# FreeBSD

> free Unix-like operating system

**Wikidata**: [Q34236](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q34236)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeBSD)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/freebsd

## Summary
FreeBSD is a free, Unix-like operating system descended from the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD). It is developed as a complete operating system, with its kernel, drivers, and core userland utilities maintained together. FreeBSD is known for its stability and is used for servers, desktops, and embedded platforms.

## Key Facts
- **Inception Date:** November 1, 1993
- **Classification:** A free, Unix-like operating system of the BSD family.
- **Based On:** Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) and 386BSD.
- **Primary License:** 2-clause BSD License.
- **Mascot:** BSD Daemon.
- **First Version:** Version 1.0 was released on November 1, 1993.
- **Supported Platforms:** Includes ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, RISC-V, SPARC, and DEC Alpha architectures.
- **Notable Uses:** The operating system for the PlayStation 4 is based on FreeBSD.

## FAQs
### Q: What is FreeBSD based on?
A: FreeBSD is a Unix-like operating system that is a direct descendant of the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) via the 386BSD project.

### Q: Is FreeBSD a type of Linux?
A: No, FreeBSD is not a Linux distribution. While both are free, Unix-like operating systems, FreeBSD descends from the BSD codebase, whereas Linux was developed as a separate kernel and is typically bundled with GNU software to form distributions.

### Q: What is FreeBSD used for?
A: FreeBSD is a general-purpose operating system used to power servers, desktop computers, and embedded systems. It forms the foundation for other specialized systems, such as the TrueNAS storage OS and the operating system for the PlayStation 4 game console.

## Why It Matters
FreeBSD is significant as one of the most prominent and widely used open-source operating systems with a direct lineage to the original AT&T UNIX through the Berkeley Software Distribution. Its development as a complete, cohesive system—where the kernel and base userland utilities are kept in the same source code repository—distinguishes it from the Linux ecosystem, where a kernel is bundled with components from various other projects.

The project's focus on performance, stability, and security has made it a reliable choice for demanding internet and server applications for decades. Furthermore, its permissive 2-clause BSD license is a key feature, allowing developers and companies to incorporate FreeBSD code into proprietary, commercial products with very few restrictions. This has led to its adoption as the foundation for many high-profile commercial products, including the PlayStation 4 console and networking appliances, demonstrating its impact and reliability in both the open-source and commercial technology sectors.

## Notable For
- **Permissive Licensing:** Its primary use of the 2-clause BSD license allows its code to be freely used in proprietary and commercial products with minimal restrictions, a key differentiator from GPL-licensed systems.
- **Foundation for Major Products:** FreeBSD serves as the core of numerous well-known systems, including Sony's PlayStation 4 operating system and the open-source TrueNAS storage platform.
- **Direct Unix Heritage:** As a descendant of the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), FreeBSD has a direct lineage to the research UNIX developed at the University of California, Berkeley.
- **Cohesive System Development:** FreeBSD is developed and released as a complete operating system. The kernel, device drivers, and essential userland utilities are all maintained in a single source code repository, ensuring a tightly integrated and stable base system.

## Body
### ### Origins and Inception
FreeBSD was first released on November 1, 1993. It is a free, Unix-like operating system that originated from the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), a series of Unix variants developed at the University of California, Berkeley. It is directly based on the 386BSD project. Notable developers associated with the project include Poul-Henning Kamp and Matthew Dillon.

### ### Licensing
The FreeBSD project uses several open-source licenses, but its preferred and primary license is the 2-clause BSD License. The codebase also contains components licensed under the 3-clause BSD, 4-clause BSD, and ISC licenses. This permissive licensing model is a defining characteristic of the project.

### ### Technical Specifications
- **Package Management:** FreeBSD uses the Pkgcore package management system.
- **Supported Platforms:** The operating system supports a wide range of hardware architectures, including:
    - ARM architecture
    - MIPS architecture
    - PowerPC
    - RISC-V
    - SPARC
    - DEC Alpha
- **Source Code Repositories:** The official source code is hosted on cgit at `cgit.freebsd.org`, with mirrors available on GitHub and a legacy repository on Subversion.

### ### Ecosystem and Use Cases
FreeBSD serves as a versatile, general-purpose operating system. It competes with and is an alternative to operating systems like OpenBSD, various Linux distributions (such as Ubuntu, Debian, and Fedora Linux), and Microsoft Windows server and desktop editions.

A wide variety of software runs on FreeBSD, including:
- **Storage Systems:** TrueNAS
- **Servers:** Apache Traffic Server, Suricata
- **Emulators:** Dolphin (for Nintendo GameCube and Wii)
- **Gaming Consoles:** The PlayStation 4's system software is a derivative of FreeBSD.

Another operating system, GhostBSD, is also based on FreeBSD.

## Schema Markup
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  "dateCreated": "1993-11-01"
}

## References

1. [The UNIX system family tree: Research and BSD](http://bxr.su/d/share/misc/bsd-family-tree)
2. [Source](https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd/blob/master/share/misc/bsd-family-tree)
3. [Source](http://bxr.su/f/sys/kern/init_main.c)
4. [Source](http://bxr.su/f/sys/sys/kernel.h)
5. [Source](http://bxr.su/f/sys/vm/vm_fault.c)
6. [Source](http://bxr.su/f/sys/netinet/tcp_sack.c)
7. [Source](https://svnweb.freebsd.org/base/stable/9/COPYRIGHT?view=markup)
8. [Source](http://bxr.su/f/sys/sys/gpio.h)
9. [Source](http://bxr.su/f/sys/dev/usb/wlan/if_run.c)
10. [Source](http://bxr.su/f/sys/dev/iwn/if_iwn.c)
11. [Source](https://www.freebsd.org/copyright/freebsd-license.html)
12. [FreeBSD 8.4-RELEASE Available. 2013](https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-announce/2013-June/001479.html)
13. [Source](ftp://ftp-archive.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD-Archive/old-releases/amd64/10.0-RELEASE/)
14. [Source](http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-announce/2014-November/001603.html)
15. [FreeBSD 9.1-RELEASE Available. 2012](https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-announce/2012-December/001448.html)
16. [FreeBSD 9.2-RELEASE Now Available. 2013](https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-announce/2013-September/001504.html)
17. [Source](https://www.freebsd.org/releases/9.3R/announce.html)
18. [FreeBSD 10.2-RELEASE Now Available [REVISED]. 2015](https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-announce/2015-August/001668.html)
19. [The UNIX system family tree: Research and BSD](http://bxr.su/f/share/misc/bsd-family-tree)
20. [Source](http://bxr.su/f/share/misc/bsd-family-tree)
21. [FreeBSD 10.3-RELEASE Now Available](https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-announce/2016-April/001713.html)
22. [FreeBSD 11.0-RELEASE Now Available](https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-announce/2016-October/001760.html)
23. [FreeBSD 11.2-RELEASE Now Available. 2018](https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-announce/2018-June/001835.html)
24. [2018](https://www.freebsd.org/releases/12.0R/announce.html)
25. [FreeBSD 11.3-RELEASE Announcement. 2019](https://www.freebsd.org/releases/11.3R/announce.html)
26. [FreeBSD 12.1-RELEASE Now Available. 2019](https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-announce/2019-November/001916.html)
27. [2019](https://www.freebsd.org/news/newsflash.html#event20191104:01)
28. [FreeBSD 11.4-RELEASE Now Available. 2020](https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-announce/2020-June/001960.html)
29. [FreeBSD 12.2-RELEASE Release Notes. 2020](https://www.freebsd.org/releases/12.2R/relnotes.html)
30. [FreeBSD 12.2-RELEASE Now Available. 2020](https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-announce/2020-October/001993.html)
31. [FreeBSD 13.0 Brings Better Performance, LLVM Clang 11, Obsolete GNU Bits Removed. 2021](https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=FreeBSD-13.0-RELEASE)
32. [FreeBSD 13.0 released. 2021](https://lwn.net/Articles/852552/)
33. [FreeBSD 13.1-RELEASE Announcement. 2022](https://www.freebsd.org/releases/13.1R/announce/)
34. [FreeBSD 12.4-RELEASE Announcement. 2022](https://www.freebsd.org/releases/12.4R/announce/)
35. [FreeBSD 13.2-RELEASE Announcement. 2023](https://www.freebsd.org/releases/13.2R/announce/)
36. [FreeBSD 14.0-RELEASE Release Notes. 2023](https://www.freebsd.org/releases/14.0R/relnotes/)
37. [FreeBSD 13.3-RELEASE Announcement. 2024](https://www.freebsd.org/releases/13.3R/announce/)
38. [FreeBSD 14.1-RELEASE Announcement. 2024](https://www.freebsd.org/releases/14.1R/announce/)
39. [FreeBSD 13.4-RELEASE Now Available. 2024](https://lists.freebsd.org/archives/freebsd-announce/2024-September/000159.html)
40. [FreeBSD 14.2-RELEASE Announcement. 2024](https://www.freebsd.org/releases/14.2R/announce/)
41. [FreeBSD 13.5-RELEASE Now Available. 2025](https://lists.freebsd.org/archives/freebsd-announce/2025-March/000181.html)
42. [FreeBSD 14.3-RELEASE Announcement. 2025](https://www.freebsd.org/releases/14.3R/announce/)
43. [FreeBSD 15.0-RELEASE Now Available. 2025](https://lists.freebsd.org/archives/freebsd-announce/2025-December/000213.html)
44. [FreeBSD 14.4-RELEASE Now Available. 2026](https://lists.freebsd.org/archives/freebsd-announce/2026-March/000228.html)
45. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
46. Quora
47. [OpenPGP Keys](https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/pgpkeys.html)
48. Virtual International Authority File