Devuan GNU+Linux

Reader supplied reviews for Devuan GNU+Linux Average rating 9.0 from 169 review(s) What are your thoughts on Devuan GNU+Linux? Please include a few pros and a few cons, along with your overall impression of the operating system. Our FAQ page has tips on writing a good mini-review. Version: -- unstabletesting6.0.05.0.14.0.03.1.02.11.0.0 Rating:    -- 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 out of 10 Your review (minimum 250 words): Past reviews - sort by: DateVotes Version: 6.0.0 Rating: 7 Date: 2025-12-03 Votes: 0 I would not recommend Devuan for beginners in Linux as the text-based installer is not as user-friendly as the ones for easier distros like Linux Mint, MX or Tuxedo. Also, it seems more buggy and less well configured than Debian stable on which it is based. For example, when I installed Devuan 6 with KDE Plasma desktop, the SDDM login screen had white text on a white background, making it impossible to see the various icons and menus on the login screen such as the option to choose between Wayland and X11 sessions. This is due to a badly configured SDDM theme files and requires reinstalling and re-applying the Debian breeze SDDM theme to fix it. Next, entering local hard disk partitions in /etc/fstab does not result in the OS auto mounting them at boot time. You have to manually create the mount point directories before it will mount to them. Maybe this ability to automount fstab partitions is something that systemd does in other distros and so is missing from Devuan since it does not have systemd, but MX Linux sysvinit flavours also auto mount partitions found in fstab. Thus, first impressions are that it is not as well tested and configured as upstream Debian and has more bugs. The one advantage that Devuan has over Debian is that, perhaps because it does not have systemd, it saves you 700-800 MB of RAM overhead. Yes, Devuan KDE uses 700-800 MB less RAM at idle than Debian KDE on my hardware. Devuan KDE uses even less RAM than Mint XFCE. This could be an important consideration for those with older computers with less RAM, or those who want the OS to be as light on system resources as possible in order to maximise gaming or app performance (in which case try Devuan with XFCE rather than KDE for even lighter system resource usage). However, if stability and well-configuredness are important, Debian stable or Linux Mint are a better choice. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 6.0.0 Rating: 10 Date: 2025-11-23 Votes: 24 Devuan 6 Excalibur is a pleasant surprise for anyone who, like me, prefers a stable system without the hassle of systemd. The installation is straightforward, and it feels light and fast, even on older machines. I appreciate the focus on keeping a clean, customizable environment, with XFCE doing its job without unnecessary extras. It’s not perfect, but solid and reliable—ideal for those wanting a simple yet functional Linux.This version emphasizes stability and control, which you can feel in everyday use, with improvements in audio quality and package management thanks to PipeWire and APT 3. Perfect for users who like everything under their control without unnecessary compromises. Devuan 6 Excalibur is a refreshing choice for users wanting a stable, systemd-free Linux. Installation is easy, and it feels lightweight even on older machines. XFCE is clean and customizable, with other desktops available like KDE and Cinnamon. The Linux 6.12 kernel adds real-time support and better hardware compatibility. One standout is the new merged-/usr filesystem and tmpfs for /tmp, giving a noticeable boost to speed and system consistency. APT 3.0’s smarter package handling makes updates smoother. It’s not perfect, but solid, efficient, and ideal for those craving control without the extra complexity. PipeWire improves audio quality with low latency, rounding out a well-thought-out system for everyday. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 6.0.0 Rating: 9 Date: 2025-11-12 Votes: 0 I'm writing this review from an old Acer netbook that was meant to become e-waste after a couple of years. But it is still alive, thanks to devuan. In order to install it, I tried the netinstaller, but it didn't work (pretty sure that the issue is that I didn't write it directly on the USB but I used ventoy instead. Works just fine using a VM). Then I used the xfce live image and everything went smoothly. Not perfect but it works. Devuan doesn't rely on systemd, which is great in such an underpowered machine: the boot time is decent (way faster than Fedora Lxqt which I installed before; I also obviously replaced the spinning hard drive with an SSD) and the RAM usage is quite good. On the other hand, xfce is a good desktop, a good compromise between performance and functionality; I'm amazed on how responsive the system is in general when doing some basic stuff. You can also browse the internet, but obviously the Intel Atom CPU will start to struggle on modern websites. I have to admit that I had devuan 5 previously installed and upgrading to 6 didn't go well (got stuck in a login loop), hence I had to do a fresh install. I also have to admit that I didn't do a backup before the update, which is not ideal, but yeah, whatever. Also, I know that there may be better options like antiX, but for now I'm just happy like this. In conclusion what can I say: it is a distro that you should definitely try, it is basically Debian without systemd. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the average systemd hater, but in this case I'm glad there isn't. Was this review helpful? Yes No See all 169 reader reviews of Devuan GNU+Linux...