PeppermintOS It continues to expand its options for users seeking a lightweight, flexible operating system with greater control over internal system components. The project announced A new build based on Devuan Excalibur, an alternative to Debian that stands out for dispensing with systemd as the default boot system, a feature highly valued by certain sectors of the Linux community.
This new feature represents an interesting step for the distribution, which for years has been characterized by offering a simple, fast, and accessible environment for both experienced users and those taking their first steps in GNU/Linux. With this new edition, PeppermintOS seeks to offer a an additional alternative to its traditional Debian-based versionMaintaining the same philosophy of lightness and ease of use, but incorporating a different base for those who prefer to avoid systemd and use other more classic startup systems.
PeppermintOS expands its catalog with a Devuan Excalibur-based edition
The new PeppermintOS build It uses Devuan Excalibur as its base.Devuan, the latest version of this Debian-derived distribution, was created with the goal of maintaining compatibility with the Debian ecosystem without relying on systemd, allowing users to choose alternatives such as SysVinit, OpenRC, or Runit for boot management and system services.
As the development team explained, this new version is currently in the testing phase and aims to gather community feedback before being considered a fully stable release. Visually and functionally, the experience will be very similar to the Debian-based edition, so regular users will find few differences in the desktop environment or the included applications.
Among the most notable changes is the adoption of a modern repository management structure using the Deb822 format, as well as the use of specific directories within sources.list.d to manage software sources. In addition, the project has begun implementing GPG signatures to strengthen the verification and authenticity of distributed images.
Without systemd
The arrival of this edition also demonstrates PeppermintOS's interest in offering different alternatives within its ecosystem. Although systemd is currently the dominant init system in most Linux distributions, there is a segment of the community that still prefers more traditional approaches for reasons of performance, simplicity, or design philosophy.
With this new variant based on Devuan Excalibur, PeppermintOS expands the possibilities for its users without sacrificing the features that have made it popular: moderate resource consumption, a responsive desktop, and a productivity-oriented experience. This initiative also strengthens diversity within the Linux ecosystem, offering another option for those who want a modern distribution without relying on systemd.