Alpine Linux Init System

Alpine Linux uses OpenRC for its init system.

Quick-Start Information

Alpine Linux has the following commands for managing services:

rc-update add service <runlevel>
rc-update del service <runlevel>
rc-status

Tip: Prior to Alpine Linux 2.0, you might need to use the following commands instead: rc_add, rc_delete, rc_status.

rc-update usage

Usage: rc-update [options] add service <runlevel>
       rc-update [options] del service <runlevel>
       rc-update [options] show

Options: [suChqv]
  -s, --stack                       Stack a runlevel instead of a service
  -u, --update                      Force an update of the dependency tree
  -h, --help                        Display this help output
  -C, --nocolor                     Disable color output
  -v, --verbose                     Run verbosely
  -q, --quiet                       Run quietly

rc-status usage

Usage: rc-status [options] [runlevel1] [runlevel2] ...

Options: [aclrsuChqv]
  -a, --all                         Show services from all run levels
  -c, --crashed                     Show crashed services
  -l, --list                        Show list of run levels
  -r, --runlevel                    Show the name of the current runlevel
  -s, --servicelist                 Show service list
  -u, --unused                      Show services not assigned to any runlevel
  -h, --help                        Display this help output
  -C, --nocolor                     Disable color output
  -v, --verbose                     Run verbosely
  -q, --quiet                       Run quietly