Diagnosing OpenRC Boot Failures on Artix Linux

Recognizable Condition

After the kernel finishes loading, the system drops to an emergency shell. You may see messages such as "OpenRC did not start", "/etc/rc.conf could not be parsed", or the prompt "(initramfs)" or "rootfs#" indicating that the init process never reached the normal runlevel.

Cause/Diagnostic Table

Symptom	Likely Cause
Emergency shell with "OpenRC did not start"	Missing or corrupted OpenRC base packages (openrc, openrc-core)
Boot stops before any service messages, /etc/rc.conf parse error	Syntax error or invalid variable in /etc/rc.conf or a file in /etc/conf.d/
System boots but stays in read‑only mode, rc‑scripts fail to write	Failed fsck leaving the root filesystem mounted read‑only
Services listed as "skipped" or absent in rc‑status, default runlevel missing	Incorrect default runlevel pointing to a non‑existent target

Ordered Checks

1. Boot from live media

   Use an Artix Linux live ISO. Boot with live options, then open a terminal. You will need root privileges for the subsequent steps (sudo -i or login as root).

2. Mount the installed root partition

   Identify the partition (e.g., /dev/sda2) with lsblk or fdisk -l. Mount it:

   mount /dev/sda2 /mnt

   If you have a separate boot partition, mount it as well (mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot).

3. Chroot into the installed system

   Prepare the chroot environment:

   for i in /dev /dev/pts /proc /sys /run; do mount --bind $i /mnt$i; done
   chroot /mnt

   Inside the chroot, you are now running as root on the installed system.

4. Verify OpenRC installation

   Run rc-status. If the command is not found or returns no services, the OpenRC package is missing or broken.

   To (re)install, use:

   pacman -Sy openrc openrc-core

   Check that /etc/init.d/rc exists after installation.

5. Inspect runlevel configuration

   List the default runlevel symlinks:

   ls -l /etc/runlevels/default/

   You should see links to boot, sysinit, and default (or equivalent). If the target pointed to by /etc/runlevels/default does not exist, correct it:

   ln -sf /etc/runlevels/boot /etc/runlevels/default

   (Adjust according to your desired runlevel.)

6. Test /etc/rc.conf syntax

   Run OpenRC’s config test:

   rc-config -t

   Any output indicates a parse error. Note the line number and file, then correct the syntax (e.g., missing quotes, stray characters).

7. Check for read‑only root due to fsck

   From the chroot, examine the mount flags:

   mount | grep ' / '

   If the output shows ro, (read‑only), the filesystem check likely failed. Run a manual fsck:

   umount /mnt
   fsck -f /dev/sda2
   mount /dev/sda2 /mnt
   chroot /mnt

   After fsck completes without errors, remount read‑write and continue.

Fixes Tied to Findings

• Missing OpenRC: Install openrc and openrc-core as shown in step 4. After installation, rerun rc-status to confirm services appear.
• Invalid runlevel: Recreate the missing symlink or adjust /etc/rc.conf’s rc_default variable to point to an existing runlevel directory (e.g., rc_default="boot").
• Syntax error in config: Edit the offending file (usually /etc/rc.conf or a file under /etc/conf.d/) using nano or vim, fix the error, then run rc-config -t again to verify it passes.
• Read‑only root: Perform fsck as described in step 7. Ensure the journal is healthy; if the filesystem is severely corrupted, consider restoring from backup.

Escalation Criteria

If after completing the checks above the system still drops to the emergency shell, consider the following escalation steps:

• Re‑install the entire base system (base and base-devel) from the live environment, preserving /etc and /home if you have a backup.
• Check hardware health (SMART status, memory test) because repeated fsck failures can indicate a failing disk.
• Seek assistance from the Artix community forums or IRC, providing the exact boot messages, output of rc-config -t, and the contents of /etc/rc.conf and /etc/conf.d/.

Practical Verification

After applying a fix, exit the chroot, unmount partitions, and reboot:

exit
umount -R /mnt
reboot

Observe whether the system proceeds past the init stage and reaches a login prompt or graphical display manager. A successful boot will show OpenRC starting services (e.g., Starting sysinit...) and will not drop to the emergency shell.

Limitations

This guide assumes the root filesystem uses a standard Linux ext4, xfs, or btrfs layout that fsck can repair. It does not cover scenarios where the bootloader (GRUB, systemd‑boot) is misconfigured, nor does it address issues caused by custom kernel modules that panic before OpenRC starts. For those cases, additional bootloader or kernel debugging is required.