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By keeping track of when a full restart is needed, Finit can relieve the user of having to track modifications to service configuration. This also makes initctl reload easier to explain and reason about as the effect of a reload should now be that any configuration updates to services will be fully "commited" by initctl reload. Signed-off-by: Jacques de Laval <Jacques.De.Laval@westermo.com>
507 lines
21 KiB
Markdown
507 lines
21 KiB
Markdown
[![License Badge][]][License] [![Travis Status]][Travis] [![Coverity Status]][Coverity Scan]
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<img align="right" src="img/finit3.png" alt="Finit: Fast Init">
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* [Introduction](#introduction)
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* [Features](#features)
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* [Bootstrap](doc/bootstrap.md#bootstrap)
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* [Runlevels](#runlevels)
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* [Syntax](doc/config.md#syntax)
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* [Runparts & /etc/rc.local](#runparts--etcrclocal)
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* [Hooks, Callbacks & Plugins](doc/plugins.md#hooks-callbacks--plugins)
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* [Rebooting & Halting](#rebooting--halting)
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* [Commands & Status](#commands--status)
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* [Tips & Tricks with the kernel cmdline](doc/cmdline.md)
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* [Building](doc/build.md#building)
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* [Running](doc/build.md#running)
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* [Recovery](doc/build.md#recovery)
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* [Debugging](doc/build.md#debugging)
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* [Requirements](#requirements)
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* [Origin & References](#origin--references)
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Introduction
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------------
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Finit is a simple alternative to [SysV init][4] and [systemd][6]. It
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was reverse engineered from the [EeePC fastinit][] over ten years ago
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by [Claudio Matsuoka][] — "gaps filled with frog DNA …"
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*Figure 1: Screenshot showing Finit booting [Alpine Linux](https://www.alpinelinux.org/).*
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Focus is on small and embedded systems, although Finit is fully usable
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on server and desktop systems as well. For working examples, see the
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[contrib/](contrib/) section with tutorials for:
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* [Void Linux](contrib/void/),
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* [Alpine Linux](contrib/alpine/), and
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* [Debian GNU/Linux](contrib/debian/)
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Example
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-------
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This example `/etc/finit.conf` can also be split up in multiple `.conf`
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files in `/etc/finit.d`. Available, but not yet enabled, services can
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be placed in `/etc/finit.d/available` and enabled by an operator using
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the [initctl](#commands--status) tool.
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```ApacheConf
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# Fallback if /etc/hostname is missing
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host default
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# Runlevel to start after bootstrap, 'S', default: 2
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runlevel 2
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# Max file size for each log file: 100 kiB, rotate max 4 copies:
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# log => log.1 => log.2.gz => log.3.gz => log.4.gz
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log size=100k count=4
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# Services to be monitored and respawned as needed
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service [S12345] watchdogd -L -f -- System watchdog daemon
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service [S12345] syslogd -n -b 3 -D -- System log daemon
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service [S12345] <pid/syslogd> klogd -n -- Kernel log daemon
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service [2345] lldpd -d -c -M1 -H0 -i -- LLDP daemon (IEEE 802.1ab)
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# The BusyBox ntpd does not use syslog when running in the foreground
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# So we use this trick to redirect stdout/stderr to a log file. The
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# log file is rotated with the above settings. The condition declares
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# a dependency on a system default route (gateway) to be set. A single
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# <!> at the beginning means ntpd does not respect SIGHUP for restart.
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service [2345] log:/var/log/ntpd.log <!net/route/default> ntpd -n -l -I eth0 -- NTP daemon
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# For multiple instances of the same service, add :ID somewhere between
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# the service/run/task keyword and the command.
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service :80 [2345] merecat -n -p 80 /var/www -- Web server
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service :8080 [2345] merecat -n -p 8080 /var/www -- Old web server
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# Alternative method instead of below runparts, can also use /etc/rc.local
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#task [S] /etc/init.d/keyboard-setup start -- Setting up preliminary keymap
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#task [S] /etc/init.d/acpid start -- Starting ACPI Daemon
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#task [S] /etc/init.d/kbd start -- Preparing console
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# Run start scripts from this directory
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# runparts /etc/start.d
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# Virtual consoles run BusyBox getty, keep kernel default speed
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tty [12345] /sbin/getty -L 0 /dev/tty1 linux
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tty [12345] /sbin/getty -L 0 /dev/tty2 linux
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tty [12345] /sbin/getty -L 0 /dev/tty3 linux
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# Use built-in getty for serial port and USB serial
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tty [12345] /dev/ttyAMA0 noclear nowait
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tty [12345] /dev/ttyUSB0 noclear
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# Just give me a shell, I need to debug this embedded system!
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tty [12345] @console noclear nologin
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```
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The `service` stanza, as well as `task`, `run` and others are described
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in full in [doc/config.md](doc/config.md). Here's a quick overview of
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some of the most common components needed to start a UNIX daemon:
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```
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service [LVLS] <COND> log env:[-]/etc/default/daemon daemon ARGS -- Daemon daemon
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^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
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| | | | | | | `-- Optional description
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| | | | | | `----------- Daemon arguments
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| | | | | `-------------------------- Path to daemon
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| | | | `---------------------------------------------------- Optional env. file
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| | | `-------------------------------------------------------- Redirect output to log
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| | `--------------------------------------------------------------- Optional conditions
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| `---------------------------------------------------------------------- Optional Runlevels
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`------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Monitored application
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```
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Some components are optional: runlevel(s), condition(s) and description,
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making it easy to create simple start scripts and still possible for more
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advanced uses as well:
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service sshd -D
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Dependencies are handled using [conditions](doc/conditions.md). One of
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the most common conditions is to wait for basic networking to become
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available:
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service <net/route/default> nginx -- High performace HTTP server
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Here is another example where we instruct Finit to not start BusyBox
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`ntpd` until `syslogd` has started properly. Finit waits for `syslogd`
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to create its PID file, by default `/var/run/syslogd.pid`.
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service [2345] log <!pid/syslogd> ntpd -n -N -p pool.ntp.org
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service [S12345] syslogd -n -- Syslog daemon
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Notice the `log` keyword, BusyBox `ntpd` uses `stderr` for logging when
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run in the foreground. With `log` Finit redirects `stdout` + `stderr`
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to the system log daemon using the command line `logger(1)` tool.
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A service, or task, can have multiple dependencies listed. Here we wait
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for *both* `syslogd` to have started and basic networking to be up:
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service [2345] log <pid/syslogd,net/route/default> ntpd -n -N -p pool.ntp.org
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If either condition fails, e.g. loss of networking, `ntpd` is stopped
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and as soon as it comes back up again `ntpd` is restarted automatically.
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**Note:** Make sure daemons *do not* fork and detach themselves from the
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controlling TTY, usually an `-n` or `-f` flag, or `-D` as in the case
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of OpenSSH above. If it detaches itself, Finit cannot monitor it and
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will instead try to restart it.
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Features
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--------
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**Process Supervision**
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Start, monitor and restart services should they fail.
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**Getty**
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Finit supports external getty but also comes with a limited built-in
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Getty, useful for really small systems. A getty sets up the TTY and
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waits for user input before handing over to `/bin/login`, which is
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responsible for handling the actual authentication.
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```conf
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tty [12345] /dev/tty1 nowait linux
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tty [12345] /dev/ttyAMA0 noclear vt100
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tty [12345] /sbin/getty -L /dev/ttyAMA0 vt100
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```
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Users of embedded systems may want to enable automatic serial console
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with the special `@console` device. This works regardless weather the
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system uses `ttyS0`, `ttyAMA0`, `ttyMXC0`, or anything else. Finit
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figures it out by querying sysfs: `/sys/class/tty/console/active`.
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```conf
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tty [12345] @console linux noclear
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```
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Notice the optional `noclear`, `nowait`, and `nologin` flags. The
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latter is for skipping the login process entirely. For more information,
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see [doc/config.md](doc/config.md#syntax).
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**Runlevels**
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Support for SysV init-style [runlevels][5] is available, in the same
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minimal style as everything else in Finit. The `[2345]` syntax can be
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applied to service, task, run, and TTY stanzas.
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Reserved runlevels are 0 and 6, halt and reboot, respectively just like
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SysV init. Runlevel 1 can be configured freely, but is recommended to
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be kept as the system single-user runlevel since Finit will not start
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networking here. The configured `runlevel NUM` from `/etc/finit.conf`
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is what Finit changes to after bootstrap, unless 'single' (or 'S') is
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given on the kernel cmdline, in which case runlevel 1 is started.
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All services in runlevel S(0) are started first, followed by the desired
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run-time runlevel. Run tasks in runlevel S can be started in sequence
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by using `run [S] cmd`. Changing runlevels at runtime is done like any
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other init, e.g. <kbd>init 4</kbd>, but also using the more advanced
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`intictl` tool.
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**Plugins**
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Plugins can *extend* the functionality of Finit and *hook into* the
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different stages of the boot process and at runtime. Plugins are
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written in C and compiled into a dynamic library loaded automatically by
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finit at boot. A basic set of plugins are bundled in the `plugins/`
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directory.
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Capabilities:
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- **Hooks**
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Hook into the boot at predefined points to extend Finit
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- **I/O**
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Listen to external events and control Finit behavior/services
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Extensions and functionality not purely related to what an `/sbin/init`
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needs to start a system are available as a set of plugins that either
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hook into the boot process or respond to various I/O.
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For more information, see [doc/plugins.md](doc/plugins.md).
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**Automatic Reload**
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By default, Finit monitors `/etc/finit.d/` and `/etc/finit.d/enabled/`
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registering any changes to `.conf` files. To activate a change the user
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must call `initctl reload`, which reloads all modified files, stops any
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removed services, starts new ones, and restarts any modified ones. If the
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command line arguments of a service have changed, the process will be
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terminated and then started again with the updated arguments. If the arguments
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have not been modified and the process supports SIGHUP, the process will
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receive a SIGHUP rather than being terminated and started.
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For some use-cases the extra step of calling `initctl reload` creates an
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unnecessary overhead, which can be removed at build-time using:
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configure --enable-auto-reload
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Runparts & /etc/rc.local
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------------------------
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At the end of the boot, when all bootstrap (`S`) tasks and services have
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started, but not networking, Finit calls its built-in [run-parts(8)][]
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command on any configured `runparts <DIR>` directory. This happens just
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before changing to the configured runlevel (default 2). (Networking is
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enabled just prior to changing from single user mode.)
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```shell
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runparts /etc/rc.d/
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```
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Right after the runlevel change when all services have started properly,
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`/etc/rc.local` is called.
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No configuration stanza in `/etc/finit.conf` is required for `rc.local`.
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If it exists and is an executable shell script Finit calls it at the very
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end of the boot, before calling the `HOOK_SYSTEM_UP`. See more on hooks
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in [doc/plugins.md](doc/plugins.md#hooks), and about the system bootstrap
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in [doc/bootstrap.md](doc/bootstrap.md).
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Runlevels
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---------
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Basic support for [runlevels][5] is included in Finit from v1.8. By
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default all services, tasks, run commands and TTYs listed without a set
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of runlevels get a default set `[234]` assigned. The default runlevel
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after boot is 2.
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Finit supports runlevels 0-9, and S, with 0 reserved for halt, 6 reboot
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and S for services to only run at bootstrap. Runlevel 1 is the single
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user level, where usually no networking is enabled. In Finit this is
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more of a policy for the user to define. Normally only runlevels 1-6
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are used, and even more commonly, only the default runlevel is used.
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To specify an allowed set of runlevels for a `service`, `run` command,
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`task`, or `tty`, add `[NNN]` to your `/etc/finit.conf`, like this:
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```
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service [S12345] syslogd -n -x -- System log daemon
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run [S] /etc/init.d/acpid start -- Starting ACPI Daemon
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task [S] /etc/init.d/kbd start -- Preparing console
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service [S12345] <pid/syslogd> klogd -n -x -- Kernel log daemon
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tty [12345] /dev/tty1
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tty [2] /dev/tty2
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tty [2] /dev/tty3
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tty [2] /dev/tty4
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tty [2] /dev/tty5
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tty [2] /dev/tty6
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```
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In this example syslogd is first started, in parallel, and then acpid is
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called using a conventional SysV init script. It is called with the run
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command, meaning the following task command to start the kbd script is
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not called until the acpid init script has fully completed. Then the
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keyboard setup script is called in parallel with klogd as a monitored
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service.
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Again, tasks and services are started in parallel, while run commands
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are called in the order listed and subsequent commands are not started
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until a run command has completed. Also, task and run commands are run
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in a shell, so pipes and redirects can be used.
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The following examples illustrate this. Bootstrap task and run commands
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are also removed when they have completed, `initctl show` will not list
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them.
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```
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task [S] echo "foo" | cat >/tmp/bar
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run [S] echo "$HOME" >/tmp/secret
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```
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Switching between runlevels can be done by calling init with a single
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argument, e.g. <kbd>init 5</kbd>, or using `initctl runlevel 5`, both
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switch to runlevel 5. When changing runlevels Finit also automatically
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reloads all `.conf` files in the `/etc/finit.d/` directory. So if you
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want to set a new system config, switch to runlevel 1, change all config
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files in the system, and touch all `.conf` files in `/etc/finit.d`
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before switching back to the previous runlevel again — that way Finit
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can both stop old services and start any new ones for you, without
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rebooting the system.
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Rebooting & Halting
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-------------------
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Traditionally, rebooting and halting a UNIX system is done by changing
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its runlevel. Finit comes with its own tooling providing: `shutdown`,
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`reboot`, `poweroff`, and `suspend`, but also the `initctl` tool,
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detailed in the next section.
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For compatibility reasons Finit listens to the same set of signals as
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BusyBox init. This is not 100% compatible with SysV init, but clearly
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the more common combination for Finit. For more details, see
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[doc/signals.md](doc/signals.md).
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Commands & Status
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-----------------
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Finit also implements a modern API to query status, and start/stop
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services, called `initctl`. Unlike `telinit` the `initctl` tool does
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not return until the given command has fully completed.
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```
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alpine:~# initctl help
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Usage: initctl [OPTIONS] [COMMAND]
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Options:
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-b, --batch Batch mode, no screen size probing
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-c, --create Create missing paths (and files) as needed
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-f, --force Ignore missing files and arguments, never prompt
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-p, --plain Use plain table headings, no ctrl chars
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-t, --no-heading Skip table headings
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-v, --verbose Verbose output
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-h, --help This help text
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Commands:
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debug Toggle Finit (daemon) debug
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help This help text
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version Show Finit version
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ls | list List all .conf in /etc/finit.d
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create <CONF> Create .conf in /etc/finit.d/available
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delete <CONF> Delete .conf in /etc/finit.d/available
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show <CONF> Show .conf in /etc/finit.d/available
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edit <CONF> Edit .conf in /etc/finit.d/available
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touch <CONF> Change .conf in /etc/finit.d/available
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enable <CONF> Enable .conf in /etc/finit.d/available
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disable <CONF> Disable .conf in /etc/finit.d/enabled
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reload Reload *.conf in /etc/finit.d (activate changes)
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cond set <COND> Set (assert) user-defined condition +usr/COND
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cond clear <COND> Clear (deassert) user-defined condition -usr/COND
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cond show Show condition status
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cond dump Dump all conditions and their status
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log [NAME] Show ten last Finit, or NAME, messages from syslog
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start <NAME>[:ID] Start service by name, with optional ID
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stop <NAME>[:ID] Stop/Pause a running service by name
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restart <NAME>[:ID] Restart (stop/start) service by name
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status <NAME>[:ID] Show service status, by name
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status Show status of services, default command
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ps List processes based on cgroups
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runlevel [0-9] Show or set runlevel: 0 halt, 6 reboot
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reboot Reboot system
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halt Halt system
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poweroff Halt and power off system
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suspend Suspend system
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```
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For services *not* supporting `SIGHUP` the `<!>` notation in the .conf
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file must be used to tell Finit to stop and start it on `reload` and
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`runlevel` changes. If `<>` holds more [conditions](doc/conditions.md),
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these will also affect how a service is maintained.
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**Note:** even though it is possible to start services not belonging in
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the current runlevel these services will not be respawned automatically
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by Finit if they exit (crash). Hence, if the runlevel is 2, the below
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Dropbear SSH service will not be restarted if it is killed or exits.
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```
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alpine:~# initctl
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PID IDENT STATUS RUNLEVELS DESCRIPTION
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======================================================================
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1506 acpid running [--2345----] ACPI daemon
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1509 crond running [--2345----] Cron daemon
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1489 dropbear running [--2345----] Dropbear SSH daemon
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1511 klogd running [S12345----] Kernel log daemon
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1512 ntpd running [--2345----] NTP daemon
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1473 syslogd running [S12345----] Syslog daemon
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alpine:~# initctl -v
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PID IDENT STATUS RUNLEVELS COMMAND
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======================================================================
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1506 acpid running [--2345----] acpid -f
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1509 crond running [--2345----] crond -f -S $CRON_OPTS
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1489 dropbear running [--2345----] dropbear -R -F $DROPBEAR_OPTS
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1511 klogd running [S12345----] klogd -n $KLOGD_OPTS
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1512 ntpd running [--2345----] ntpd -n $NTPD_OPTS
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1473 syslogd running [S12345----] syslogd -n
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```
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The environment variables to each of the services above are read from,
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in the case of Alpine Linux, `/etc/conf.d/`. Other distributions may
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have other directories, e.g., Debian use `/etc/default/`.
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Requirements
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------------
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Finit is capable of running on both desktop/server systems with udev and
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embedded systems that usually come with BusyBox mdev. Some systems have
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systemd-udev or eudev today instead of the original udev, Finit probes
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for all of them at runtime and expects `/dev/` to be a writable file
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system using `devtmpfs`. It is also possible to run on a statically set
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up `/dev` if needed. It is however not a good idea to have both udev
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and mdev installed at the same time, this will lead to unpredictable
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results.
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At boot Finit calls either `mdev` or `udevd` to populate `/dev`, this is
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done slightly differently and on systems with udev you might want to add
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the following one-shot task early in your `/etc/finit.conf`:
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```conf
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run [S] udevadm settle --timeout=120 -- Waiting for udev
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|
```
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|
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Finit has a built-in Getty for TTYs, but requires a working `/bin/login`
|
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or `/bin/sh`, if no TTYs are configured in `/etc/finit.conf`.
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For a fully operational system `/var`, `/run` and `/tmp` must be set up
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properly in `/etc/fstab` -- which is iterated over at boot.
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Origin & References
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-------------------
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This project is based on the [original finit][] by [Claudio Matsuoka][]
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which was reverse engineered from syscalls of the [EeePC fastinit][] —
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"gaps filled with frog DNA …"
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Finit is developed and maintained by [Joachim Wiberg][] at [GitHub][].
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Please file bug reports, clone it, or send pull requests for bug fixes
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|
and proposed extensions.
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[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_supervision
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[2]: http://cr.yp.to/daemontools.html
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|
[3]: http://smarden.org/runit/
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|
[4]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Init
|
|
[5]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runlevel
|
|
[6]: https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/
|
|
[9]: https://github.com/troglobit/troglos
|
|
[RFC862]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc862
|
|
[RFC863]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc863
|
|
[RFC864]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc864
|
|
[RFC867]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc867
|
|
[RFC868]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc868
|
|
[init]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Init
|
|
[upstart]: http://upstart.ubuntu.com/
|
|
[systemd]: http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/
|
|
[openrc]: http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/base/openrc/
|
|
[run-parts(8)]: http://manpages.debian.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=run-parts
|
|
[original finit]: http://helllabs.org/finit/
|
|
[EeePC fastinit]: https://web.archive.org/web/20071208212450/http://wiki.eeeuser.com/boot_process:the_boot_process
|
|
[Claudio Matsuoka]: https://github.com/cmatsuoka
|
|
[Joachim Wiberg]: http://troglobit.com
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|
[GitHub]: https://github.com/troglobit/finit
|
|
[License]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_License
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|
[License Badge]: https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-teal.svg
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[Travis]: https://travis-ci.org/troglobit/finit
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[Travis Status]: https://travis-ci.org/troglobit/finit.svg?branch=master
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[Coverity Scan]: https://scan.coverity.com/projects/3545
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[Coverity Status]: https://scan.coverity.com/projects/3545/badge.svg
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