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Upgrading FreeBSD 15.0-STABLE to 15.1-BETA2 (PKGBASE system)

Recently, an article about upgrading the FreeBSD 15.0-STABLE system to the 15.1-BETA2 version has been posted, because the PKGBASE system installations of FreeBSD are still in experimental stages. One of the biggest missing features is the ability to reliably upgrade the FreeBSD system to newer versions, such as from 15.0 to 15.1.

The release engineering team stated that this part was overlooked, and that they were working on it for PKGBASE systems. A solution has then been posted in the linked article, as discovered by vermaden, involving ZFS boot environments for those who are using ZFS on their FreeBSD installation.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2026/05/10/freebsd-pkgbase-minor-upgrades/

The solution above involved ZFS boot environments, administered by the beadm tool. The older freebsd-update tool had the ability to upgrade your FreeBSD installation to new minor releases, but the PKGBASE world didn’t benefit from this convenience. Therefore, we have adapted the solution to use the commands similar to what was listed in this message posted to the mailing list.

WARNING: Before you attempt to do this, please make sure that you take a complete backup of your system, in case something goes wrong during the upgrade. The steps were done on a test machine where no crucial data was stored, therefore, no ZFS snapshots or boot environments were made, so please proceed at your own risk. Beta software is unstable and may contain more bugs than the final version.

First of all, you’ll have to either use sudo or to log in as root. In this article, we have chosen sudo as it not only runs a single command as a super user, but it’s also a good practice in general to avoid logging in as root for everyday activities.

After that, make sure that pkg is up to date before you continue. You’ll need to run sudo pkg upgrade pkg to upgrade the package manager itself.

Once the upgrade of the package manager succeeds, run the below command to upgrade all packages from the FreeBSD-ports-kmods repository catalog.

 aptivi@apt-freebsd-01:~ $ sudo pkg -o ABI=FreeBSD:15:$(sysctl -n hw.machine_arch) -o OSVERSION=1501000 upgrade -yr FreeBSD-ports-kmods  Password:  Updating FreeBSD-ports-kmods repository catalogue...  pkg: Repository FreeBSD-ports-kmods has a wrong packagesite, need to re-create database  Fetching meta.conf: 100%     179 B   0.2 kB/s    00:01  Fetching data: 100%    36 KiB  36.4 kB/s    00:01  Processing entries: 100%  FreeBSD-ports-kmods repository update completed. 239 packages processed.  FreeBSD-ports-kmods is up to date.  Checking for upgrades (0 candidates): 100%  Processing candidates (0 candidates): 100%  Checking integrity... done (0 conflicting)  Your packages are up to date. 

Please note that we have added the following switches:

• -o ABI=FreeBSD:15:$(sysctl -n hw.machine_arch): Specifies the FreeBSD ABI version and architecture. (Before upgrade)
• -o OSVERSION=1501000: Specifies the explicit operating system version ID (for example, 1501000 resolves to FreeBSD 15.1) (Very important, before upgrade)
• -y: Runs the upgrade automatically (After upgrade)
• -r FreeBSD-ports-kmods: Specifies the repository catalog name (Very important, After upgrade)

After the package upgrades from the above repository catalog succeed, it’s time to upgrade the base system. The output below is truncated because it was very long as all packages needed to be upgraded to 15.1.b2 from 15.0.

 aptivi@apt-freebsd-01:~ $ sudo pkg -o ABI=FreeBSD:15:$(sysctl -n hw.machine_arch) -o OSVERSION=1501000 upgrade -yr FreeBSD-base  Updating FreeBSD-base repository catalogue...  pkg: Repository FreeBSD-base has a wrong packagesite, need to re-create database  Fetching meta.conf: 100%     179 B   0.2 kB/s    00:01  Fetching data: 100%    82 KiB  84.4 kB/s    00:01  Processing entries: 100%  FreeBSD-base repository update completed. 509 packages processed.  FreeBSD-base is up to date.  Checking for upgrades (208 candidates): 100%  Processing candidates (208 candidates): 100%  The following 214 package(s) will be affected (of 0 checked):   New packages to be INSTALLED:          FreeBSD-pam: 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-pam-dev: 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-pam-lib: 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-zstd: 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-zstd-dev: 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-zstd-lib: 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]   Installed packages to be UPGRADED:          FreeBSD-acct: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-acpi: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-apm: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-at: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-atf: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-atf-dev: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-atf-lib: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-audit: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-audit-dev: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-audit-lib: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-autofs: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-bhyve: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-blocklist: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-blocklist-dev: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-bluetooth: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-bluetooth-dev: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-bluetooth-lib: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-bmake: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-bootloader: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-bootloader-dev: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-bsdconfig: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]          FreeBSD-bsdinstall: 15.0 -> 15.1.b2.20260508031850 [FreeBSD-base]  [...]  [206/218] Extracting FreeBSD-ssh-dev-15.1.b2.20260508031850: 100%  [207/218] Upgrading FreeBSD-syscons-data from 15.0 to 15.1.b2.20260508031850...  [207/218] Extracting FreeBSD-syscons-data-15.1.b2.20260508031850: 100%  [208/218] Upgrading FreeBSD-tcpd from 15.0 to 15.1.b2.20260508031850...  [208/218] Extracting FreeBSD-tcpd-15.1.b2.20260508031850: 100%  [209/218] Upgrading FreeBSD-tcpd-dev from 15.0 to 15.1.b2.20260508031850...  [209/218] Extracting FreeBSD-tcpd-dev-15.1.b2.20260508031850: 100%  [210/218] Upgrading FreeBSD-telnet from 15.0 to 15.1.b2.20260508031850...  [210/218] Extracting FreeBSD-telnet-15.1.b2.20260508031850: 100%  [211/218] Upgrading FreeBSD-xz from 15.0 to 15.1.b2.20260508031850...  [211/218] Extracting FreeBSD-xz-15.1.b2.20260508031850: 100%  [212/218] Upgrading FreeBSD-xz-dev from 15.0 to 15.1.b2.20260508031850...  [212/218] Extracting FreeBSD-xz-dev-15.1.b2.20260508031850: 100%  [213/218] Installing FreeBSD-set-devel-15.1.b2.20260508031850...  [214/218] Upgrading FreeBSD-xz-lib from 15.0 to 15.1.b2.20260508031850...  [214/218] Extracting FreeBSD-xz-lib-15.1.b2.20260508031850: 100%  [215/218] Upgrading FreeBSD-set-minimal from 15.0 to 15.1.b2.20260508031850...  [216/218] Upgrading FreeBSD-yp from 15.0 to 15.1.b2.20260508031850...  [216/218] Extracting FreeBSD-yp-15.1.b2.20260508031850: 100%  [217/218] Installing FreeBSD-set-optional-15.1.b2.20260508031850...  [218/218] Installing FreeBSD-set-base-15.1.b2.20260508031850...  ==> Running trigger: mandoc.ucl  Generating apropos(1) database for /usr/share/man...  Generating apropos(1) database for /usr/share/openssl/man...  =====  Message from FreeBSD-local-unbound-15.1.b2.20260508031850:   --  After upgrading local-unbound, the configuration file should be regenerated  by running "service local_unbound setup" before restarting the service.  aptivi@apt-freebsd-01:~ $ 

One last step is to examine and update the UEFI bootblock, assuming that the FreeBSD system is using UEFI as the boot method. Let’s confirm that the bootloader files have been updated in the /boot directory.

 aptivi@apt-freebsd-01:~ $ ls -l /boot/*.efi  -r-xr-xr-x  1 root wheel 158720 May  8 03:00 /boot/boot1.efi  -r-xr-xr-x  1 root wheel 109568 May  8 03:00 /boot/gptboot.efi  -r-xr-xr-x  2 root wheel 665600 May  8 03:00 /boot/loader.efi  -r--r--r--  1 root wheel  13653 May  8 03:00 /boot/loader.help.efi  -r-xr-xr-x  1 root wheel 580608 May  8 03:00 /boot/loader_4th.efi  -r-xr-xr-x  1 root wheel 622080 May  8 03:00 /boot/loader_ia32.efi  -r-xr-xr-x  2 root wheel 665600 May  8 03:00 /boot/loader_lua.efi  -r-xr-xr-x  1 root wheel 521728 May  8 03:00 /boot/loader_simp.efi  aptivi@apt-freebsd-01:~ $ ls -l /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/  total 656  -rwxr-xr-x  1 root wheel 665088 May  5 15:24 BOOTX64.EFI 

Now, we have the updated bootloader files, but the changes didn’t reflect in the ESP partition. So, we’ll need to manually copy the /boot/loader.efi file to overwrite /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI, assuming that the ESP partition is automatically mounted via /etc/fstab (or manually sudo mount -t msdosfs /dev/da0p4 /mnt, assuming that da0p4 is the ESP partition) to /boot/efi. You can refer to our past article for more info.

Execute the below commands:

 aptivi@apt-freebsd-01:~ $ sudo cp /boot/loader.efi /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI  Password:  aptivi@apt-freebsd-01:~ $ ls -l /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/  total 656  -rwxr-xr-x  1 root wheel 665600 May 10 21:51 BOOTX64.EFI 

Verify that the updated BOOTX64.EFI file has been copied to the ESP.

Once done, reboot the system using sudo reboot.

After that, verify that you’re running FreeBSD 15.1-BETA2:

 aptivi@apt-freebsd-01:~ $ uname -a  FreeBSD apt-freebsd-01 15.1-BETA2 FreeBSD 15.1-BETA2 releng/15.1-n283486-b3f9be4f9437 GENERIC amd64 

…compared to what we had earlier.

 aptivi@apt-freebsd-01:~ $ uname -a  FreeBSD apt-freebsd-01 15.0-RELEASE FreeBSD 15.0-RELEASE releng/15.0-n280995-7aedc8de6446 GENERIC amd64 

Now, we’re running FreeBSD 15.1 Beta 2! Make sure that pkg is able to install packages afterwards. For example, we’ll install the rsync program in the upgraded system:

 aptivi@apt-freebsd-01:~ $ sudo pkg install rsync  Updating FreeBSD-ports repository catalogue...  FreeBSD-ports repository is up to date.  Updating FreeBSD-ports-kmods repository catalogue...  FreeBSD-ports-kmods repository is up to date.  Updating FreeBSD-base repository catalogue...  FreeBSD-base repository is up to date.  All repositories are up to date.  The following 5 package(s) will be affected (of 0 checked):   New packages to be INSTALLED:          libiconv: 1.18_1 [FreeBSD-ports]          liblz4: 1.10.0_2,1 [FreeBSD-ports]          rsync: 3.4.1_6 [FreeBSD-ports]          xxhash: 0.8.3 [FreeBSD-ports]          zstd: 1.5.7_1 [FreeBSD-ports]   Number of packages to be installed: 5   The process will require 8 MiB more space.  2 MiB to be downloaded.   Proceed with this action? [y/N]: y  [1/5] Fetching libiconv-1.18_1: 100%   741 KiB 252.8 kB/s    00:03  [2/5] Fetching xxhash-0.8.3: 100%   103 KiB 105.4 kB/s    00:01  [3/5] Fetching rsync-3.4.1_6: 100%   396 KiB 202.5 kB/s    00:02  [4/5] Fetching liblz4-1.10.0_2,1: 100%   178 KiB 182.5 kB/s    00:01  [5/5] Fetching zstd-1.5.7_1: 100%   509 KiB 520.9 kB/s    00:01  Checking integrity... done (0 conflicting)  [1/5] Installing libiconv-1.18_1...  [1/5] Extracting libiconv-1.18_1: 100%  [2/5] Installing liblz4-1.10.0_2,1...  [2/5] Extracting liblz4-1.10.0_2,1: 100%  [3/5] Installing xxhash-0.8.3...  [3/5] Extracting xxhash-0.8.3: 100%  [4/5] Installing zstd-1.5.7_1...  [4/5] Extracting zstd-1.5.7_1: 100%  [5/5] Installing rsync-3.4.1_6...  [5/5] Extracting rsync-3.4.1_6: 100% 

SpecProbe 3.8.1 is now available for FreeBSD support

As we have completed our initial implementation of the platform support for FreeBSD in SpecProbe, we have finished our implementation of the initial hardware support for FreeBSD in the library.

SpecProbe v3.8.1 is now available to download from NuGet! This version of SpecProbe focuses explicitly on adding initial support for FreeBSD systems, which provides both software platform and hardware parsing support for this platform.

SpecProbe’s implementation for FreeBSD’s code path relies on common tools that were used to get system information, such as a list of connected hardware drives, which is fetched mostly from gpart(8) and sysctl(8).

You can find more information about this release here.

🚧 Ah, FreeBSD 15's new "bridging" act—brought to you by the same innovators who think deprecating features without a plan is a cool party trick. 🎩 VLAN support? Check. Confusing sysctls? Check. Of course, they graciously leave future headaches to sort out the whole router-on-a-stick mess. 🎉✨
https://blog.feld.me/posts/2026/02/using-new-bridges-freebsd-15/ #FreeBSD15 #Bridging #VLANs #Sysctls #Innovation #Networking #HackerNews #ngated

Installed and running FreeBSD 15p1 on a Thinkpad X200. Was concerned about it being just a core 2 duo and equipped only with 4GB RAM. But to my delight it is actually quite usable for typical mild use. XFCE Desktop. Even Firefox runs ok. Just 5GB of 256GB SSD used. 👍️ 😊
#freebsd #freebsd15 #x200 #thinkpad

Learn how to configure and enable SSH on FreeBSD 15 to access it from other remote systems on the network.

Step-by-Step: https://ostechnix.com/how-to-enable-ssh-on-freebsd/

#Freebsd15 #BSD #Unix #SSH #SecureShell

#freeBSD15 #RC4-p1

FreeBSD testing is in our backlog

Since the start of FreeBSD 15.0 alpha, we’ve decided to handle the release of future testing builds, along with some of the FreeBSD news, such as end of life, updates, and other newsworthy details. Today, we’re excited to tell you that the FreeBSD testing plans are in our internal backlog.

FreeBSD is an open-source Unix-like operating system that is the most popular BSD-based software distribution. It maintains a complete operating system with the kernel that handles all hardware and its drivers, along with userland utilities and documentation. Since then, it has been updated to support modern hardware, along with many current applications, to make the operating system more powerful.

Just recently, FreeBSD 15.0 has started working on the PKGBASE based installations, which utilizes packages to form the basic system and kernel, along with some of the most common utilities. Those installations achieve the same thing as the classic method of the installation, but with packages.

Because of this development, we’ll add FreeBSD testing plans to our backlog and, hopefully, provide you with our journey of FreeBSD installations and tests, even if this means dealing with bleeding edge releases. After that, our blog will be populated with many articles about FreeBSD.

#FreeBSD #FreeBSD15 #FreeBSD150 #news #Tech #Technology #update