Upstart init system
Ranked 5 of 9 init systems by recommenders
Upstart 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.
Upstart 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.
25 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 14
- approval share
- 44%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 0.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 6 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
Seen as reasonable and sufficient
“Upstart seems to be dead (outside of ChromeOS) but it would also have sufficed.”
Comment from 3 Feb 2026 in “Linux from Scratch Ends SysVinit Support” “However upstart was totally reasonable.”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “Systemd is a suite of basic building blocks” Leading choice over shell scripts
“It was pretty much the accepted successor to shell scripts for an init system”
Comment from 11 Apr 2026 in “What is RISC-V and why it matters to Canonical” “the choices were either upstart and systemd”
Comment from 4 Feb 2026 in “Linux from Scratch Ends SysVinit Support”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Considered dead and unmaintained
“Upstart seems to be dead (outside of ChromeOS) but it would also have sufficed.”
Comment from 3 Feb 2026 in “Linux from Scratch Ends SysVinit Support” “instead of dragging upstart on, like it has done with countless other projects that are past their time”
Comment from 11 Apr 2026 in “What is RISC-V and why it matters to Canonical” Broken architecture and design
“Because firstly, it had a broken architecture.”
Comment from 19 Sep 2026 in “Systemd is a suite of basic building blocks” “Upstart was a totally broken mess”
Comment from 25 May 2026 in “C extensions, portability, and alternative compilers” Canonical's failed custom projects
“Putting aside Ubuntu's/Canonical's failed custom projects (e.g. upstart)”
Comment from 24 Feb 2026 in “What it means that Ubuntu is using Rust” “I expect nothing less from the creators of unity, upstart, and snap.”
Comment from 29 Apr 2026 in “Bugs Rust Won't Catch”
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.
See all 9 init systems, rankedWhat people said
20 of the 26 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Because firstly, it had a broken architecture.”
“Didn't have timers for one, or the same level of support around sockets.”
“However upstart was totally reasonable.”
“I do mourn the loss of Upstart though, I thought that was one of Canonical's cooler projects”
“I hated dealing with any of it”
“was a huge improvement over Upstart and the old SysV-style init scripts”
“Upstart? These Ubuntu-centric kids will never learn.”
“Upstart was a totally broken mess”
“I expect nothing less from the creators of unity, upstart, and snap.”
“instead of dragging upstart on, like it has done with countless other projects that are past their time”
“It was pretty much the accepted successor to shell scripts for an init system”
“I preferred it as init system.”
“attempted to uproot for no purpose other than Canonical wanted more control”
“Or when Ubuntu switched from System V init to Upstart.”
“They were obvious errors.”
“Putting aside Ubuntu's/Canonical's failed custom projects (e.g. upstart)”
“the choices were either upstart and systemd”
“Upstart seems to be dead (outside of ChromeOS) but it would also have sufficed.”
“Even the defunct Upstart is better than what's in Devuan.”
“init files were inevitably much longer than the corresponding Upstart or systemd files despite doing less”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.