![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/FreeBSD_13.0_boot_loader_screenshot.png/640px-FreeBSD_13.0_boot_loader_screenshot.png&w=640&q=50)
FreeBSD
Free and open-source Unix-like operating system / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about FreeBSD kernel?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
FreeBSD is a free and open-source Unix-like operating system descended from the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD). The first version of FreeBSD was released in 1993 developed from 386BSD[3] and the current version runs on IA-32, x86-64, ARM, PowerPC and RISC-V processors. The project is supported and promoted by the FreeBSD Foundation.
![]() | |
![]() FreeBSD 13.0 bootloader with ASCII art logo | |
Developer | The FreeBSD Project |
---|---|
OS family | Unix-like (BSD) |
Working state | Current |
Source model | Open source |
Initial release | 1 November 1993; 30 years ago (1993-11-01) |
Latest release | 14.1 (4 June 2024; 30 days ago (2024-06-04)) [±][1] 13.3 (5 March 2024; 3 months ago (2024-03-05)) [±][2] |
Repository | |
Marketing target | Servers, workstations, embedded systems, network firewalls |
Package manager | pkg |
Platforms | IA-32, x86-64, ARM64, ARM32, IA-32, PowerPC, RISC-V |
Kernel type | Monolithic with dynamically loadable modules |
Userland | BSD |
Default user interface | Unix shells: sh or tcsh (user-selectable) |
License | FreeBSD License, FreeBSD Documentation License |
Official website | www |
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 like GNU for system software.[4] The FreeBSD source code is generally released under a permissive BSD license, as opposed to the copyleft GPL used by Linux.
The FreeBSD project includes a security team overseeing all software shipped in the base distribution. A wide range of additional third-party applications may be installed from binary packages using the pkg package management system or from source via FreeBSD Ports,[5] or by manually compiling source code.
As of 2005, FreeBSD was the most popular open-source BSD operating system, accounting for more than three-quarters of all installed and permissively licensed BSD systems.[6] 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[7][8] and PlayStation 4[9] game consoles. The other BSD systems (OpenBSD, NetBSD, and DragonFly BSD) also contain a large amount of FreeBSD code, and vice-versa.[citation needed]