{"slug": "devuan", "name": "Devuan", "category": "os", "category_name": "Operating systems and desktop", "description": "A fork of Debian Linux that ships without systemd as its init system.", "recommenders": 5, "commenters": 6, "warners": 0, "score": 4.793, "rising": -0.64, "first": "2026-01-28", "latest": "2026-08-13", "why": "Recommended as a Debian-without-systemd alternative for people who left Debian over systemd, with long-time users reporting years of trouble-free use.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 6, "neutral": 1, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 3, 0, 1, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": ["No systemd", "Reliability"], "caveat": "FreeBSD alternative", "short_quote": "I simply switched all my computers from Debian to Devuan (aka Debian without systemd) and I've had zero problems with that switch", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.devuan.org/", "pricing": "open source", "aliases": ["Devuan"], "verdict": [{"text": "Recommended as a Debian-without-systemd alternative for people who left Debian over systemd,", "cites": [{"id": 779508385, "item_id": 48719274, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48719274", "by": "Tor3", "date": "2026-06-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I simply switched all my computers from Debian to Devuan (aka Debian without systemd) and I've had zero problems with that switch", "excerpt": "I ran into issues early on, I used (and needed) an 'expect' script to run as part of a daemon startup, and that just didn't work with systemd. And then on another computer 'udev' spiked to 100% CPU after Debian switched to systemd, and I never managed to find out what on earth triggered that. I didn't want to spend a lot of time to solve these things, so I simply switched all my computers from Debian to Devuan (aka D", "context": "", "use_case": "daily Linux on all computers", "switched_from": "Debian", "story": "Replacing Systemd with OpenRC in Debian"}, {"id": 762030752, "item_id": 47626922, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47626922", "by": "righthand", "date": "2026-04-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I am glad I switched to Devuan earlier this year.", "excerpt": "Why doesn\u2019t someone fork systemd and start reworking/taking out all the icky parts as well as destroying Poettering\u2019s control over it? Debian\u2019s forced accepting of Systemd is finally rearing it\u2019s ugly head. I am glad I switched to Devuan earlier this year.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "Debian", "story": "Systemd BirthDate Merge: Conflicts of Interest"}, {"id": 779462481, "item_id": 48716405, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48716405", "by": "shevy-java", "date": "2026-06-29", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Devuan solved it via forking.", "excerpt": "Well - it is an alternative to debian and in many ways is debian. But the counter-question is: why should debian users HAVE to use systemd? This is a much more fundamental question. Devuan solved it via forking. I think the proper way to handle this is to be able to offer both. I think gentoo went that approach. Debian went the \"my-way-or-the-highway\" route, which objectively is worse, even if understandable (less to", "context": "", "use_case": "Debian without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "Replacing Systemd with OpenRC in Debian"}, {"id": 779466546, "item_id": 48716659, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48716659", "by": "muvlon", "date": "2026-06-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Alpine or Devuan are right there if you need them.", "excerpt": "FWIW, debian did the gentoo approach for years. I used to run debian with OpenRC during a time when systemd was already the default. It and other init systems remained fully supported by the distro for quite a while. Eventually, the pain of supporting everything became too much and debian did go with \"my way or the highway\", which I supported at the time and still do. I have no idea how that could be \"objectively wor", "context": "", "use_case": "distro without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "Replacing Systemd with OpenRC in Debian"}]}, {"text": " with long-time users reporting years of trouble-free use.", "cites": [{"id": 788685824, "item_id": 49292864, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49292864", "by": "hedora", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I\u2019ve been using devuan more or less since day one.  I highly recommend it.", "excerpt": "I\u2019ve been using devuan more or less since day one. I highly recommend it. FreeBSD isn\u2019t too shabby these days either.", "context": "", "use_case": "Linux distro without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "Single log line is 49KB+ (ext4) / 110KB+ (btrfs) of systemd-journald disk writes"}, {"id": 779508385, "item_id": 48719274, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48719274", "by": "Tor3", "date": "2026-06-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I simply switched all my computers from Debian to Devuan (aka Debian without systemd) and I've had zero problems with that switch", "excerpt": "I ran into issues early on, I used (and needed) an 'expect' script to run as part of a daemon startup, and that just didn't work with systemd. And then on another computer 'udev' spiked to 100% CPU after Debian switched to systemd, and I never managed to find out what on earth triggered that. I didn't want to spend a lot of time to solve these things, so I simply switched all my computers from Debian to Devuan (aka D", "context": "", "use_case": "daily Linux on all computers", "switched_from": "Debian", "story": "Replacing Systemd with OpenRC in Debian"}, {"id": 775647296, "item_id": 48477956, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48477956", "by": "hedora", "date": "2026-06-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You can still run devuan.  I highly recommend it", "excerpt": "You can still run devuan. I highly recommend it, though FreeBSD got really good over the last few years, and is even more insulated than devuan is. I currently have one systemd infected machine, two devuan machines and two freebsd. Next step is paving the systemd one (it randomly craps out) and probably putting FreeBSD on it, but I\u2019m on the fence. It\u2019s a family member\u2019s machine, and devuan is less change.", "context": "Runs two devuan, two FreeBSD, one systemd machine", "use_case": "Linux without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "macOS Container Machines"}]}, {"text": " No commenters report problems with it, though one says FreeBSD is even more insulated from systemd.", "cites": [{"id": 775647296, "item_id": 48477956, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48477956", "by": "hedora", "date": "2026-06-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You can still run devuan.  I highly recommend it", "excerpt": "You can still run devuan. I highly recommend it, though FreeBSD got really good over the last few years, and is even more insulated than devuan is. I currently have one systemd infected machine, two devuan machines and two freebsd. Next step is paving the systemd one (it randomly craps out) and probably putting FreeBSD on it, but I\u2019m on the fence. It\u2019s a family member\u2019s machine, and devuan is less change.", "context": "Runs two devuan, two FreeBSD, one systemd machine", "use_case": "Linux without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "macOS Container Machines"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "No systemd", "summary": "Commenters value it as Debian without systemd, an option for those who want to avoid systemd.", "quotes": [{"id": 779508385, "item_id": 48719274, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48719274", "by": "Tor3", "date": "2026-06-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I simply switched all my computers from Debian to Devuan (aka Debian without systemd) and I've had zero problems with that switch", "excerpt": "I ran into issues early on, I used (and needed) an 'expect' script to run as part of a daemon startup, and that just didn't work with systemd. And then on another computer 'udev' spiked to 100% CPU after Debian switched to systemd, and I never managed to find out what on earth triggered that. I didn't want to spend a lot of time to solve these things, so I simply switched all my computers from Debian to Devuan (aka D", "context": "", "use_case": "daily Linux on all computers", "switched_from": "Debian", "story": "Replacing Systemd with OpenRC in Debian"}, {"id": 762030752, "item_id": 47626922, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47626922", "by": "righthand", "date": "2026-04-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I am glad I switched to Devuan earlier this year.", "excerpt": "Why doesn\u2019t someone fork systemd and start reworking/taking out all the icky parts as well as destroying Poettering\u2019s control over it? Debian\u2019s forced accepting of Systemd is finally rearing it\u2019s ugly head. I am glad I switched to Devuan earlier this year.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "Debian", "story": "Systemd BirthDate Merge: Conflicts of Interest"}, {"id": 779466546, "item_id": 48716659, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48716659", "by": "muvlon", "date": "2026-06-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Alpine or Devuan are right there if you need them.", "excerpt": "FWIW, debian did the gentoo approach for years. I used to run debian with OpenRC during a time when systemd was already the default. It and other init systems remained fully supported by the distro for quite a while. Eventually, the pain of supporting everything became too much and debian did go with \"my way or the highway\", which I supported at the time and still do. I have no idea how that could be \"objectively wor", "context": "", "use_case": "distro without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "Replacing Systemd with OpenRC in Debian"}]}, {"label": "Reliability", "summary": "Long-time users highly recommend it and report zero problems after switching years ago.", "quotes": [{"id": 788685824, "item_id": 49292864, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49292864", "by": "hedora", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I\u2019ve been using devuan more or less since day one.  I highly recommend it.", "excerpt": "I\u2019ve been using devuan more or less since day one. I highly recommend it. FreeBSD isn\u2019t too shabby these days either.", "context": "", "use_case": "Linux distro without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "Single log line is 49KB+ (ext4) / 110KB+ (btrfs) of systemd-journald disk writes"}, {"id": 779508385, "item_id": 48719274, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48719274", "by": "Tor3", "date": "2026-06-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I simply switched all my computers from Debian to Devuan (aka Debian without systemd) and I've had zero problems with that switch", "excerpt": "I ran into issues early on, I used (and needed) an 'expect' script to run as part of a daemon startup, and that just didn't work with systemd. And then on another computer 'udev' spiked to 100% CPU after Debian switched to systemd, and I never managed to find out what on earth triggered that. I didn't want to spend a lot of time to solve these things, so I simply switched all my computers from Debian to Devuan (aka D", "context": "", "use_case": "daily Linux on all computers", "switched_from": "Debian", "story": "Replacing Systemd with OpenRC in Debian"}, {"id": 775647296, "item_id": 48477956, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48477956", "by": "hedora", "date": "2026-06-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You can still run devuan.  I highly recommend it", "excerpt": "You can still run devuan. I highly recommend it, though FreeBSD got really good over the last few years, and is even more insulated than devuan is. I currently have one systemd infected machine, two devuan machines and two freebsd. Next step is paving the systemd one (it randomly craps out) and probably putting FreeBSD on it, but I\u2019m on the fence. It\u2019s a family member\u2019s machine, and devuan is less change.", "context": "Runs two devuan, two FreeBSD, one systemd machine", "use_case": "Linux without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "macOS Container Machines"}]}, {"label": "Easy Debian switch", "summary": "Users moved all their computers from Debian to Devuan without trouble, and one prefers it on a relative's machine because it means less change.", "quotes": [{"id": 779508385, "item_id": 48719274, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48719274", "by": "Tor3", "date": "2026-06-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I simply switched all my computers from Debian to Devuan (aka Debian without systemd) and I've had zero problems with that switch", "excerpt": "I ran into issues early on, I used (and needed) an 'expect' script to run as part of a daemon startup, and that just didn't work with systemd. And then on another computer 'udev' spiked to 100% CPU after Debian switched to systemd, and I never managed to find out what on earth triggered that. I didn't want to spend a lot of time to solve these things, so I simply switched all my computers from Debian to Devuan (aka D", "context": "", "use_case": "daily Linux on all computers", "switched_from": "Debian", "story": "Replacing Systemd with OpenRC in Debian"}, {"id": 775647296, "item_id": 48477956, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48477956", "by": "hedora", "date": "2026-06-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You can still run devuan.  I highly recommend it", "excerpt": "You can still run devuan. I highly recommend it, though FreeBSD got really good over the last few years, and is even more insulated than devuan is. I currently have one systemd infected machine, two devuan machines and two freebsd. Next step is paving the systemd one (it randomly craps out) and probably putting FreeBSD on it, but I\u2019m on the fence. It\u2019s a family member\u2019s machine, and devuan is less change.", "context": "Runs two devuan, two FreeBSD, one systemd machine", "use_case": "Linux without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "macOS Container Machines"}]}, {"label": "Init diversity", "summary": "Even non-users appreciate the fork for keeping alternative Linux paths alive.", "quotes": [{"id": 748704912, "item_id": 46794057, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46794057", "by": "dingdingdang", "date": "2026-01-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use another distro but totally appreciate the effort to keep different branches of potential futures alive.", "excerpt": "I use another distro but totally appreciate the effort to keep different branches of potential futures alive. Humans have a tendency, in tech and most other domains afaict, to put a lot of eggs in one basket because it's easier/allows-faster-moving-forward.. but that basket may have structural weaknesses that only shows once it has A LOT of eggs in it.", "context": "uses another distro", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Devuan \u2013 Debian Without Systemd"}, {"id": 779462481, "item_id": 48716405, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48716405", "by": "shevy-java", "date": "2026-06-29", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Devuan solved it via forking.", "excerpt": "Well - it is an alternative to debian and in many ways is debian. But the counter-question is: why should debian users HAVE to use systemd? This is a much more fundamental question. Devuan solved it via forking. I think the proper way to handle this is to be able to offer both. I think gentoo went that approach. Debian went the \"my-way-or-the-highway\" route, which objectively is worse, even if understandable (less to", "context": "", "use_case": "Debian without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "Replacing Systemd with OpenRC in Debian"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "FreeBSD alternative", "summary": "Some fans say FreeBSD has become very good and is even more insulated from systemd than Devuan.", "quotes": [{"id": 775647296, "item_id": 48477956, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48477956", "by": "hedora", "date": "2026-06-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You can still run devuan.  I highly recommend it", "excerpt": "You can still run devuan. I highly recommend it, though FreeBSD got really good over the last few years, and is even more insulated than devuan is. I currently have one systemd infected machine, two devuan machines and two freebsd. Next step is paving the systemd one (it randomly craps out) and probably putting FreeBSD on it, but I\u2019m on the fence. It\u2019s a family member\u2019s machine, and devuan is less change.", "context": "Runs two devuan, two FreeBSD, one systemd machine", "use_case": "Linux without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "macOS Container Machines"}, {"id": 788685824, "item_id": 49292864, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49292864", "by": "hedora", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I\u2019ve been using devuan more or less since day one.  I highly recommend it.", "excerpt": "I\u2019ve been using devuan more or less since day one. I highly recommend it. FreeBSD isn\u2019t too shabby these days either.", "context": "", "use_case": "Linux distro without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "Single log line is 49KB+ (ext4) / 110KB+ (btrfs) of systemd-journald disk writes"}]}], "who": [{"by": "hedora", "context": "Runs two devuan, two FreeBSD, one systemd machine", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48477956", "date": "2026-06-10"}, {"by": "dingdingdang", "context": "uses another distro", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46794057", "date": "2026-01-28"}], "tags": ["for systemd avoiders", "for Debian users"], "use_cases": ["linux distro without systemd", "daily linux on all computers", "distro without systemd", "debian without systemd", "linux without systemd"], "compared": [{"slug": "debian", "name": "Debian", "co": 3, "switched_from": 2, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "systemd", "name": "systemd", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "freebsd", "name": "FreeBSD", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48715630", "title": "Replacing Systemd with OpenRC in Debian", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49290215", "title": "Single log line is 49KB+ (ext4) / 110KB+ (btrfs) of systemd-journald disk writes", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48469658", "title": "macOS Container Machines", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47626445", "title": "Systemd BirthDate Merge: Conflicts of Interest", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46792783", "title": "Devuan \u2013 Debian Without Systemd", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 1}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 788685824, "item_id": 49292864, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49292864", "by": "hedora", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I\u2019ve been using devuan more or less since day one.  I highly recommend it.", "excerpt": "I\u2019ve been using devuan more or less since day one. I highly recommend it. FreeBSD isn\u2019t too shabby these days either.", "context": "", "use_case": "Linux distro without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "Single log line is 49KB+ (ext4) / 110KB+ (btrfs) of systemd-journald disk writes"}, {"id": 779508385, "item_id": 48719274, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48719274", "by": "Tor3", "date": "2026-06-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I simply switched all my computers from Debian to Devuan (aka Debian without systemd) and I've had zero problems with that switch", "excerpt": "I ran into issues early on, I used (and needed) an 'expect' script to run as part of a daemon startup, and that just didn't work with systemd. And then on another computer 'udev' spiked to 100% CPU after Debian switched to systemd, and I never managed to find out what on earth triggered that. I didn't want to spend a lot of time to solve these things, so I simply switched all my computers from Debian to Devuan (aka D", "context": "", "use_case": "daily Linux on all computers", "switched_from": "Debian", "story": "Replacing Systemd with OpenRC in Debian"}, {"id": 779466546, "item_id": 48716659, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48716659", "by": "muvlon", "date": "2026-06-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Alpine or Devuan are right there if you need them.", "excerpt": "FWIW, debian did the gentoo approach for years. I used to run debian with OpenRC during a time when systemd was already the default. It and other init systems remained fully supported by the distro for quite a while. Eventually, the pain of supporting everything became too much and debian did go with \"my way or the highway\", which I supported at the time and still do. I have no idea how that could be \"objectively wor", "context": "", "use_case": "distro without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "Replacing Systemd with OpenRC in Debian"}, {"id": 779462481, "item_id": 48716405, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48716405", "by": "shevy-java", "date": "2026-06-29", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Devuan solved it via forking.", "excerpt": "Well - it is an alternative to debian and in many ways is debian. But the counter-question is: why should debian users HAVE to use systemd? This is a much more fundamental question. Devuan solved it via forking. I think the proper way to handle this is to be able to offer both. I think gentoo went that approach. Debian went the \"my-way-or-the-highway\" route, which objectively is worse, even if understandable (less to", "context": "", "use_case": "Debian without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "Replacing Systemd with OpenRC in Debian"}, {"id": 775647296, "item_id": 48477956, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48477956", "by": "hedora", "date": "2026-06-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You can still run devuan.  I highly recommend it", "excerpt": "You can still run devuan. I highly recommend it, though FreeBSD got really good over the last few years, and is even more insulated than devuan is. I currently have one systemd infected machine, two devuan machines and two freebsd. Next step is paving the systemd one (it randomly craps out) and probably putting FreeBSD on it, but I\u2019m on the fence. It\u2019s a family member\u2019s machine, and devuan is less change.", "context": "Runs two devuan, two FreeBSD, one systemd machine", "use_case": "Linux without systemd", "switched_from": "", "story": "macOS Container Machines"}, {"id": 762030752, "item_id": 47626922, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47626922", "by": "righthand", "date": "2026-04-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I am glad I switched to Devuan earlier this year.", "excerpt": "Why doesn\u2019t someone fork systemd and start reworking/taking out all the icky parts as well as destroying Poettering\u2019s control over it? Debian\u2019s forced accepting of Systemd is finally rearing it\u2019s ugly head. I am glad I switched to Devuan earlier this year.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "Debian", "story": "Systemd BirthDate Merge: Conflicts of Interest"}, {"id": 748704912, "item_id": 46794057, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46794057", "by": "dingdingdang", "date": "2026-01-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use another distro but totally appreciate the effort to keep different branches of potential futures alive.", "excerpt": "I use another distro but totally appreciate the effort to keep different branches of potential futures alive. Humans have a tendency, in tech and most other domains afaict, to put a lot of eggs in one basket because it's easier/allows-faster-moving-forward.. but that basket may have structural weaknesses that only shows once it has A LOT of eggs in it.", "context": "uses another distro", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Devuan \u2013 Debian Without Systemd"}]}