FreeBSD

Not to be confused with OpenBSD.
Not to be confused with NetBSD.

FreeBSD
FreeBSD 13.0 bootloader with ASCII art logo
DeveloperThe FreeBSD Project
Written inC (C11)
OS familyUnix-like (BSD)
Working stateCurrent
Source modelOpen source
Initial release1 November 1993; 31 years ago (1993-11-01)
Latest release14.1 (4 June 2024; 5 months ago (2024-06-04)) [±][1]
13.4 (17 September 2024; 2 months ago (2024-09-17)) [±][2]
Repository
Marketing targetServers, workstations, embedded systems, network firewalls
Package managerpkg
PlatformsIA-32, x86-64, ARM64, ARM32, PowerPC, RISC-V
Kernel typeMonolithic with dynamically loadable modules
UserlandBSD
Default
user interface		Unix shells: sh or tcsh (user-selectable)
LicenseFreeBSD License, FreeBSD Documentation License
Official websitewww.freebsd.org

FreeBSD is a free and open-source Unix-like operating system descended from the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) which currently runs on IA-32, x86-64, ARM, PowerPC and RISC-V based computers. The first version was released in 1993 developed from 386BSD[3] — the first free Unix system — and has since continously been the most commonly used BSD-derived operating system.[4][5][6]

FreeBSD maintains a complete system, delivering a kernel, device drivers, userland utilities, and documentation, as opposed to Linux only delivering a kernel and drivers, and relying on third-parties such as GNU for system software.[7] The FreeBSD source code is generally released under a permissive BSD license, as opposed to the copyleft GPL used by Linux. The project includes a security team overseeing all software shipped in the base distribution. Third-party applications may be installed using the pkg package management system or from source via FreeBSD Ports.[8] The project is supported and promoted by the FreeBSD Foundation.

Much of FreeBSD's codebase has become an integral part of other operating systems such as Darwin (the basis for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS), TrueNAS (an open-source NAS/SAN operating system), and the system software for the PlayStation 3[9][10] and PlayStation 4[11] game consoles. The other current BSD systems (OpenBSD, NetBSD, and DragonFly BSD) also contain a large amount of FreeBSD code, and vice-versa.[citation needed]

  1. ^ "FreeBSD 14.1-RELEASE Announcement". FreeBSD.org. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  2. ^ "FreeBSD 13.4-RELEASE Announcement". FreeBSD.org. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  3. ^ "FreeBSD History". people.freebsd.org. Archived from the original on 24 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference survey was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "The return of BSD - SunWorld - January 1999". sunsite.uakom.sk. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  6. ^ By (28 October 2024). "FreeBSD At 30: The History And Future Of The Most Popular BSD-Based OS". Hackaday. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference informit-bsd-tree was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Chapter 4. Installing Applications: Packages and Ports". FreeBSD Handbook. The FreeBSD Project. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference scei-ps3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Rosenberg, Alex (17 December 2013). "FreeBSD Handbook and PS3". freebsd-doc (Mailing list). Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Open Source Software used in PlayStation®4". Sony Interactive Entertainment. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2019.