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nixer

Member

From: North Carolina, USA

Registered: 2016-11-30

Posts: 211  

Systemd package caused problems

TL/DR -
Question... what would be the "mother of all apt pins" to keep systemd off of my system(s).  Depending on the release name, how can this be improved?  This did block the systemd-standalone-sysusers package, so I consider it as "working".  Can it be improved?

Package: *systemd* systemd-* systemd-standalone-sysusers *-systemd
Pin: release n=ceres
Pin-Priority: -1

Package: *systemd* systemd-* systemd-standalone-sysusers *-systemd
Pin: release n=excalibur
Pin-Priority: -1

Package: *systemd* systemd-* systemd-standalone-sysusers *-systemd
Pin: release n=daedalus
Pin-Priority: -1

Package: *systemd* systemd-* systemd-standalone-sysusers *-systemd
Pin: release n=chimaera
Pin-Priority: -1

I don't know how or what package initially pulled it in, but some time ago "systemd-standalone-sysusers" got pulled in by some update.  I am running ceres, so I see quite a bit more updates than stable, or even testing (excalibur).  I have been trusting my apt pinning to keep out all *systemd* packages for years, but my apt pinning failed me.  For the past 10 days or so, when trying to do an "apt upgrade" command, I kept getting a broken package error regarding "libelogind-compat".  So, I let the ceres install sit not updated.  Finally, I started digging deeper and read a few messages on the dng mailing list, and one caught my eye concerning purging the "systemd-standalone-sysusers" package. 

To make this long story shorter, purging this systemd mess from my ceres install immediately made a positive difference. 

Running the command "apt remove systemd-standalone-sysusers --purge" actually removed cron and timeshift, and a couple other dependencies, but it was only 4 packages in total that were removed.

I then invoked a working pin in apt preferences - etc/apt/preferences.d/00nosystemd :

Package: *systemd* systemd-* systemd-standalone-sysusers *-systemd
Pin: release n=ceres
Pin-Priority: -1

Then I reinstalled cron and timeshift "apt install cron timeshift" and instead of wanting the systemd-standalone-sysusers package, it installed "opensysusers" package instead.  Then all error messages went away and the system updated as normal.  There are a few (at this moment) packages that will not update, which is not unusual at all, I think it mainly concerns the "libpam-modules-bin" package.  But after purging that package related to systemd, over 600 packages did update successfully.

Beware of systemd encroachment, especially in the unstable branch (ceres).

delgado

Member

Registered: 2022-07-14

Posts: 211  

Re: Systemd package caused problems

My "mother of all apt pins" is

$ cat /etc/apt/preferences.d/systemd.pref 
# not anymore #  Package: systemd 
Package: *systemd*:*
Pin: release *
Pin-Priority: -1

Not sure about the exact syntax, lets say it works so far.
Cases: On debian 12/13 to prevent re-installation of some systemd-stuff. On excalibur, just to be sure. And some "purge systemd in debian"-experiments as a preparation for a controlled devuan-migration.

Variants: On machines with multiarch, it's sometimes "Package: systemd:*"
Compared to @nixer's post: No wild card in the package name. Just mentioning, no clue about the consequences.
Edit: Not good enough anymore without wild cards
Edit2: Never realized the possibility to have multiple package names in one line, which will simplify some .*pref  files
Edit2: Stumbled upon the package "systemd-dev"

Last edited by delgado (2024-03-29 10:23:35)