Devuan GNU+Linux

Reader supplied reviews for Devuan GNU+Linux Average rating 9.0 from 174 review(s) What are your thoughts on Devuan GNU+Linux? Please include a few pros and a few cons, along with your overall impression of the operating system. Our FAQ page has tips on writing a good mini-review. Version: -- unstabletesting6.1.15.0.14.0.03.1.02.11.0.0 Rating:    -- 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 out of 10 Your review (minimum 250 words): Past reviews - sort by: DateVotes Version: testing Rating: 10 Date: 2026-05-08 Country: Iceland Votes: 25 Devuan 7 continues the project’s tradition of delivering a clean, stable, and transparent Linux environment without the complexity and overhead of systemd. After running it extensively on modern hardware and a ThinkPad workstation, the experience is consistently impressive. Boot times are fast, memory usage is lean, and the system remains responsive even under heavy multitasking. What stands out most is Devuan’s architectural clarity. With SysVinit, OpenRC, or runit available as first‑class init systems, service management is predictable and easy to audit. Tools like Lynis integrate naturally, and the absence of systemd’s monolithic stack results in a noticeably smaller attack surface. Logs are readable, services behave consistently, and nothing runs unless you choose it. Performance is excellent. Devuan 7 uses significantly less RAM than systemd‑based distros, and CPU load remains low even with KDE Plasma on Wayland. Firefox, PipeWire, and modern desktop components run smoothly without any of the overhead or background churn typical of systemd environments. Despite being a testing release, Devuan 7 is remarkably stable. Package management with APT 3 is fast and reliable, hardware support is solid, and the system feels lighter and more responsive than Debian or Ubuntu on the same machine. Devuan 7 may not be aimed at beginners — and that’s because it prioritizes transparency and user control over automation. It is a distribution for users who value control, transparency, and technical integrity. If you want a modern Linux system that respects UNIX principles and avoids unnecessary complexity, Devuan 7 is one of the best choices available today. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 6.1.0 Rating: 10 Date: 2026-04-02 Country: Indonesia Votes: 51 recently installed Devuan on my aging Lenovo V310, and the results are impressive. Despite its age, the laptop runs incredibly smooth and feels faster than ever. The system is rock-solid and hasn't encountered a single issue since the installation. If you're looking for a stable, systemd-free distribution that can revitalize older machines, Devuan is easily the best choice. Highly recommended for its reliability and performance. I’ve been testing several distributions on my aging Lenovo V310, and Devuan is the clear winner. I previously tried installing Ubuntu, but the experience was disappointing; the system felt heavy, sluggish, and struggled with basic multitasking. Switching to Devuan changed everything. It is incredibly lightweight and runs flawlessly on this older hardware. The stability is top-notch, and the entire system feels much more responsive without the overhead of systemd. If you have an older laptop that feels 'slow' on mainstream distros, I highly recommend giving Devuan a try. It’s rock-solid, fast, and very reliable. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: unstable Rating: 9 Date: 2026-03-27 Country: New Zealand Votes: 15 What can I say, this is Debian without systemd, so if you like Debian then you'll like Devuan, Devuan gives you the option of sysvinit, openrc, and runit, I briefly tried all three, and I found openrc was the easiest, simple commands to add or remove a service, and without the complexity of systemd units, want to run a command on boot? just put it in rc.local, just like the old days, no writing a systemd service that wants multi-user.target, or graphical.target, or whatever, I chose the net install iso, my wifi card was supported out of the box, I chose the no desktop, minimal install, then once installed I rebooted and installed labwc, and all the other components I required, I switched to the unstable branch and installed the liquorix kernel, now I have an arch like experience, but on debian, and without having to deal with .pacnew files and so on Was this review helpful? Yes No See all 174 reader reviews of Devuan GNU+Linux...