'ProtectKernelModules': have_systemd_protect_kernel_modules,
+    'ProtectKernelTunables': have_systemd_protect_kernel_tunables,
+    'RestrictNamespaces': have_systemd_restrict_namespaces,
+    'RestrictRealtime': have_systemd_restrict_realtime,
+    'RestrictSUIDSGID': have_systemd_restrict_suidsgid,
+    'PrivateIPC': have_systemd_private_ipc,
+    'RemoveIPC': have_systemd_remove_ipc,
+  }
+
+  foreach feature, enable_it: systemd_features
+    systemd_service_conf.set(feature, enable_it ? feature + '=true': '')
+  endforeach
+
+  # Disabled, it breaks LuaJIT.
+  systemd_service_conf.set(
+    'MemoryDenyWriteExecute',
+    have_systemd_memory_deny_write_execute ? 'MemoryDenyWriteExecute=false' : '',
+  )
+  systemd_service_conf.set(
+    'RestrictAddressFamilies',
+    have_systemd_restrict_address_families ? 'RestrictAddressFamilies=AF_UNIX AF_INET AF_INET6' : '',
+  )
+
+  dnsdist_service_conf_general = configuration_data()
+  dnsdist_service_conf_general.set('Description', 'DNS Loadbalancer')
+  dnsdist_service_conf_general.merge_from(systemd_service_conf)
+  dnsdist_service_conf_general.set('SyslogIdentifier', 'dnsdist')
+
+  configure_file(
+    input: 'dnsdist.service.meson.in',
+    output: 'dnsdist.service',
+    configuration: dnsdist_service_conf_general,
+    install: true,
+    install_dir: systemd_system_unit_dir,
+  )
+
+  dnsdist_service_conf_instance = configuration_data()
+  dnsdist_service_conf_instance.merge_from(systemd_service_conf)
+  dnsdist_service_conf_instance.set('Description', 'DNS Loadbalancer %i')
+  dnsdist_service_conf_instance.set('SyslogIdentifier', 'dnsdist-%i')
+
+  configure_file(
+    input: 'dnsdist.service.meson.in',
+    output: 'dnsdist@.service',
+    configuration: dnsdist_service_conf_instance,
+    install: true,
+    install_dir: systemd_system_unit_dir,
+  )
+endif
+
+install_data(
+  'dnsdist.conf-dist',
+  install_dir : get_option('sysconfdir'),
+  follow_symlinks: true
+)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/pdns/dnsdistdist/meson_options.txt b/pdns/dnsdistdist/meson_options.txt
index e860bdf833be..80361de207f9 100644
--- a/pdns/dnsdistdist/meson_options.txt
+++ b/pdns/dnsdistdist/meson_options.txt
@@ -37,3 +37,4 @@ option('fuzz-targets', type: 'boolean', value: false, description: 'Enable fuzzi
 option('ebpf', type: 'feature', value: 'disabled', description: 'Enable eBPF support')
 option('fuzzer_ldflags', type: 'string', value: '', description: 'Linker flags used for the fuzzing targets (a path to the libFuzzer static library, for example)')
 option('yaml', type: 'feature', value: 'disabled', description: 'Enable YAML configuration')
+option('man-pages', type: 'boolean', value: true, description: 'Generate man pages')
diff --git a/pdns/recursordist/meson.build b/pdns/recursordist/meson.build
index 81d740568fe5..239aa91dd99a 100644
--- a/pdns/recursordist/meson.build
+++ b/pdns/recursordist/meson.build
@@ -576,16 +576,30 @@ summary('Path', python.full_path(), section: 'Manual Pages')
 summary('Version', python.version(), section: 'Manual Pages')
 
 if python.found()
-  run_target(
-    'man-pages',
-    command: [
-      python,
-      product_source_dir / docs_dir / 'generate-man-pages.py',
-      '--venv-name', 'venv-rec-man-pages',
-      '--requirements-file', docs_dir / 'requirements.txt',
-      '--source-directory', docs_dir,
-      '--target-directory', 'rec-man-pages',
-    ] + man_pages,
+  generated_man_pages = []
+  foreach tool, info: tools
+    if 'manpages' in info
+      foreach man_page: info['manpages']
+        generated_man_pages += man_page
+      endforeach
+    endif
+  endforeach
+  custom_target(
+     'man-pages',
+     input: man_pages,
+     output: generated_man_pages,
+     install: true,
+     install_dir: join_paths(get_option('mandir'), 'man1'),
+     command: [
+       python,
+       product_source_dir / docs_dir / 'generate-man-pages.py',
+       '--build-root', '@BUILD_ROOT@',
+       '--source-root', '@SOURCE_ROOT@',
+       '--venv-name', 'venv-rec-man-pages',
+       '--requirements-file', docs_dir / 'requirements.txt',
+       '--source-directory', docs_dir,
+       '--target-directory', '@BUILD_ROOT@',
+     ] + man_pages,
   )
 endif