The Handbook

    Theme
    • Guides
        • Check a system before installing FreeBSD
        • Orient a Linux administrator on FreeBSD
        • Supported FreeBSD releases
        • Choose a FreeBSD documentation and support channel
        • Move files safely without GNU mv -t
        • Update, upgrade, or update packages?
        • Upgrade 14.4 or 15.0 to FreeBSD 15.1
        • Choose packages, ports, or poudriere
        • Choose the quarterly or latest package branch
        • Choose a FreeBSD download or package mirror
        • Make a system setting persistent
        • Configure locale, keyboard, and time zone
        • Configure a serial console for recovery
        • Choose a custom kernel, module, or loader setting
        • Run a Linux binary with the compatibility layer
        • Check desktop and laptop hardware before installation
        • Choose and check a graphics driver
        • Choose Xorg or Wayland
        • Build a maintainable desktop baseline
        • Install and check a desktop browser
        • Check laptop Wi-Fi, power, and suspend
        • Check multimedia readiness
        • Choose and configure a printing stack
        • Run Windows applications with Wine
        • Snapshot and replicate a ZFS dataset
        • Choose a filesystem and storage layout
        • Operate ZFS without losing the recovery path
        • Restore files from a ZFS snapshot
        • Read ZFS pool health and run a scrub
        • Replace a failed device in a ZFS mirror
        • Replicate a ZFS dataset over SSH
        • Change PF safely on a remote host
        • Configure a narrow WireGuard tunnel
        • Plan a FreeBSD home server
        • Choose a mail server or an outgoing relay
        • Publish a network service safely
        • Choose a jail network model
        • Choose native jails or a jail manager
        • Choose a jail or a bhyve virtual machine
        • Establish a FreeBSD security baseline
        • Choose a MAC policy
        • Audit security-relevant activity
        • Start a DTrace performance investigation
    • Integrations
        • Create a first jail with Bastille
        • Compare jail managers and OCI tooling
        • Publish a Bastille service through PF
        • Mount a ZFS dataset in a Bastille jail
        • Update and upgrade Bastille jails
        • Back up and restore a Bastille jail
        • Prepare bhyve and vm-bhyve
        • Choose NFS or Samba for file sharing
        • Choose ZFS backup automation
        • Operate a signed poudriere repository
        • Manage FreeBSD configuration with Ansible or Salt
        • Run Motion with webcamd on FreeBSD
        • Design a reverse proxy, certificates, and monitoring
    • FAQ
      • Troubleshooting
          • Recover an interrupted freebsd-update run
          • Resolve a package repository or ABI mismatch
          • Diagnose the FreeBSD boot path
          • Recover with a ZFS boot environment
          • Diagnose DNS, routing, and firewall paths
          • Diagnose network mbuf exhaustion
          • Bind a service to a low port without running it as root
          • Diagnose audio output or input
          • Diagnose webcamd, cuse, and a webcam
          • Fix USB device permissions without opening every device
      • About this handbook
      • Purpose
      • Maintenance policy
      • Independent project

      About this handbook

      Purpose #

      The official FreeBSD documentation describes the operating system comprehensively. This handbook occupies a different space: concise, task-oriented guides; decision support; frequently asked questions; and troubleshooting paths that can be maintained and retested independently.

      The project does not copy the official Handbook. A page should provide a distinct practical treatment and link to the authoritative source for the underlying feature.

      Maintenance policy #

      Technical pages record a review date and the releases to which the procedure applies. A separate test record is added only after the complete procedure is exercised. A page that cannot be kept current should be corrected, clearly qualified, or removed.

      Primary sources are preferred, including the official documentation , manual pages , release notes, errata notices, and FreeBSD source documentation.

      Independent project #

      This handbook is an independent documentation project. It is not produced, maintained, sponsored, or endorsed by the FreeBSD Project or the FreeBSD Foundation.

      FreeBSD is a registered trademark of the FreeBSD Foundation. The name is used only to identify the operating system discussed here. This site does not use the FreeBSD Project logo, the FreeBSD Foundation logo, or their visual branding.

      Questions, corrections, complaints, and other concerns can be sent to the address revealed by the Report a bug link in the footer.

      Independent documentation. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the FreeBSD Project or the FreeBSD Foundation.

      Report a bug
      • Purpose
      • Maintenance policy
      • Independent project