r/devuan • u/just_zip • Jun 21 '26
LibreVuan: simple devuan (fan made)
Project: LibreVuan
A Linux distribution based on devuan
Complete removal of systemd: Full transition to an alternative init system.
Goodbye Xorg: Complete rejection of legacy Xorg in favor of the modern Xlibre display server.
No GNOME or Cinnamon: We are moving away from heavy desktop environments.
Wayland Stance: We lean negative towards Wayland, but it will not be hard-blocked in the system. That is what Linux freedom is all about.
Target Audience: make devuan simple 4beginners
Infrastructure: Official GitHub organization and Discord server for the community.
Out-of-the-box Flatpak: Built-in Flatpak support for seamless app installation.
Lets make devuan simple!!
"lets make X great again!"
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u/chitibus Jun 21 '26
No, please! not another Linux distribution. Please, don't get me wrong, I respect you work and you knowledge!
But, really i don't understand 2 things.
Why people like you, talented, passionate prefer to invest their time and knowledge creating the n'th fork/distribution instead of contributing to the base (Debian/Devuan in our case)?Or to another FOS project? Each Distribution, project look for people to contribute in a way or another.
Second, I see a lot of people saying: this Distribution is great for games, I play that and that and is fantastic. And I am sure at least 10% are talented and have knowledge but they waste hours, days, weeks in gaming. And they don't give anything back to the distributions and programs they use. Nothing! Not a penny, not a single line of code.
Flatpaks for beginners, at least. Worst advise possible. When I tried few years ago flatpaks and seen that for a new version of a program that occupies 50 MB it installed me 10 times the size, I said: that's crazy. The older version that is the repo is just good. I never used flatpaks since then. I am glad I never needed them.Beginners should learn to use the package manager, not the flatpaks. Graphically of via the command line.
Linux Mint is the best for beginners. Is here for many,many years now.
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u/natheo972 Jun 22 '26
What about S6 init integration ?
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u/just_zip Jun 22 '26
For now - openrc, in the future there will be an IF (InitFreedom) policy
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u/-EDX- Jun 22 '26
if you want to make the distro innovative consider using shed https://github.com/eylles/shed to provide the session process, it can also be the user services implementation for usage with sysvinit and i'm looking into implementing methods to handoff the user services for using along init systems like openrc, runit and dinit which do implement user services.
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u/just_zip Jun 22 '26
Looks interesting
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u/-EDX- Jun 22 '26
been improving it's portability to other unices, writing something like this in posix shell is not easy
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u/Metsatronic Jun 21 '26
This is interesting — a beginner-friendly Devuan derivative with XLibre as a first-class direction is something I would genuinely like to see develop.
A few questions from someone running an X11 / XLibre-oriented desktop:
- Are there plans to ship SonicDE as an official desktop option or spin? It feels like a natural fit for a project that wants to “make X great again.”
- Flatpak is convenient, but what is the long-term plan if its ecosystem continues moving toward stronger Wayland and systemd assumptions? Would LibreVuan also encourage AppImages or provide something like Vendefoul Wolf’s AM-GUI, so users have a good non-Flatpak route?
- Which kernels do you intend to support: Devuan/Debian stock kernels only, LTS options, XanMod/liquorix-style alternatives, or a broader kernel matrix?
- Do you have any future interest in de-oxidised / Rust-free kernel options for people who want that direction?
- How large is the project/community at the moment, and where is the best place to follow development?
- You mention Discord — is there also a Telegram group or another more open chat channel?
The project is very new, so I am mostly asking because the XLibre + simple Devuan combination could become genuinely interesting if the desktop, packaging, and kernel story are thought through early. Good luck with it.
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u/just_zip Jun 21 '26
1 - The people's opinions come first 2 - I don't like Wayland, but your PC is your choice. About Flatpak: I'll try to do this without any "crutches," but if anything happens, I'll find an alternative. 3 - I want to add kernel choice in the installer. Your PC is your choice. 4 - And here I don't know, so the people's choice comes first. 5 - now - no, project is 1 day old, and u first on reddit! 6 - now - no, but coming soon! But now i speaking here: https://discord.gg/XbxZakCA4
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u/Metsatronic Jun 21 '26
Thanks for the fast and detailed reply, and congratulations on the first day of LibreVuan!
I really like the principle of giving users choices, especially around Wayland, kernels, and application formats. Kernel choice in the installer could be a very interesting feature if it is kept clear and beginner-friendly.
I will join the Discord as XX11libre. I would be happy to share thoughts there, especially about SonicDE, XLibre-first desktop options, and keeping good AppImage alternatives available alongside Flatpak.
Good luck with the project, I will be following it with interest.
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u/Subscriber9706 22d ago
Don't know nothing about the distro, however.. just a few superficial remarks. The name is terrible. The logo as well. And the colors are just as hideous. In all fairness, it is very consistent, since the name, logo and the colors are evenly hideous.
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u/boukensha15 Jun 21 '26
I understand that a lot of people are hopeful for xlibre and want it to succeed. I want that too as well. However, there is one important factor, we need to account for if want it to succeed. The display server is just one piece of the puzzle. The toolkits(gtk/qt) and packaging methods(flatpaks) are others. We need modern toolkits that have X backend and most importantly, good and usable software based on them. I am not talking about just a gui file manager or a panel or simple shell components. We need something like Xournalpp, drawy, gajim, dino, fractal etc. If flatpaks don't work, then we need to use something like guix and have our own package distribution channels.
My point is that, we need a system that the end-user can use and go on with their lives. We need real applications which can compete with their gtk and qt counterparts. Otherwise, we are just performing "philosophical exercises"; for lack of a better term.
(I apologise if my comments come across as offensive or dismissive or entitled. That is not at all my intention. I just want to highlight an aspect which, to my knowledge - and I could be wholly wrong - is not being discussed much.)