The best init systems, according to hackers
9 init systems recommended in Hacker News comments over the past year, ranked by how many separate people recommend each one.
- Most recommendedsystemd326 people recommend it
- Built to lastSysVinitowners report a median of 30 years
- Least regretrunit19 recommend, 3 criticize
All init systems
- systemdPraised as a solid Linux service manager with declarative unit files, sandboxing and consistent standardization, though critics dislike how much it absorbs beyond init and its tight coupling.326recommend
- OpenRCReliable init system that people run on Gentoo and Alpine for its easy-to-write service files. Critics say it covers fewer features than systemd, and parallel startup has known trouble.21recommend
- SysVinitSimple, easy-to-understand init system that stays small and out of the way and is easy for newcomers to learn. Critics say its shell-script runlevel approach is hacky and brittle.19recommend
- runitSimple, reliable Unix init and service supervisor people run for years. Main caveats: fiddly setup with read-only root and fewer features than systemd.19recommend
- Upstart init systemUpstart was a Linux init system that replaced shell-script init files and was seen as a reasonable choice. Critics say it became defunct and had a broken design, and Canonical's other projects drew similar criticism.11recommend
- dinitPortable init system with systemd-style features, a focused scope and simple service files.9recommend
- daemontoolsSmall, simple process supervision suite by Daniel J. Bernstein that people praise for reliable service management and elegant design.9recommend
- s6Free process supervision suite in the daemontools lineage that avoids systemd's downsides. Critics find it complex and not configurable through simple config files.9recommend
- launchdRecommended as a fire-and-forget macOS service manager that restarts crashed processes; the common caveat is harder debugging and weaker dependency handling than systemd.6recommend