euri-iso/docs/changing-init.md

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Changing init	default	10

Changing init on an installed system

Antergos NeXT ships with Dinit as the default and only install-time init. If you prefer a different init (OpenRC, Runit, or S6), you can switch after installation.

Warning: Switching init is for advanced users. In general, a fresh installation is safer. Keep a bootable Artix LiveUSB handy in case something goes wrong.

OpenRC has known conflicts with Dinit on Antergos NeXT. If switching to OpenRC fails, the recommended course of action is to reinstall the ISO and use Dinit. A fresh install with Dinit is simpler and more reliable than troubleshooting a broken init migration. Tutorials on using Dinit are available on the Artix Linux wiki and in the Dinit documentation.

Overview

1. Stop your display manager and get to a TTY
2. Save a list of installed -dinit service packages
3. Download the corresponding -<newinit> packages
4. Remove the dinit packages
5. Install the new init packages
6. Enable services for the new init
7. Cold reboot

Step-by-step

1. Stop the display manager

dinitctl stop sddm     # or lightdm / lxdm / greetd / ly

Switch to a text TTY with Ctrl+Alt+F2 and log in as root.

2. Save your service list

pacman -Qsq dinit > services.list

This captures every installed package with -dinit in its name. The list will include things like sddm-dinit, networkmanager-dinit, elogind-dinit, etc.

3. Download packages for the new init

Replace openrc with runit, s6, or your init of choice:

pacman -Sw $(sed 's/dinit/openrc/g' < services.list)

This fetches the packages into pacman's cache without installing them. If this fails for any package, you'll need to install it manually later.

4. Remove the old init packages

pacman -Rdd $(cat services.list)

The -dd flag bypasses dependency checks — required because we're ripping out the entire init layer at once.

5. Install the new init

First install the base init package and elogind:

Target	Base packages
OpenRC	openrc, elogind-openrc
Runit	runit, elogind-runit
S6	s6-base, elogind-s6

pacman -S openrc elogind-openrc

Then install the service packages:

pacman -S $(sed 's/dinit/openrc/g' < services.list)

6. Enable services

Switching to OpenRC

rc-update add sddm default
rc-update add NetworkManager default
# ... repeat for each service

Common services: acpid, bluetoothd, cronie, cupsd, dbus, dhcpcd, NetworkManager, power-profiles-daemon, syslog-ng.

Switching to Runit

ln -s /etc/runit/sv/NetworkManager /etc/runit/runsvdir/default/
ln -s /etc/runit/sv/sddm /etc/runit/runsvdir/default/
# ... repeat for each service

Switching to S6

s6-service add default NetworkManager
s6-service add default sddm
# ... repeat for each service

7. Cold reboot

A normal reboot won't work because the symlinks for /sbin/init and /sbin/reboot still point to the old init. Instead, synchronize disks and trigger a cold reboot:

sync
mount / -o remount,ro
echo b > /proc/sysrq-trigger

Or use the reset button on your machine.

Troubleshooting

System won't boot

Boot from an Artix LiveUSB, chroot in, and check:

mount /dev/sdXn /mnt
artix-chroot /mnt

From the chroot, you can reinstall packages, fix service symlinks, or regenerate the initramfs with mkinitcpio -p linux.

Missing service packages

Some daemons may not have init scripts for your chosen init. Check the Artix repos:

pacman -Ss <daemon-name>-openrc   # or -runit, -s6

If a package doesn't exist, you can write a custom service file or use a different daemon.

OpenRC: services don't enable on installed systems

This was a known bug in earlier Antergos NeXT builds (the installer used artix-service which didn't set up OpenRC correctly). If you're switching to OpenRC manually on an already-installed system, rc-update add works fine — the bug was specific to the installer flow.