OpenRC
Hacker ApprovedRanked 2 of 9 init systems by recommenders
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.
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.
28 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 21
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 25 years
Median of the 4 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 21 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Reliable, works without issues
“I use OpenRC because it's fine and works, I have no issues with it.”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Devuan – Debian Without Systemd” “I've been using it for... ten years now with no problem.”
Comment from 29 Jun 2026 in “Replacing Systemd with OpenRC in Debian” “It's remarkable how reliable it is.”
Comment from 3 Feb 2026 in “Linux from Scratch Ends SysVinit Support” - Comment from 3 Feb 2026 in “Linux from Scratch Ends SysVinit Support”
- Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “Linux from Scratch Ends SysVinit Support”
- Comment from 11 Jan 2026 in “Gentoo Linux 2025 Review”
Avoids systemd's complexity
“runit, s6, and OpenRC don't have the downsides of systemd, but they also only cover a subset of its features”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Runit Linux: Complete Guide to Unix Init Scheme with Service Supervision” “using OpenRC instead of systemd is certainly more important for me”
Comment from 3 Feb 2026 in “KDE Binds Itself Tightly to Systemd, Drops Support for Non-Systemd Systems” “I'd like to see OpenRC getting adopted in System V's place.”
Comment from 3 Feb 2026 in “Linux from Scratch Ends SysVinit Support” - Comment from 13 Dec 2025 in “From Azure Functions to FreeBSD”
Default on Gentoo and Alpine
“On Gentoo it's OpenRC, which I find easier”
Comment from 3 Feb 2026 in “Linux from Scratch Ends SysVinit Support” “OpenRC on Gentoo works great.”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “Linux from Scratch Ends SysVinit Support” “customized Gentoo with OpenRC”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “Single log line is 49KB+ (ext4) / 110KB+ (btrfs) of systemd-journald disk writes” Simple service files
“OpenRC service files are easy to write, and their schema is far far simpler than that of Unit files.”
Comment from 29 Jun 2026 in “Replacing Systemd with OpenRC in Debian” “you have the option of putting your scripts or calls to other programs inline”
Comment from 3 Feb 2026 in “Linux from Scratch Ends SysVinit Support”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Parallel startup is limited
“OpenRC does support parallel startup but for a desktop it's already fast enough without it”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Devuan – Debian Without Systemd” “openrc is still having trouble with parallel startups as a result of its design”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Runit Linux: Complete Guide to Unix Init Scheme with Service Supervision”
Other init systems people recommend
The four most recommended other init systems, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| systemd | 326 | 335 | 49% | 12 | 14 yrs8 owners | — |
| OpenRCThis page | 21 | 7 | 75% | 9 | 25 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| SysVinit | 19 | 26 | 42% | 6 | 30 yrs3 owners | — |
| runit | 19 | 3 | 86% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Upstart init system | 11 | 14 | 44% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
29 of the 36 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“at the moment openrc then kicks in (I want to replace that one)”
“customized Gentoo with OpenRC”
“lets one use openRC or whatever else”
“too complicated for my needs”
“OpenRC service files are easy to write, and their schema is far far simpler than that of Unit files.”
“OpenRC has had dependency ordering for the quarter-century I've been using it.”
“I've been using it for... ten years now with no problem.”
“bash is an abomination and anything larger than 2-3 lines will have bugs”
“The problem was that OpenRC as it existed on Debian at the time was lacking.”
“that provide a bunch of useful scaffolding and support tools”
“things like OpenRC and runit exist”
“any competent init system lets you extend upstream-provided service files”
“OpenRC stores the complete description of service definitions in 2 separate files, one of which is optional.”
“the OpenRC service file you quoted is buggy”
“using OpenRC instead of systemd is certainly more important for me”
“The OpenRC system mostly just works”
“On Gentoo it's OpenRC, which I find easier”
“I'd like to see OpenRC getting adopted in System V's place.”
“you have the option of putting your scripts or calls to other programs inline”
“OpenRC was unable to summon the manpower to do the spot-additions required for it to win the political war”
“It's remarkable how reliable it is.”
“OpenRC on Gentoo works great.”
“I use OpenRC because it's fine and works, I have no issues with it.”
“OpenRC does support parallel startup but for a desktop it's already fast enough without it”
“it never fails at shutdown”
“they'll have to pry my OpenRC, cronie, and sysklogd from my cold dead hands”
“openrc (Alpine),... Systemd often feels like autoconf.”
“runit, s6, and OpenRC don't have the downsides of systemd, but they also only cover a subset of its features”
“openrc is still having trouble with parallel startups as a result of its design”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.