PeppermintOS has released a new systemd-free build based on Devuan 6 Excalibur, giving users another option alongside the project’s standard Debian 13-based images.
The new build corresponds to the regular Debian-based Peppermint OS experience, with the main difference being the absence of systemd. The usual Peppermint features are available, except for applications that strictly depend on systemd init.
The release targets users who want the PeppermintOS desktop experience while remaining inside the Devuan ecosystem. As you know, Devuan is a Debian-based distribution for users who prefer alternative init systems to systemd. Its latest stable version, Devuan 6 “Excalibur,” is based on Debian 13 “Trixie.”
Devuan 6 introduced several important changes, including Linux kernel 6.12 LTS, APT 3, a mandatory merged-/usr filesystem, and PipeWire as the recommended audio system. On the desktop side, Xfce 4.20 is the default environment. KDE Plasma 6.3.6 and GNOME 48 are also available from the stable repositories.
For regular PeppermintOS users, the main difference is the init choice. During installation, users can choose between three init systems: SysVinit, OpenRC, and runit. SysVinit is the traditional Unix-style init system. OpenRC is widely known from distributions such as Alpine and Gentoo. Runit provides a small and simple service supervision approach.
PeppermintOS also says users should check the build log for more detailed recent updates. The project provides a download link for the latest Devuan build. To install it, after booting the live system, the installer can be started from the menu by searching for “install” and launching the Install Peppermint icon.
For additional details, see the announcement.
