The newest standing report from the FreeBSD Undertaking says no due to code generated by LLM-based assistants.
The FreeBSD Undertaking’s Standing Report for the second quarter of 2025 comprises updates from varied sub-teams which are engaged on bettering the FreeBSD OS, together with separate sub-projects equivalent to enabling FreeBSD apps to run on Linux, Chinese language translation efforts, assist for Solaris-style Prolonged Attributes, and for Apple’s legacy HFS+ file system.
The factor that stood out to us, although, was that the core staff is engaged on what it phrases a “Coverage on generative AI created code and documentation.” The related paragraph says:
In different phrases, there isn’t any formal coverage but, however the staff is engaged on one and can add it to the Contributors Information documentation repository.
We suspect that some readers might really feel prefer it’s a bit of late, however if you happen to’ll forgive us for reminding you, the present generative AI increase will not be but three years previous. Initially of December 2022, The Register talked about the launch of ChatGPT, calling it one other AI to fill the world with kinda-true stuff. The increase actually obtained moving into 2023.
Traditionally, the BSDs are comparatively slow-moving tasks in comparison with the rolling corporate-sponsored frenzy of Linux growth. FreeBSD 14.0 solely appeared a few 12 months after ChatGPT. FreeBSD 15.0 is scheduled for later this 12 months.
This transfer seems to be to align with the NetBSD tips – FreeBSD’s roughly six-month-older sibling – and in addition these of Gentoo Linux, as we reported in Could 2024. On the time, we went into some depth in regards to the issues and points round LLM assistants.
Our present place on this may be represented by the phrase “memento mori” – “keep in mind, you’ll die too.” AI winter is coming.
There’s numerous different excellent news within the standing report, though none of it headline. Assist for sooner Wi-Fi requirements is coming. So is improved graphics, sound, and energy administration assist.
The pkgbase effort is continuous. Till now, the FreeBSD base system was put in within the type of a number of package deal units utilizing a software referred to as bsdinstall, and subsequently up to date utilizing the freebsd-update command. Extra software program is dealt with in discrete packages, in a manner acquainted to most Linux of us, however they’re layered on high and put in and up to date with the separate pkg command. Now an effort is underway to restructure the majority of the OS into packages that may be dealt with by pkg. That is inflicting consternation to some folks used to the previous manner – as an illustration, this anguished message from well-known FreeBSD blogger (and occasional Reg commenter) Vermaden.
Different tasks talked about within the report embody Solaris-style prolonged file system attributes, assist for Apple’s HFS+ file system, a Proxmox-style web-based GUI for Bhyve virtualization referred to as Sylve, and BSD-USER 4 LINUX, a software that lets Linux customers run FreeBSD binaries through QEMU, without having root permissions. The geomman effort goals to deliver a GParted-style dynamic disk administration GUI to FreeBSD. Different ongoing efforts contain neighborhood outreach in China, together with bettering the Chinese language FreeBSD documentation – which we notice features a translation of the basic UNIX-HATERS Handbook [PDF], which The Reg FOSS desk extremely recommends studying.
The sentence “Netcraft confirms it: BSD is dying” is likely one of the longest-standing jokes within the BSD world. It was already previous in 2011 when @jedisct1 tweeted it and we suspect it is about as previous because the 31-year-old Netcraft itself. (The gag again then being that FreeBSD had simply topped Netcraft’s reliability chart.) It wasn’t then and it is not now. In case you are sick of systemd, it is extra worthy of a glance than ever. ®
The newest standing report from the FreeBSD Undertaking says no due to code generated by LLM-based assistants.
The FreeBSD Undertaking’s Standing Report for the second quarter of 2025 comprises updates from varied sub-teams which are engaged on bettering the FreeBSD OS, together with separate sub-projects equivalent to enabling FreeBSD apps to run on Linux, Chinese language translation efforts, assist for Solaris-style Prolonged Attributes, and for Apple’s legacy HFS+ file system.
The factor that stood out to us, although, was that the core staff is engaged on what it phrases a “Coverage on generative AI created code and documentation.” The related paragraph says:
In different phrases, there isn’t any formal coverage but, however the staff is engaged on one and can add it to the Contributors Information documentation repository.
We suspect that some readers might really feel prefer it’s a bit of late, however if you happen to’ll forgive us for reminding you, the present generative AI increase will not be but three years previous. Initially of December 2022, The Register talked about the launch of ChatGPT, calling it one other AI to fill the world with kinda-true stuff. The increase actually obtained moving into 2023.
Traditionally, the BSDs are comparatively slow-moving tasks in comparison with the rolling corporate-sponsored frenzy of Linux growth. FreeBSD 14.0 solely appeared a few 12 months after ChatGPT. FreeBSD 15.0 is scheduled for later this 12 months.
This transfer seems to be to align with the NetBSD tips – FreeBSD’s roughly six-month-older sibling – and in addition these of Gentoo Linux, as we reported in Could 2024. On the time, we went into some depth in regards to the issues and points round LLM assistants.
Our present place on this may be represented by the phrase “memento mori” – “keep in mind, you’ll die too.” AI winter is coming.
There’s numerous different excellent news within the standing report, though none of it headline. Assist for sooner Wi-Fi requirements is coming. So is improved graphics, sound, and energy administration assist.
The pkgbase effort is continuous. Till now, the FreeBSD base system was put in within the type of a number of package deal units utilizing a software referred to as bsdinstall, and subsequently up to date utilizing the freebsd-update command. Extra software program is dealt with in discrete packages, in a manner acquainted to most Linux of us, however they’re layered on high and put in and up to date with the separate pkg command. Now an effort is underway to restructure the majority of the OS into packages that may be dealt with by pkg. That is inflicting consternation to some folks used to the previous manner – as an illustration, this anguished message from well-known FreeBSD blogger (and occasional Reg commenter) Vermaden.
Different tasks talked about within the report embody Solaris-style prolonged file system attributes, assist for Apple’s HFS+ file system, a Proxmox-style web-based GUI for Bhyve virtualization referred to as Sylve, and BSD-USER 4 LINUX, a software that lets Linux customers run FreeBSD binaries through QEMU, without having root permissions. The geomman effort goals to deliver a GParted-style dynamic disk administration GUI to FreeBSD. Different ongoing efforts contain neighborhood outreach in China, together with bettering the Chinese language FreeBSD documentation – which we notice features a translation of the basic UNIX-HATERS Handbook [PDF], which The Reg FOSS desk extremely recommends studying.
The sentence “Netcraft confirms it: BSD is dying” is likely one of the longest-standing jokes within the BSD world. It was already previous in 2011 when @jedisct1 tweeted it and we suspect it is about as previous because the 31-year-old Netcraft itself. (The gag again then being that FreeBSD had simply topped Netcraft’s reliability chart.) It wasn’t then and it is not now. In case you are sick of systemd, it is extra worthy of a glance than ever. ®
