FreeBSD is an operating system derived from 4.4BSD; both are Unix systems because they both have Unix code at their core, That's debatable because they don't pay to be a Unix system like Apple's operating systems and in the reality they are a unix-like dont debatable... but I defend it because BSD was born with Unix code and its descendants inherited all of this; now they're removing the AT&T code but they have the lineage, so I call them "noble blood".. While FreeBSD is primarily a general-purpose operating system, it maintains security features, consistent code, a stable architecture, and other aspects that make it a coherent and useful system for both servers and desktop computers.
Unlike Linux, FreeBSD is a complete operating system; linux is a kernel and the distribution's implement software an characteristics to make linux a complete operating system, FreeBSD is a operating system with they own kernel and own software. FreeBSD has several features that differentiate it from Linux, such as:
I could talk about history or do a how-to, but that seems repetitive, and this is supposed to be my blog, so I'll explain very specific things. For more information, you can visit the FreeBSD website itself.
In mid-2025 I started to become interested in cybersecurity, so I installed Debian Linux on my PC and learned the basics of Linux to use it; after a few months I heard about Void Linux and BSD systems, but Windows dual-booting would get angry when I tried to install another Linux that wasn't Debian-based... so I bought a Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen2 and installed Void Linux, but Void wasn't very comfortable for me... so I got bored and installed FreeBSD sometime in February 2026.
After that, i continue using FreeBSD, i be stock for a one or two months in user interface because i dont knows anything XDDDDD. At the moment i continue learn about FreeBSD, now i have a lo-level interest.
I currently use FreeBSD because I want to learn, and FreeBSD is great for learning about operating systems without the awkward moments like, "I don't have any software?" "Where do I start?" "What did I do?" "Where did I learn this?" "What's going o?". FreeBSD has excellent documentation on its man pages that describe much of FreeBSD, a manual that provides powerful tutorials, a mailing list with years and years of emails from the BSD community, including developers, a large community, and a GitHub repository that gives me great audited code when I'm learning the C language [30/08/206 i leave the C study because in few months i need to work and i need to know how to repair computers to liberate me of the oppressive work system and give time to bsd.]. I also have the software I want (which is actually quite small): Firefox, Telegram, CMUS, Wayland, Hikari, Armagetron.
I'm currently using Hikari with a fairly simple configuration; Hikari is a floating and tile window manager [Heyyy Hikari is designed with FreeBSD in mind.] that's entirely keyboard controlle. I found it quite easy to use since all I had to do was set the background, colors, and keyboard shortcuts I wanted. Its basic interface is very comfortable, and it implements some very useful features like window groups, which allow you to control multiple windows within a group of your choice. It also implements "sheets," which, to put it simply, is like stapling sheets of paper. You can have multiple staples in the same group. Everything is configured without compiling; it's quite lightweight and fast without sacrificing functionality. Like any window manager, it has nine desktops, so for most users, one screen is sufficient...
In my setup I use a palette of these colors which go with the backgrounds I made of Lain (the drawing is by Yoshitoshi ABe):
Besides being the colors I use, adding these lines to kitty.conf modifies the 256 colors I don't like so that CMUS can complement my background.
But that's just the user interface... if we go in, there's not much to customize on my FreeBSD; yes, I have a custom kernel, I have a pf configuration, an rc configuration and blah blah blah, these things aren't special because most things are ready-made and don't need to be modified.
Parameters that I can emphasize are:
As for Jails and bhyve, I don't use them for two reasons: I don't know how to implement Jails on Wayland, and at the moment I don't need to isolate processes. Also, when using bhyve, my Intel Iris without a dedicated GPU performs terribly when virtualizing something, not because of bhyve itself, since both programs are actually extremely lightweight and useful; other virtualizers would perform worse; it's simply my integrated GPU.
Yes, I have snapshots on ZFS, which is great; but I only have one disk, so I don't use even a part of ZFS i really want; but it's great, it works well, and it's super convenient. Like mos FreeBSD, ZFS is super smart, so you don't need much for a usefull PC in the most cases. Thanks, Sun Microsystems.
I want to learn about dtrace and ktrace, but I need to understand some other topics first...
If I had to recommend FreeBSD or BSD systems in general, I would recommend the following for those wanting to study a system: In FreeBSD and BSD, there's no "THIS IS THE NEW STANDARD" spam because in BSD, we don't need to keep up with Silicon Valley; you can learn a complete system with plenty of centralized documentation and base programs that just work, and you don't have to worry about whether there are alternatives [I'll post more reasons if I remember]. I would probably recommend FreeBSD if you want a really, really stable system. FreeBSD is rock solid, but you need to know the fundamentals or be open to new content. If you need a productive system with office software, social networking, and most basic uses that don't include gaming, why "productive"? Because if you use FreeBSD properly, FreeBSD doesn't break, it doesn't change too much, and it doesn't throw a lot of new topics at you to distract you. I also recommend FreeBSD if you're interested in all the features I mentioned before and want to develop software, as FreeBSD has everything you need for that. I do NOT recommend FreeBSD if you want to play games. Some interesting games work, like Armagetron or Cave Story, but the catalog is very small. I don't know if I would recommend FreeBSD for multimedia development; I know it's possible and some people do it, but I'm not sure. For servers, FreeBSD is one of my top choices. If you really want to use FreeBSD and need games or multimedia, you can virtualize with Bhyve. Bhyve is very lightweight and fast; it doesn't have all the specifications of VirtualBox or Qume (although you can use them), but the integration with FreeBSD is excellent. For a system like Arch Linux, Gentoo, or a simple system like Debian Linux, you won't have any problems, and it would be faster and lighter than VirtualBox, for example.
Days "August 2 2026" before "August 29 2026", I submitted a report to Bugzilla about a kernel panic I experience when using the "INVARIANTS" and "iNVARIANT_SUPPORT" kernel modules on my Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen2 i5 RTW8852AE. It's a minor issue, and at the time of this post, I still don't know what the heck is going on, but I am contributing to the project... hehe. The important thing is that I submitted a report, and it's a real bug, and the developer reads it and is working on it. I'm still very happy after all this time, and I think I'll continue to be happy.
The report is:
Hardware: Thinkpad l14 gen2 (i5)
Module: rtw8852AE
Options: INVARIANTS iNVARIANT_SUPPORT
I'm aware that another user has reported this problem, but I didn't see any entry about what the kernel returned to me, and it says "closed.
I tried adding the "INVARIANTS" and "INVARIANT_SUPPORT" options to my FreeBSD kernel, and what I got was a kernel panic with this message:
panic: Lock &wiphy->mtx not locked /usr/src/sys/kern/kern_sx.c:178
cpuid = 7
time = 1785616894
KDB: stack backtrace:
db_trace_self_wrapper() at 0xffffffff883f5c8b = db_trace_self_wrapper+0x2b/frame 0xfffffe01316217e0
vpanic() at 0xffffffff806576d6 = vpanic+0x136/frame 0xfffffe0131621918
panic() at 0xffffffff88657593 = panic+0x43/frame 0xfffffe0131621978
_sx_assert() at 0xffffffff8066208d = _sx_assert+0x11d/frame 0xfffffe0131621988
rtw89_ops_link_info_changed() at 0xffffffff8301233b = rtw89_ops_link_info_changed+0x3b/frame 0xfffffe01316219c0
1kpi_ic_vap_create() at 0xffffffff888b2eба = 1kpi_ic_vap_create+0xa2a/frame 0xfffffe0131621a50
wlan_clone_create() at 0xffffffff887d6e5d = wlan_clone_create+0xed/frame 0xfffffe0131621aa0
if_clone_createif_nl() at 0xffffffff88793e36 = if_clone_createif_nl+0x166/frame 0xfffffe0131621b18
ifc_create_ifp() at 0xffffffff88793cb2 = ifc_create_ifp+8x182/frame 0xfffffe0131621b88
if_clone_create() at 0xffffffff887948d4 = if_clone_create+0x34/frame 0xfffffe0131621bd0
ifioctl() at 0xffffffff887900c8 = ifioctl+0xc18/frame 0xfffffe0131621cd0
kern_ioctl() at 0xffffffff886ccb71 = kern_ioct1+0x2a1/frame 0xfffffe0131621d48
sys_loctl() at 0xffffffff886cc863 = sys_ioct1+0x133/frame 0xfffffe0131621e00 amd64_syscall() at 0xffffffff88a39299 = amd64_syscall+0x169/frame 0xfffffe0131621f30
fast_syscall_common() at 0xffffffff80a0dd9b = fast_syscall_common+8xf8/frame 0xfffffe0131621f30
syscall (54, FreeBSD ELF64, ioctl), rip = 0xf58e8d6926a, rsp = 0xf58e2284e98, rbp = 0xf58e2284ee0
KDB: enter: panic
[ thread pid 355 tid 180941 ]
Stopped at
0xffffffff886a4a43 = kdb_enter+0x33: movq
$0, 0xa6b3c2(Zrip)
db>
In addition, apparently because of this same issue with MTX, I occasionally experience DNS resolution problems, forcing me to perform a "service netif restart".
yeah i dont know exactly why this happens, but if you use FreeBSD and have a errors on unsuported device, pls active debbugers options on your kernel, especially ktrace, dtrace and the options that complement they;Huh? Why would you do that? It's not mandatory, but you can contribute to a project. If you use FreeBSD, I assume you want a useful system and to understand it, so you can contribute. Developing an operating system is very difficult, and they don't have the capital for everything they want. On the other hand, you don't need to know much about the subject. If you have any doubts, you can take a screenshot and use AI to understand the basics and assess whether the post is relevant.