@steve_v
No, Unix had multi-user launch levels, but without X, with and without a network. Runlevel 1 was not used specifically for everyday work in text mode.

Yes, only the interface, but it helped me discover differences in operation between the original sysv and the modern version in Chimaera .
https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?id=5443
At the same time, it eliminates errors when typing commands.

Regards.

Runlevel 1 boots without a network.

Well, yeah. That's kinda the point - "single user mode", no network, no services, just a single local console login for maintenance or troubleshooting. Sysv came from unix mainframes and all that.

That's the saved kernel configuration (i.e. a copy of /usr/src/linux/.config) for the installed linux-image package, and that parameter records the default command line (if one was) specified when the kernel was compiled.

While you could recompile the kernel to change the command line, that's work, and not how most sane people do it.
Try your bootloader configuration instead
Assuming you're using GRUB, permanent changes can be made by editing /etc/default/grub (GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX variable), and running 'update-grub'.
For a one-off, you can just edit the command line (starts with 'linux=<image name>') directly from the bootloader screen by hitting 'e' on a boot entry.

The display above is sysv-rc-conf. Convenient perhaps, but not really necessary as it's just a TUI frontend for update-rc.d.

Steve_v you mention adding to the kernel command line. Would that be editing /boot/config-6.1.69 and the param: CONFIG_CMDLINE?
A line at the top of that fle says: # Automatically generated file; DO NOT EDIT.

Aluma, what program gave you that display? Apropos confif or sysv orrunlevel doesn't give me anything that looks like it might be that program. Maybe I need to install it.

I just today realized that a short script I wrote to backup personal stuff to a flash drive weekly has been failing because some process under systemd had already mounted that flash under /media/mike/ hence my mount command telling it to mount on /sdb failed, grr. I'm really getting annoyed when the system does not what I want but what someone else wants.

Guys I really appreciate your input and if you lived close by would be deligted to buy you a beer.

Be well,
Mike

And on the topic, I would install the sysv-rc-conf package, it clearly shows what is running, it’s easy to edit, and I would try to create a runlevel in text mode.

Switch with telinit command.
  But I haven't tried it myself.

Default Debian installation does not make any difference between runlevels 2-5. You may customize them to your liking. Runlevels S (single) and 1 are used for maintenance.

The common xdm only in runlevel 5 convention comes from somewhere else, I forget exactly where.

The telinit command, which switches runlevels, still works.
But on my Daedalus only telinit 1 switches to text mode, telinit 3 switches to graphic.

The order in which services are started is important to sysv, so another method may not work or may cause a crash.

The "recovery shell" you mention is probably either runlevel 1 (or the synonymous "single") as above, or an initrd shell you'll be dropped into if the root fs is unavailable. Pretty sure Devuan has those and always has.

The apparmor stuff is probably harmless, for some unfathomable reason it keeps getting pulled in unless you pin it, then complains because it's not configured properly. In all it's kind of difficult to diagnose something like this from here without seeing the boot process.

Maybe Devuan should take up the mantle and publish more info on these things online.

Or maybe that is something that quickfur might want to explore and curate?