HowTo: Finit on Debian GNU/Linux
HowTo use Finit to boot a Debian GNU/Linux system. It is assumed that the user has already installed a compiler, C library header files, and other tools needed to build a GNU configure based project.
Also, Finit has only been verified to work with the Debian Server ed. I.e., during install — skip GNOME and other X stuff to get a plain and usable Debian server install, which we can add X-Window to later :-)
Now, I started off by replacing systemd from the base install with the old SysV init, using this HowTo, you may not need to do that, but for me it was easier — and also a great rebuttal to all the systemd haters out there (yeah, even though I speak for the alternative PID 1 movement I don't hate systemd :P) it is possible to still run Debian without systemd! Anyway, this text was based on that experience.
Like the Alpine HowTo, you need to install libuEv and
libite, but since this is Debian — which takes infinite care of its
users ♥ ♥ ♥ we don't need to worry about pkg-config, except for having
it installed so it can locate the uEv and lite libraries.
With Debian everything just works!™
... just make sure to
root@debian:~# apt install initscripts console-setup
The following build and install script can be used to configure, build, install and set up your system to run Finit:
user@debian:~/finit$ contrib/debian/build.sh
Since /sbin/init already exists on your system the script creates
another entry in your GRUB config, in /etc/grub.d/40_custom, where
init=/sbin/finit is added to your kernel line. You could of course
also change the /sbin/init symlink and uninstall systemd/SysV init if
everything works fine, but that's up to you.
Before rebooting, read up on /etc/finit.conf and notice
how /etc/start.d/ and /etc/rc.local can be used to extend the boot
with simpler setup tasks on your system — see the docu for details.
Have fun!
/Joachim ツ