An **init system** is the first process that runs when your computer boots (PID 1). It's responsible for starting everything else — filesystems, networking, display manager, services, and more. Think of it as the foreman at a construction site: it doesn't do the work itself, but it makes sure everything gets started in the right order.
Antergos NeXT lets you choose between **four** init systems during installation. This page explains each one so you can pick what suits you.
> Don't know what init to choose? **Stick with Dinit** — it's the default, it's fast, and it's what Antergos NeXT ships with. OpenRC is also available if you prefer a more traditional approach.
| Advanced supervision and process management | S6 |
## What they all have in common
- **No systemd** — all four are independent implementations
- **Service scripts** — services are configured via files in `/etc/`
- **Runlevels** — groups of services that start together
- **Logging to files** — logs go to `/var/log/`, not `journalctl`
## What's different
The main differences are in:
1.**How services are defined** — OpenRC uses shell scripts, Dinit uses a declarative config format, Runit uses executable scripts, S6 uses a supervision tree
2.**How they manage dependencies** — some handle it automatically, some leave it to you
3.**How they supervise processes** — some restart crashed services automatically, some don't
4.**How fast they boot** — Dinit and S6 are designed for parallel startup and are noticeably faster
## Learning Linux with init systems
If you're new to Linux, learning about init systems is a great way to understand how your OS works under the hood. Here's why:
- **You'll learn about processes** — PID 1, service trees, process supervision
- **You'll learn about boot order** — what needs to start before what
- **You'll learn about logging** — where logs go, how to read them
- **You'll learn about runlevels** — why your system behaves differently in single-user mode vs normal boot
The best part? If you break something with services, you can always fix it — service management is much simpler than kernel config or package management.
> **Pro tip**: If you're dual-booting or using a VM, try all four inits. Install a test system with Dinit first, then reinstall with OpenRC, then Runit, then S6. See which one feels right.
