On the recordRead 9 Oct 202613 facts
s6
Plans and prices
s6
Free
Free software · ISC license · POSIX-compliant system required
Read 9 Oct 2026 · skarnet.org
On the record
- Dependencies
- Building s6 requires skalibs 2.15.1.0 or later, and execline is recommended for full functionality.skarnet.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Distribution
- The maker lists release 2.15.1.0 and provides the source repository plus Codeberg, GitHub, and SourceHut mirrors.skarnet.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Documentation and support
- The maker provides self-contained documentation, points to a supervision mailing list and an OFTC IRC channel, and lists a contact email on skarnet.org.skarnet.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Related projects include s6-linux-init, s6-rc, s6-frontend, and s6-overlay for Docker images.skarnet.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- License
- s6 is free software available under the ISC license.skarnet.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Logging
- Its utilities include s6-log and tools for syslog-like functionality.skarnet.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Platform requirements
- Installation requires a POSIX-compliant system with a standard C development environment and GNU make 3.81 or later.skarnet.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Privilege handling
- The suite can provide controlled privilege gain without using setuid programs.skarnet.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- s6 is a small suite of UNIX programs for process supervision and low-level administration of processes and services.skarnet.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Readiness
- s6 provides reliable service readiness notification, which can serve as the basis for service dependency management.skarnet.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Security
- The s6 page describes the suite as small and secure and lists utilities for access control and privilege handling; it does not state a security certification.skarnet.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Service control
- Its supervision system maintains a supervision tree and provides tools to control processes and monitor service states.skarnet.org · read 9 Oct 2026
- Socket activation
- s6 supports fd-holding for socket activation without requiring application code changes, linking servers to a specific library, or switching init systems.skarnet.org · read 9 Oct 2026
