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ion_i

Member

Registered: 2025-09-12

Posts: 1  

How can I run windscribe.deb without systemd?

Devuan5 openRC
I am installing the windscribe.deb package, which requires systemd. The program does not start after installation, but if I install the systemctl package, the program starts and works. If I reboot the computer, the program starts but does not work — it cannot connect to the Internet. How can I run windscribe.deb without systemd?

Altoid

Member

Registered: 2017-05-07

Posts: 1,823  

Re: How can I run windscribe.deb without systemd?

Hello:

... installing the windscribe.deb package ...

You will not find a package named windscribe in the Debian repositories:
See https://packages.debian.org/search?keyw … ection=all

Devuan is just Debian without systemd so, save for packages which need systemd to run and cannot be adapted to run without it, all the packages in the Devuan repositories are from the Debian repositories.

That being the case, you will not find package named windscribe in the Devuan repositories either:
See https://pkginfo.devuan.org/cgi-bin/poli … e&x=submit

... can I run windscribe.deb without systemd?

TL;DR:
If the windscribe package you have installed needs systemd to run, it will not work in Devuan.

You may want to consider asking the package developers / maintainers to see which options are available to you if using a non-systemd distribution.

Best,

A.

Last edited by Altoid (2025-09-12 21:07:10)

stargate-sg1-cheyenne-mtn

Member

Registered: 2023-11-27

Posts: 371  

Re: How can I run windscribe.deb without systemd?

this is from a few years back but still applies:

https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/research/20/i/cybercriminals-distribute-backdoor-with-vpn.html

more good information

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ffp

Member

Registered: 2024-02-23

Posts: 14  

Re: How can I run windscribe.deb without systemd?

I think your best bet would be to contact their support and propose they add support for running on operating systems with alternative init systems.
In the bottom of this link there are 3 options to contact them, Reddit, Discord or start a chat.
https://windscribe.com/knowledge-base/
Unfortunately, many of the VPNs that create their own apps for Linux tend to rely on systemd or its tools like resolvectl to reconfigure the DNS.
You might have some like AirVPN work well enough but you'll be missing some features like autostarting the VPN when you boot into your system and others may fail to change the DNS so while your IP will show you in another country, you will still be using your own ISP's DNS.
Clients like Outline will not connect at all on a non-systemd environment.
IIRC, Mullvad worked well on Devuan but I haven't used it in 2 years so don't quote me on that.
If more people complain about this, it might incentivize the developers of the software to add it to their sprints and come up with a solution, though it all ultimately depends on their team's capacity and willingness to put in the effort for this.
Of course, the other alternative is to not use their apps at all and just import their openvpn/wireguard configs if they allow that, and it seems Windscribe does offer that option.
https://windscribe.com/features/config-generators/
And you can also set up a different DNS on your router as well if you test and see that your DNS requests are being leaked.