Can you explain what an init process is in an operating system?

The Init process is the first process launched in the operating system after the kernel loads. Its main task is to initialize the system and start all necessary services and daemons.

In Unix-like systems, init usually has PID 1 and is responsible for:

• Mounting file systems
• Starting system services
• Configuring network interfaces
• Launching user sessions

Modern systems may use different init implementations, such as System V init, Upstart, or systemd, but the essence remains the same — to ensure proper startup and management of process lifecycle in the system.