Init Systems
An init system is the first process that runs when your computer boots (PID 1). It’s responsible for starting everything else — filesystems, networking, display manager, services, and more. Think of it as the foreman at a construction site: it doesn’t do the work itself, but it makes sure everything gets started in the right order.
Antergos NeXT lets you choose between four init systems during installation. This page explains each one so you can pick what suits you.
Don’t know what init to choose? Stick with Dinit — it’s the default, it’s fast, and it’s what Antergos NeXT ships with. OpenRC is also available if you prefer a more traditional approach.
The inits
| Init | Philosophy | Complexity | Speed | Used by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinit | Modern, dependency-based | Medium | Very fast | Antergos NeXT, Artix, new projects |
| OpenRC | Simple, modular, Unix-like | Low | Fast | Gentoo, Artix, Devuan, Alpine |
| Runit | Minimal, reliable, Unix-like | Low | Very fast | Void Linux, AntiX |
| S6 | Supervision-based, secure | Medium-High | Very fast | New projects, embedded |
Choosing an init
| If you want… | Pick… |
|---|---|
| The fastest boot possible | Dinit or S6 |
| Something familiar and well-documented | OpenRC |
| The simplest, most Unix-like approach | Runit |
| Advanced supervision and process management | S6 |
What they all have in common
- No systemd — all four are independent implementations
- Service scripts — services are configured via files in
/etc/ - Runlevels — groups of services that start together
- Logging to files — logs go to
/var/log/, notjournalctl
What’s different
The main differences are in:
- How services are defined — OpenRC uses shell scripts, Dinit uses a declarative config format, Runit uses executable scripts, S6 uses a supervision tree
- How they manage dependencies — some handle it automatically, some leave it to you
- How they supervise processes — some restart crashed services automatically, some don’t
- How fast they boot — Dinit and S6 are designed for parallel startup and are noticeably faster
Learning Linux with init systems
If you’re new to Linux, learning about init systems is a great way to understand how your OS works under the hood. Here’s why:
- You’ll learn about processes — PID 1, service trees, process supervision
- You’ll learn about boot order — what needs to start before what
- You’ll learn about dependencies — why NetworkManager needs dbus, why dbus needs udev
- You’ll learn about logging — where logs go, how to read them
- You’ll learn about runlevels — why your system behaves differently in single-user mode vs normal boot
The best part? If you break something with services, you can always fix it — service management is much simpler than kernel config or package management.
Pro tip: If you’re dual-booting or using a VM, try all four inits. Install a test system with Dinit first, then reinstall with OpenRC, then Runit, then S6. See which one feels right.