Debian to Devuan (autoinit)

BOA runs best on Devuan — a Debian-based system without systemd. Devuan is what BOA is built and tested on, so it's the OS you want under a BOA server.

Sometimes you don't get a choice at install time. Many hosting providers only offer Debian images, not Devuan. That's fine: BOA ships a tool called autoinit that turns a fresh Debian box into a Devuan box for you, ready for the BOA install. You run it once, wait, and check a log. That's the whole task.

Do you even need this?

You need autoinit only if your box is running Debian right now.

  • Your provider gave you a Debian image → yes, do this page first.
  • Your provider offered Devuan and you picked it → you're already set; skip straight to installing BOA.

Not sure which you have? Run this:

cat /etc/devuan_version

If that prints a version (for example daedalus or a number), you're on Devuan already — nothing to do here, go install BOA. If it says No such file or directory, you're on Debian, and this page is for you.

The easy way: let BOA do it for you

You don't have to run autoinit as a separate step at all. If you start the BOA install on a Debian box, BOA notices and handles the conversion for you — it runs autoinit, reboots as needed, and then automatically runs your original install command once the box is on Devuan. One command in, a working BOA out.

This is the path we recommend for a beginner, because there's nothing to remember: you just start the install and walk away.

So the simplest thing you can do is skip ahead to Install BOA and run the install command there. When BOA sees it's on Debian, it will print a message like "we will run the autoinit for you first", kick off the conversion, and email you when the whole thing — conversion and BOA install — is finished. Expect to wait roughly 30 to 40 minutes before that email arrives. Log out, grab a coffee, and check back.

If you'd rather watch the conversion happen on its own first — or your provider's image is unusual and you want to confirm it worked before installing anything — run autoinit by hand using the steps below.

The hands-on way: run autoinit yourself

Log in as root and run two commands.

Step 1 — fetch BOA's tools (this gives you autoinit and the boa command):

wget -qO- https://files.boa.io/BOA.sh.txt | bash

Step 2 — start the conversion:

autoinit

That's it. autoinit now takes over. It will churn through a series of package upgrades and reboot the box one or more times on its own. This is normal and expected — do not reboot the server yourself while it's working, and don't panic when your SSH connection drops during a reboot.

What you'll see, and when

  • The screen will show a lot of package activity, then the connection may close as the box reboots. That's the tool doing its job.
  • There are long quiet stretches while big upgrades run. Silence is not a failure — leave it alone.
  • Wait about 10 minutes, then log back in as root and check the log (below). If it's still going, wait a little longer and check again.

Confirm it worked

Two quick checks tell you the conversion finished cleanly.

Check the log. autoinit writes its progress to /root/.autoinit.log. The last meaningful line you're looking for is:

cat /root/.autoinit.log

Near the bottom you should see a line saying the system is now ready for the BOA install. If it's there, you're done.

Check the OS identity. The clinching proof is that Devuan's release file now exists:

cat /etc/devuan_version

If that prints a version (no "No such file" error), the box is Devuan. You've converted successfully.

If something looks stuck or incomplete, there's a second, much more detailed log you (or support) can read to see exactly where it stopped:

cat /root/.autoinit-verbose.log

What actually changed on your box

You don't need to do anything with this — it's just so nothing surprises you. In one pass, autoinit swaps your system's package sources from Debian to Devuan, removes systemd and puts Devuan's traditional init system in its place, walks the box up to the current Devuan release, and pins your network card's name so networking still comes up after the switch. It reboots between the big steps. When it's finished, you have a clean, current Devuan system with no BOA installed yet — exactly the starting point the BOA installer wants.

The one thing worth knowing: your network interface may be renamed as part of this (for example from a systemd-style name to plain eth0). autoinit handles that for you so the box doesn't lose its network — you don't have to touch /etc/network/interfaces yourself.

Next step

Once /etc/devuan_version exists and the log says the system is ready, you're done here. Continue with Install BOA. If you took the easy way and let BOA drive the conversion, the install has already run itself — just wait for the completion email.

After installation, keep the box healthy with Keeping BOA current — BOA updates its own tools automatically, and that page walks you through the rest.

Going further

Advanced (root required): Operating → Major OS upgrade — for a box that already runs BOA and needs a later OS release, or for the codename-by-codename upgrade map. That path assumes Aegir and Linux comfort; autoinit on this page is only for the one-time Debian-to-Devuan step before BOA is installed.