InitSysteme

InitSysteme is an open-source init system designed for Unix-like operating systems. It manages system boot, service lifecycles, and dependency-based startup to produce fast, predictable boot times. Units in InitSysteme describe services, timers, and targets, and are implemented as plain-text files that declare dependencies and lifecycle actions. The design emphasizes modularity, portability, and a small footprint suitable for desktops, servers, and embedded devices.

Development began in 2019 by a collaborative community seeking a simple, dependency-driven alternative to existing init suites. After several alpha releases, the project reached its first stable 1.0 release in 2021, with continued maintenance by volunteers and corporate sponsors. The project publishes source code under an open-source license and maintains a public issue tracker and documentation.

Architecture and operation: InitSysteme runs as the system init process and reads unit definitions from a units directory. Unit types include service units, timer units, and target units. Dependency relations use needs, after and wants to orchestrate parallel startups, while signals and clean shutdown ensure safe termination. It uses cgroups for resource isolation and supports basic socket activation and service sandboxing.

Interoperability and ecosystem: InitSysteme offers a compatibility layer to translate or import a subset of systemd unit files, easing porting efforts. It provides command-line tools for service control, status reporting, and runtime reconfiguration. The system aims for portability across Linux distributions and compatible BSD variants, with a small core and optional extensions.

Reception and impact: While not widely deployed in major distributions, InitSysteme is used in several niche deployments and embedded environments that value speed and simplicity. It is maintained by an active community and is available under the MIT license.