# OpenRC

21 Hacker News commenters recommended OpenRC and 7 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 25 years (4 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Reliable 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.

## Why people recommend it

- Reliable, works without issues (6 comments): "I use OpenRC because it's fine and works, I have no issues with it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46803199)) "I've been using it for... ten years now with no problem." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48717056)) "It's remarkable how reliable it is." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46866158))
- Avoids systemd's complexity (4 comments): "runit, s6, and OpenRC don't have the downsides of systemd, but they also only cover a subset of its features" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45952240)) "using OpenRC instead of systemd is certainly more important for me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46872917)) "I'd like to see OpenRC getting adopted in System V's place." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46868988))
- Default on Gentoo and Alpine (3 comments): "On Gentoo it's OpenRC, which I find easier" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46871158)) "OpenRC on Gentoo works great." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46859938)) "customized Gentoo with OpenRC" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49295413))
- Simple service files (2 comments): "OpenRC service files are easy to write, and their schema is far far simpler than that of Unit files." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48717909)) "you have the option of putting your scripts or calls to other programs inline" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46866384))

## What people warn about

- Parallel startup is limited (2 comments): "OpenRC does support parallel startup but for a desktop it's already fast enough without it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46794989)) "openrc is still having trouble with parallel startups as a result of its design" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45951725))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [SysVinit](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sysvinit.md): 19 recommend
- [runit](https://hackerapproved.com/p/runit.md): 19 recommend
- [Upstart init system](https://hackerapproved.com/p/upstart.md): 11 recommend
- [dinit](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dinit.md): 9 recommend
- [s6](https://hackerapproved.com/p/s6.md): 9 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "OpenRC", https://hackerapproved.com/p/openrc/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).