So no GNOME on BSD anymore?
If you want GNOME you need a corporate aligned linux-only desktop with all the IBM trimmings? IBM who has been known forever for the poor quality of their code? IBM who pays by the KLOC?
this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2025
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Linux itself is entirely "corporate-aligned." It exists and is developed almost entirely by and for corporations.
I read as "Arch Linux drops support for GNOME" and my heart fluttered
I did the same but was skeptical since Arch is an only systemd system so there's no point it would affect Arch anyways
since Arch is an only systemd system
Like almost any systemusing Systemd.
I did the same even though I had seen this headline before
I'm sure all 12 users of artix will be very sad lol
Boo, troll dich.
Not really, I'm using kde.
Hopefully other software doesn't follow this path, otherwise it will be practically impossible to run a distro without systemd.
It will keep coming.
For GNOME, I think Chimera Linux is working in something with Turnstile that non-Systemd distros can use to get it working again.
Isn't that seatd though? I can run a wayland desktop session with only seatd, no (e)logind. While i can't do the same with only turnstile, still needs seatd.
what is the argument against using systemd?
Linux people hate change and think software written in 1970 is the perfect software for modern desktops.
It's a large and very complicated piece of software with a single implementation. It's practically impossible to fork, so users are forced to adopt whatever changes the maintainers decide to implement. This could include things like forced dependencies (incompatible with mulb libc for example), or other poor design choices (like binary logging, which is very controversial). And it forces its adoption in places that do not want it (as in cases like the one we're discussing here, where it's becoming harder and harder for Gnome to be used without it).
I'm not going to argue about whether systemd is good software or not. But the biggest problem with it is that it's basically a way for Red Hat to exert control over the entire Linux ecosystem.
Think of it like Chrome/Chromium. Everybody naïvely thought we were never be where we are today when it was announced, but look at where we are today. While it's technically open source and an excellent browser, above all, it's a tool for Google to exert its control over the WWW, such as disabling adblockers, implementing DRM, deciding which CSS/Javascript APIs should (or should not) be adopted, etc. systemd could very well be Red Hat's vehicle for imposing similar requirements on desktop Linux.
My guess (i dont understand it all that well) is that people are less again using systemd, than against a growing dependency on systemd. If something bad happens to it, it could drag down other big elements of the linux ecosystem with itself.
I dug up this link from June, which tells us why they made such a design choice of strong depressing on systemd.
https://blogs.gnome.org/adrianvovk/2025/06/10/gnome-systemd-dependencies/
Funny thing is every open source developer strives to support as many systems and platforms as possible, by following best practices and open standards, GNOME goes backwards.
Isn't systemd that open standard though?
Same with Wayland?
Yeah? Try having it and s6 or Runit or dinit in the same repo then. Artix does have those 3 and more, but not Systemd, guess why?
And Systemd only runs on Linux kernel btw.
Yeah but it could be an open standard, for Linux, could it not?
I don't really understand your first point though. That would be no problem if you organized the packages and declared conflicts for systemd against the other init systems.
Isn’t systemd that open standard though?
No. It doesn't support BSD, just for starters, even though most of the established desktop environments originally ran there as well as on Linux. So by definition, anything that relies on systemd can't "support as many systems and platforms as possible". And to my knowledge, no actual standards document defining protocols and interfaces has ever been published (although I admit, as an OpenRC user, I don't pay much attention), meaning that the interface can change without warning. If systemd works for you, that's fine, but don't try to build it up into something it isn't.
I am not knowledgeable enough to answer your question. But if it were an open standard, it would be more like Xorg than Wayland. There is only one X server implementation, just like there is only one systemd implementation.
Here Gnome is kinda like the websites which only work with Chromium based browsers. "Everybody is using Chrome anyways, right?" In a sense it's also not really systemd's or Chromium's fault, that some devs decided to only support their platform.
There is only one X server implementation
That isn't quite true. There have been several proprietary implementations for non-Linux systems—Apple's XQuartz was still being maintained as of a couple of years ago, although I don't know about its current status. Standards documents exist, and anyone can code to them.
Dang, i knew this was gonna be problematic, but i thought it might've been fixable with an elogind type of approach. I don't use gnome myself, but it definitely sucks if you're someone who likes using gnome but doesn't want to use systemd. I'm a Void user myself, so i'm interested in seeing if the Void team ends up making the same decision as Artix.
My understanding is that it is fixable by just implementing a couple of APIs, but Artix barely has the resources to fix their own init system, so they aren't able to support such compatibility.
While Artix has not much ressources, it also has not a own init system. I runs on maybe 7 init systems though.
I expect that would be the problem. Gentoo very noticeably is still only offering up to 48 in the main repo—not sure whether that's just normal maintainer lag or someone's trying to patch it.
I feel like Void devs will first wait it out. Perhaps Chimera Linux' devs will come up with some workaround by then. A possible workaround could be to make Duncaen's systemd fork official. Though I'm not sure if maintaining 2 init systems would be less work than to patch the systemd API specific stuff.
"Some of you have probably seen the blog post a few months ago about how GNOME is more strongly depending on systemd."
"Standalone gnome applications will still continue to be packaged, but it is simply not feasible anymore to support gnome desktops without systemd."
What I always say when anyone tries to defend systemd but I just get shut down and talked down to because nobody wants to admit systemd lead person is on purpose influencing with flawed and unethical objectives/workflows that undermine actual openness and community efforts. He don't give af about the community.
Sounds like those people who like GNOME but dislike systemd have a choice to make. Most GNOME end users, like me, have no idea what the function of systemd actually is or why we should be concerned, and I've been using GNU-Linux for over 20 years. I'm glad there are people much more computer literate than me viewing it as a problem and searching for solutions.
They're all searching for "solutions" but nobody is creating them. Funny how most of the people complaining about systemd aren't actually system devs themselves and thus have no clue what they're talking about.
Nobody (not even GNOME) is actively wanting to force systemd and keep out alternatives, there just aren't any proper alternatives offering the same kind of functionality and quality.