Finit

Finit is a lightweight init system for Unix-like operating systems designed to run as the first process (PID 1) and to manage boot, service supervision, and shutdown. It aims for simplicity, speed, and reliability, making it well-suited to embedded environments and minimalist Linux distributions.

At its core, finit starts and monitors system services. It supports parallel startup where possible, enforces dependency ordering to ensure correct boot sequencing, and can automatically respawn services that terminate unexpectedly according to configured rules. It provides clean shutdown behavior, terminating services in a controlled way to minimize data loss.

Configuration is expressed in a compact, declarative form that describes each service's start and stop commands, optional dependencies, and restart policy. This setup allows administrators to control how and when services come up during boot and how they are taken down during shutdown.

Finit is positioned as a lightweight alternative to more feature-rich init systems. It is used in environments where a small footprint and straightforward behavior are priorities, including embedded deployments and small Linux distributions that prefer a minimal init layer.

As an open-source project, finit is maintained by contributors in the community. Its design emphasizes portability, simplicity, and predictable startup and shutdown behavior, enabling predictable system states across reboot cycles.