diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index e8cac5ec..1e539681 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -60,6 +60,31 @@ runs a directory of scripts.  This replaces the earlier
 ``/usr/sbin/services.sh`` support of the original finit_.
 
 
+Runlevels
+---------
+
+Very simple support for runlevels_ exist.  Currently the system will
+always start in runlevel 3 and all services belonging to that runlevel
+will be started at boot.
+
+To specify an allowed set of runlevels for a service, add [NNN] to its
+service stanza in finit.conf, like this:
+
+        service [345] /sbin/klogd -n -x -- Kernel log daemon
+
+Meaning that klogd is allowed to run in runlevels 3, 4 and 5, only.
+
+        service [!06] /sbin/klogd -n -x -- Kernel log daemon
+
+Meaning all runlevels *but* 0 and 6.
+
+Existing finit.conf files that lack runlevel setting will get a default
+runlevel assigned, [345].
+
+Switching between runlevels can be done by calling init with a single
+argument, e.g., 'init 5' switches to runlevel 5.
+
+
 Rebooting and Halting
 ---------------------
 
@@ -191,5 +216,6 @@ Regards
 .. _fastinit: http://wiki.eeeuser.com/boot_process:the_boot_process
 .. _`SysV init`: http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/sysvinit
 .. _upstart: http://upstart.ubuntu.com/
+.. _runlevels: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runlevel
 .. _openrc: http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/base/openrc/
 .. _`finit-1.3.tar.xz`: http://github.com/downloads/troglobit/finit/finit-1.3.tar.xz
diff --git a/finit.c b/finit.c
index e519ac63..13750690 100644
--- a/finit.c
+++ b/finit.c
@@ -35,14 +35,16 @@
 #include "sig.h"
 #include "lite.h"
 
-int   debug    = 0;
-int   verbose  = 1;
-char *sdown    = NULL;
-char *network  = NULL;
-char *username = NULL;
-char *hostname = NULL;
-char *rcsd     = NULL;
-char *console  = NULL;
+int   debug     = 0;
+int   verbose   = 1;
+int   runlevel  = 3;
+int   prevlevel = 1;
+char *sdown     = NULL;
+char *network   = NULL;
+char *username  = NULL;
+char *hostname  = NULL;
+char *rcsd      = NULL;
+char *console   = NULL;
 
 static void parse_kernel_cmdline(void)
 {
@@ -63,6 +65,37 @@ static void parse_kernel_cmdline(void)
 	}
 }
 
+static int client(int argc, char *argv[])
+{
+	int fd;
+	struct init_request rq = {
+		.magic = INIT_MAGIC,
+		.cmd   = INIT_CMD_RUNLVL,
+	};
+
+	if (!fexist(FINIT_FIFO)) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "/sbin/init does not support %s!\n", FINIT_FIFO);
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	if (argc < 2) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "Missing argument.\n");
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	fd = open(FINIT_FIFO, O_WRONLY);
+	if (-1 == fd) {
+		perror("Failed opening " FINIT_FIFO);
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	rq.runlevel = (int)argv[1][0];
+	write(fd, &rq, sizeof(rq));
+	close(fd);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
 static int run_loop(void)
 {
 	while (1) {
@@ -82,8 +115,11 @@ static void banner(void)
 #endif
 }
 
-int main(int UNUSED(args), char* UNUSED(argv[]))
+int main(int argc, char* argv[])
 {
+	if (getpid() != 1)
+		return client(argc, argv);
+
 	/*
 	 * Initial setup of signals, ignore all until we're up.
 	 */
diff --git a/finit.h b/finit.h
index 525562e6..4bd8349c 100644
--- a/finit.h
+++ b/finit.h
@@ -62,6 +62,19 @@
 #define USERNAME_SIZE 16
 #define HOSTNAME_SIZE 32
 
+#define INIT_MAGIC		0x03091969
+#define INIT_CMD_RUNLVL		1
+
+struct init_request {
+	int	magic;		/* Magic number			*/
+	int	cmd;		/* What kind of request		*/
+	int	runlevel;	/* Runlevel to change to	*/
+	int	sleeptime;	/* Time between TERM and KILL	*/
+	char	data[368];
+};
+
+extern int    runlevel;
+extern int    prevlevel;
 extern char  *sdown;
 extern char  *network;
 extern char  *hostname;
diff --git a/plugin.c b/plugin.c
index d9971e01..13ea7d73 100644
--- a/plugin.c
+++ b/plugin.c
@@ -189,15 +189,20 @@ void plugin_run_hooks(hook_point_t no)
 }
 
 /* Generic libev I/O callback, looks up correct plugin and calls its callback */
-static void generic_io_cb(int fd, int events)
+static void generic_io_cb(struct pollfd *io)
 {
 	plugin_t *p, *tmp;
 
 	/* Find matching plugin, pick first matching fd */
 	PLUGIN_ITERATOR(p, tmp) {
-		if (is_io_plugin(p) && p->io.fd == fd) {
+		if (is_io_plugin(p) && p->io.fd == io->fd) {
 			_d("Calling I/O %s from runloop...", basename(p->name));
-			p->io.cb(p->io.arg, fd, events);
+			p->io.cb(p->io.arg, io->fd, io->events);
+
+			/* Update fd, may be changed by plugin callback, e.g., if FIFO */
+			io->fd      = p->io.fd;
+			io->events  = p->io.flags;
+			io->revents = 0;
 			break;
 		}
 	}
@@ -221,7 +226,7 @@ void plugin_monitor(void)
 		/* Traverse all I/O fds and run callbacks */
 		for (i = 0; i < num_fds; i++) {
 			if (fds[i].revents)
-				generic_io_cb(fds[i].fd, fds[i].revents);
+				generic_io_cb(&fds[i]);
 		}
 
 		break;
diff --git a/plugins/initctl.c b/plugins/initctl.c
index f5e97dbb..c0e7bd6d 100644
--- a/plugins/initctl.c
+++ b/plugins/initctl.c
@@ -32,78 +32,96 @@
 #include "helpers.h"
 #include "plugin.h"
 #include "sig.h"
+#include "finit.h"
 
-#define INIT_MAGIC		0x03091969
-#define INIT_CMD_RUNLVL		1
+static void parse(void *arg, int fd, int events);
 
-struct init_request {
-	int	magic;		/* Magic number			*/
-	int	cmd;		/* What kind of request		*/
-	int	runlevel;	/* Runlevel to change to	*/
-	int	sleeptime;	/* Time between TERM and KILL	*/
-	char	data[368];
+static plugin_t plugin = {
+	.io = {
+		.cb    = parse,
+		.flags = PLUGIN_IO_READ,
+	},
 };
 
+static void fifo_open(void)
+{
+	plugin.io.fd = open(FINIT_FIFO, O_RDONLY | O_NONBLOCK);
+	if (-1 == plugin.io.fd) {
+		_e("Failed opening %s FIFO, error %d: %s", FINIT_FIFO, errno, strerror(errno));
+		return;
+	}
+}
+
 /* Standard reboot/shutdown utilities talk to init using /dev/initctl.
  * We should check if the fifo was recreated and reopen it.
  */
-static void read_initctl(void *UNUSED(arg), int fd, int UNUSED(events))
+static void parse(void *UNUSED(arg), int fd, int UNUSED(events))
 {
-	struct init_request request;
+	struct init_request rq;
 
 	_d("Receiving request on %s...", FINIT_FIFO);
 	while (1) {
-		ssize_t len = read(fd, &request, sizeof(request));
+		ssize_t len = read(fd, &rq, sizeof(rq));
 
-		if (-1 == len) {
-			_d("Error %d", errno);
-			break;	/* Probably EAGAIN */
+		if (len <= 0) {
+			if (-1 == len) {
+				if (EINTR == errno)
+					continue;
+
+				if (EAGAIN == errno)
+					break;
+
+				_e("Failed reading initctl request, error %d: %s", errno, strerror(errno));
+			}
+			break;
 		}
 
-		if (request.magic != INIT_MAGIC)
-			continue;
+		if (rq.magic != INIT_MAGIC || len != sizeof(rq)) {
+			_e("Invalid initctl request.");
+			break;
+		}
 
 		_d("Magic OK...");
-		if (request.cmd == INIT_CMD_RUNLVL) {
-			switch (request.runlevel) {
+		if (rq.cmd == INIT_CMD_RUNLVL) {
+			switch (rq.runlevel) {
 			case '0':
 				_d("Halting system (SIGUSR2)");
 				do_shutdown(SIGUSR2);
 				break;
 
+			case 's':
+			case 'S':
+				rq.runlevel = '1';
+				/* Fall through to regular processing */
+			case '1'...'5':
+				_d("Setting new runlevel %c ...", rq.runlevel);
+				svc_runlevel(rq.runlevel - '0');
+				break;
+
 			case '6':
 				_d("Rebooting system (SIGUSR1)");
 				do_shutdown(SIGUSR1);
 				break;
 
 			default:
-				_d("Unsupported runlevel: %d", request.runlevel);
+				_d("Unsupported runlevel: %d", rq.runlevel);
 				break;
 			}
 		} else {
-			_d("Unsupported cmd: %d", request.cmd);
+			_d("Unsupported cmd: %d", rq.cmd);
 		}
 	}
-}
 
-static plugin_t plugin = {
-	.io = {
-		.cb    = read_initctl,
-		.flags = PLUGIN_IO_READ,
-	},
-};
+	close(fd);
+	fifo_open();
+}
 
 PLUGIN_INIT(plugin_init)
 {
 	_d("Setting up %s", FINIT_FIFO);
 	mkfifo(FINIT_FIFO, 0600);
 
-	plugin.io.fd = open(FINIT_FIFO, O_RDONLY | O_NONBLOCK);
-	if (-1 == plugin.io.fd) {
-		_e("Failed opening %s FIFO, error %d: %s", FINIT_FIFO, errno, strerror(errno));
-		return;
-	}
-
+	fifo_open();
 	plugin_register(&plugin);
 }
 
diff --git a/svc.c b/svc.c
index e22816e7..fda7de22 100644
--- a/svc.c
+++ b/svc.c
@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@
 #include "lite.h"
 #include "svc.h"
 
+#define ISSET(a,i)   ((a & (1 << (i)) ? 1 : 0))
+#define SETBIT(a,i)  (a |= (1 << (i)))
+#define CLRBIT(a,i)  (a &= ~(1 << (i)))
+
 /* The registered services are kept in shared memory for easy read-only access
  * by 3rd party APIs.  Mostly because of the ability to, from the outside, query
  * liveness state of all daemons that should run. */
@@ -121,6 +125,44 @@ svc_t *svc_iterator(int restart)
 	return &services[i++];
 }
 
+/**
+ * svc_runlevel - Change to a new runlevel
+ * @newlevel: New runlevel to activate
+ *
+ * Stops all services not in @newlevel and starts, or lets continue to run,
+ * those in @newlevel.  Also updates @prevlevel and active @runlevel.
+ */
+void svc_runlevel (int newlevel)
+{
+	svc_t *svc;
+
+	if (runlevel == newlevel)
+		return;
+
+	if (newlevel > 5 || newlevel < 1)
+		return;
+
+	prevlevel = runlevel;
+	runlevel = newlevel;
+
+	for (svc = svc_iterator(1); svc; svc = svc_iterator(0)) {
+		int run = svc_enabled(svc, 0, NULL);
+
+		if (svc->pid) {
+			if (run == SVC_STOP)
+				svc_stop(svc);
+		} else {
+			if (run == SVC_START)
+				svc_start(svc);
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (runlevel == 1)
+		touch("/etc/nologin");	/* Disable login in single-user mode */
+	else
+		remove("/etc/nologin");
+}
+
 /**
  * svc_register - Register a non-backgrounding service to be monitored
  * @line:     A complete command line with -- separated description text
@@ -129,18 +171,18 @@ svc_t *svc_iterator(int restart)
  * Actually, the @line can optionally start with a username, denoted by
  * an @ character. Like this:
  *
- *   "service [@username] /path/to/daemon -- Description text"
+ *   "service @username [!0-6] /path/to/daemon -- Description text"
  *
- * The [] brackets means the argument is optional. If the username is
- * left out the daemon is started as root.
+ * If the username is left out the daemon is started as root. The []
+ * brackets are there to denote the allowed runlevels.
  *
  * Returns:
  * POSIX OK(0) on success, or non-zero errno exit status on failure.
  */
 int svc_register(char *line, char *username)
 {
-	int i = 0;
-	char *cmd, *desc;
+	int i = 0, not = 0;
+	char *cmd, *desc, *runlevels = NULL;
 	svc_t *svc;
 
 	if (!line) {
@@ -159,8 +201,13 @@ int svc_register(char *line, char *username)
 		return errno = ENOENT;
 	}
 
-	if (cmd[0] == '@') {	/* @username */
-		username = &cmd[1];
+	while (cmd) {
+		if (cmd[0] == '@')	/* @username */
+			username = &cmd[1];
+		else if (cmd[0] == '[')	/* [runlevels] */
+			runlevels = &cmd[0];
+		else
+			break;
 
 		/* Check if valid command follows... */
 		cmd = strtok(NULL, " ");
@@ -170,7 +217,7 @@ int svc_register(char *line, char *username)
 
 	svc = svc_new();
 	if (!svc) {
-		_e("Out of memorym, cannot register service %s", cmd);
+		_e("Out of memory, cannot register service %s", cmd);
 		return errno = ENOMEM;
 	}
 
@@ -185,6 +232,34 @@ int svc_register(char *line, char *username)
 		strlcpy(svc->args[i++], cmd, sizeof(svc->args[0]));
 	svc->args[i][0] = 0;
 
+	if (!runlevels)
+		runlevels = "[234]";
+	i = 1;
+	while (i) {
+		int level;
+		char lvl = runlevels[i++];
+
+		if (']' == lvl || 0 == lvl)
+			break;
+		if ('!' == lvl) {
+			not = 1;
+			svc->runlevels = 0x7E;
+			continue;
+		}
+		if ('s' == lvl || 'S' == lvl)
+			lvl = '1';
+
+		level = lvl - '0';
+		if (level > 6 || level < 0)
+			continue;
+
+		if (not)
+			CLRBIT(svc->runlevels, level);
+		else
+			SETBIT(svc->runlevels, level);
+	}
+	_d("Service %s runlevel 0x%2x", svc->cmd, svc->runlevels);
+
 	return 0;
 }
 
@@ -210,6 +285,9 @@ svc_cmd_t svc_enabled(svc_t *svc, int event, void *arg)
 		return SVC_STOP;
 	}
 
+	if (!ISSET(svc->runlevels, runlevel))
+		return SVC_STOP;
+
 	/* Is there a service plugin registered? */
 	if (svc->cb)
 		return svc->cb(svc, event, arg);
@@ -333,7 +411,7 @@ int svc_start(svc_t *svc)
 			int fd;
 			char buf[CMD_SIZE] = "";
 
-			fd = open (CONSOLE, O_WRONLY | O_APPEND);
+			fd = open(CONSOLE, O_WRONLY | O_APPEND);
 			if (-1 != fd) {
 				dup2(STDOUT_FILENO, fd);
 				dup2(STDERR_FILENO, fd);
@@ -389,10 +467,12 @@ int svc_stop(svc_t *svc)
 		return 1;
 	}
 
-	print_desc("Stopping ", svc->desc);
+	if (runlevel != 1)
+		print_desc("Stopping ", svc->desc);
 	_d("Sending SIGTERM to pid:%d name:'%s'", svc->pid, pid_get_name(svc->pid, NULL, 0));
 	res = kill(svc->pid, SIGTERM);
-	print_result(res);
+	if (runlevel != 1)
+		print_result(res);
 	svc->pid = 0;
 	svc->stat_restart_counter = 0;
 
diff --git a/svc.h b/svc.h
index 63a16b41..b2ccef56 100644
--- a/svc.h
+++ b/svc.h
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ typedef enum {
 typedef struct svc {
 	pid_t	       pid;
 	int	       reload;
+	int            runlevels;
 	unsigned int   stat_restart_counter; /* Incremented for each restart by service monitor. */
 	char	       cmd[MAX_ARG_LEN];
 	char	       args[MAX_NUM_SVC_ARGS][MAX_ARG_LEN];
@@ -87,6 +88,7 @@ static inline svc_t *finit_svc_connect(void)
 svc_t    *svc_new           (void);
 svc_t    *svc_find          (char *name);
 svc_t    *svc_iterator      (int restart);
+void      svc_runlevel      (int newlevel);
 
 int       svc_register      (char *line, char *username);
 int       svc_id_by_name    (char *name);