Devuan GNU+Linux

Reader supplied reviews for Devuan GNU+Linux Average rating 9.0 from 167 review(s) Please select a rating in the range of 1-10. Please write at least a few sentences about the distribution while limiting your review to 4080 characters. 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: -- unstabletesting6.0.05.0.14.0.03.1.02.11.0.0 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: 6.0.0 Rating: 9 Date: 2025-11-12 Votes: 5 I'm writing this review from an old Acer netbook that was meant to become e-waste after a couple of years. But it is still alive, thanks to devuan. In order to install it, I tried the netinstaller, but it didn't work (pretty sure that the issue is that I didn't write it directly on the USB but I used ventoy instead. Works just fine using a VM). Then I used the xfce live image and everything went smoothly. Not perfect but it works. Devuan doesn't rely on systemd, which is great in such an underpowered machine: the boot time is decent (way faster than Fedora Lxqt which I installed before; I also obviously replaced the spinning hard drive with an SSD) and the RAM usage is quite good. On the other hand, xfce is a good desktop, a good compromise between performance and functionality; I'm amazed on how responsive the system is in general when doing some basic stuff. You can also browse the internet, but obviously the Intel Atom CPU will start to struggle on modern websites. I have to admit that I had devuan 5 previously installed and upgrading to 6 didn't go well (got stuck in a login loop), hence I had to do a fresh install. I also have to admit that I didn't do a backup before the update, which is not ideal, but yeah, whatever. Also, I know that there may be better options like antiX, but for now I'm just happy like this. In conclusion what can I say: it is a distro that you should definitely try, it is basically Debian without systemd. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the average systemd hater, but in this case I'm glad there isn't. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 6.0.0 Rating: 5 Date: 2025-11-08 Votes: 0 As a server OS this distro is a gem, rock solid stable ever since I have been using it since version 3 Beowulf and without systemd infestation. I'm very happy in that regard. The issues arise using it as a desktop. As a passionate KDE user I wanted to upgrade my Devuan clients to plasma 6 (fresh install). I was dismayed to see the sddm white background login issue where the text isn't readable is still present just like in the previous version. Changing the background fixed this. That alone wouldn't have been so bad. However, this time there was no sound! The volume control says "Connection to the sound service lost" and I can't find a solution. It occurs on wayland and x-session. It was expecially infuriating since I only noticed it when wanting to play a youtube video after I already migrated all my data and configurations back onto the machine. I know the primary focus of this distro is removing systemd from Debian, but come on. First impressions matter a lot. You can't tell me nobody noticed this when testing the installation options. Just as a test I installed Debian Trixie and no sound issue were present. If the KDE option is this broken then they shouldn't offer it at all. I'm now considering Artix (another systemd-free alternative) for my clients (although I'm a bit afraid that bleeding edge package may break things.). This is sad because otherwise this distro has the potential to easily be a 9 or even 10 out of 10. Hope making you aware of this was helpful. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: testing Rating: 10 Date: 2025-11-04 Votes: 20 I've been using Devuan with the runit init system for a few weeks now, and I must say, the experience has been nothing short of exceptional. It is genuinely great. Coming from a long-term relationship with Debian, a distribution I relied on and respected for years, I was prepared for a period of adjustment, perhaps even a slight step back in convenience. The reality has been the complete opposite. The system is remarkably fast, and in basic desktop use, I've observed it to be even a little bit faster and more responsive than Debian. For its sheer performance, clean philosophy, and unwavering stability, it absolutely deserves a 10/10. The performance difference, while not earth-shattering, is perceptible. On Debian, the boot process felt like a modern car with a complex electronic dashboard: lots of services initializing in a specific, inter-dependent order, which, while fast, had a certain "orchestrated" feel to it. With Devuan and runit, the boot is more like a light, precision-engineered sports car turning over. It's immediate, direct, and feels almost analog in its simplicity. The same applies to service management. Using sv commands to check the status of, start, or stop a service is instantaneous. There's no parsing through layers of journal logs with journalctl for a simple status check; the feedback is immediate and unambiguous. This responsiveness translates to the desktop environment as well. Application startup feels snappier, and the system as a whole feels lighter on its feet, even if the actual resource usage difference in a idle state is minimal. It's a feeling of direct control, of reduced latency between my command and the system's action. Was this review helpful? Yes No See all 167 reader reviews of Devuan GNU+Linux...