Login
Login

GhostBSD

{{short description|Unix-like operating system}}

{{Infobox OS

|name = GhostBSD

|logo =

|screenshot = GhostBSD 18.10 MATE screenshot.png

|caption = GhostBSD 18.10 (October 2018) with MATE

|developer = Eric Turgeon and GhostBSD Team

|family = Unix-like (BSD)

|working state = Current

|source model = Open source

| latest release version = 24.07.3

| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2024|09|12}}

|latest preview version =

|latest preview date =

|supported platforms = amd64

|kernel type = Monolithic FreeBSD kernel

|ui = MATE and Xfce

|license = FreeBSD license

|website = {{URL|https://www.ghostbsd.org/}}

}}

GhostBSD is a Unix-like operating system based on FreeBSD for x86-64, with MATE (previously GNOME) as its default desktop environment and an Xfce-desktop community based edition. It aims to be easy to install, ready-to-use and easy to use. The project goal is to combine security, privacy, stability, usability, openness, freedom and to be free of charge.

History

Prior to GhostBSD 18.10, the project was based on FreeBSD. In May 2018 it was announced that future versions of the operating system would be based on TrueOS.{{Cite web |url=https://ghostbsd.org/GhostBSD_is_switching_its_system_base |title=GhostBSD is switching its system base {{!}} GhostBSD |access-date=2018-08-11 |archive-date=2021-12-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231161917/https://ghostbsd.org/GhostBSD_is_switching_its_system_base |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |last=Salter |first=Jim |date=2020-04-13 |title=Not actually Linux distro review deux: GhostBSD |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/04/not-actually-linux-distro-review-deux-ghostbsd/ |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-US}} In 2020, with the discontinuation of TrueOS, GhostBSD switched back to FreeBSD.{{Cite web |last=Cao |date=2020-05-19 |title=TrueOS has been discontinued |url=https://www.freebsdnews.com/2020/05/19/trueos-has-been-discontinued/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410014632/https://www.freebsdnews.com/2020/05/19/trueos-has-been-discontinued/ | archive-date=2022-04-10|access-date=2021-01-11 |website=FreeBSDNews.com |language=en-US}}

Version history

= FreeBSD based releases (1.0 - 11.1) =

class="wikitable"

! GhostBSD version !! Release date !! FreeBSD version !! Desktop environments !! Changes

1.0[https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20100705#feature DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 361, 5 July 2010]March 20108.0GNOME 2.28First general availability release{{cite web |url=http://www.ghostbsd.org/73/ghostbsd-1-0-news/ |title=GhostBSD 1.0 Release. Go Green! |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316140733/http://www.ghostbsd.org/73/ghostbsd-1-0-news/ |archivedate=2010-03-16}}
1.5{{Dunno}}8.1GNOME 2.30Introduced Compiz support. (This version was also distributed with the January 2011 issue of the German magazine freeX, which also featured an article about the new OS.)
2.0March 13, 20118.2{{Dunno}}Improvements to GDM et al.
2.5[https://linuxbsdos.com/2012/02/02/ghostbsd-2-5-review/ GhostBSD 2.5 review | LinuxBSDos.com][https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20120213#feature DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 443, 13 February 2012]January 24, 20129.0{{Dunno}}Choice of preconfigured GNOME or LXDE desktop{{cite web |last=Sanchez |first=Nahuel |title=GhostBSD 2.5 finally here! |url=http://ghostbsd.org/category/news/ |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131032538/http://ghostbsd.org/category/news/ |archivedate=2012-01-31 |publisher=Ghostbsd.org |accessdate=January 31, 2013}}
3.0March 10, 20139.1{{Dunno}}The last release to deploy the GNOME 2 desktop environment
3.1June 28, 2013{{Dunno}}{{Dunno}}A point release primarily to fix bugs
3.5[https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20131125#feature DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 535, 25 November 2013]November 7, 2013{{Dunno}}{{Unbulleted list|MATE 1.6|Xfce 4.10}}LibreOffice exchanged for Apache OpenOffice 4.{{cite web |url=http://www.ghostbsd.org/newsletter/3.5_RELEASE |title=GhostBSD 3.5 "Levi" Released - GhostBSD |access-date=2013-11-10 |archive-date=2013-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109103229/http://www.ghostbsd.org/newsletter/3.5_RELEASE |url-status=dead }}
4.0[https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20141027#feature DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 582, 27 October 2014]October 4, 201410.0{{Dunno}}Various new features{{cite web |url=http://www.ghostbsd.org/4.0-release |title=GhostBSD 4.0-RELEASE Karine finally ready - GhostBSD |access-date=2014-11-13 |archive-date=2014-10-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141005070652/http://www.ghostbsd.org/4.0-release |url-status=dead }}
10.1[https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20151026#ghostbsd DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 633, 26 October 2015]September 13, 201510.1{{Dunno}}Software additions{{cite web |url=http://ghostbsd.org/10.1_release_eve |title=GhostBSD 10.1 Finally Available - GhostBSD |access-date=2015-09-13 |archive-date=2015-09-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915000149/http://ghostbsd.org/10.1_release_eve |url-status=dead }}
10.3August 31, 201610.3{{Dunno}}ZFS support, UEFI support, ...{{cite web |url=http://ghostbsd.org/10.3_enoch |title=GhostBSD 10.3 Enoch Finally Available - GhostBSD |access-date=2016-09-05 |archive-date=2016-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160903062315/http://ghostbsd.org/10.3_enoch |url-status=dead }}
11.1[https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20180108#ghostbsd DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 745, 8 January 2018]

|November 16, 2017

|11.1

|MATE 1.18

Xfce 4.12

|GhostBSD Software repositories, dropped i386 support, WhiskerMenu as default menu (Xfce){{Cite web |url=http://www.ghostbsd.org/11.1_release_announcement |title=GhostBSD 11.1 Finally Ready and Available! {{!}} GhostBSD |website=www.ghostbsd.org |language=en |access-date=2017-11-29 |archive-date=2017-11-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118204749/http://www.ghostbsd.org/11.1_release_announcement |url-status=dead }}

= TrueOS-based releases (18.10 - 21.01.20) =

From GhostBSD 18.10 to 21.01.20, the project moved its base from FreeBSD to TrueOS. Following are TrueOS-based GhostBSD releases.

class="wikitable"

! GhostBSD version

! Release Date

! Desktop Environment

! Changes

18.10{{Cite web |title=GhostBSD 18.10 setzt auf TrueOS |url=https://www.pro-linux.de/news/1/26457/ghostbsd-1810-setzt-auf-trueos.html |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=Pro-Linux |language=de}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.ghostbsd.org/18.10_release_announcement |title=GhostBSD 18.10 Now Available {{!}} GhostBSD |website=www.ghostbsd.org |language=en |access-date=2018-11-03 |archive-date=2018-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103131234/https://www.ghostbsd.org/18.10_release_announcement |url-status=dead }}

| November 1, 2018

| MATE 1.20

| First release based on TrueOS

19.04{{Cite web |url=http://ghostbsd.org/19.04_release_announcement |title=GhostBSD 19.04 Now Available {{!}} GhostBSD |website=www.ghostbsd.org |language=en |access-date=2019-04-18 |archive-date=2019-04-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415112624/http://ghostbsd.org/19.04_release_announcement |url-status=dead }}

| April 13, 2019

| MATE 1.22 and XFCE

|

19.09{{Cite web |url=https://www.ghostbsd.org/19.09_release_announcement |title=GhostBSD 19.09 Now Available {{!}} GhostBSD |website=www.ghostbsd.org |access-date=2019-09-19 |archive-date=2019-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920015311/http://www.ghostbsd.org/19.09_release_announcement |url-status=dead }}

| September 16, 2019

| rowspan="4" |MATE and Xfce

| Moved from TrueOS CURRENT to STABLE

19.10{{Cite web |url=https://ghostbsd.org/19.10_release_announcement |title=GhostBSD 19.10 Now Available {{!}} GhostBSD |website=www.ghostbsd.org |access-date=2019-12-29 |archive-date=2019-12-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230013420/https://ghostbsd.org/19.10_release_announcement |url-status=dead }}

| October 26, 2019

|

20.01{{Cite web |url=https://ghostbsd.org/20.01_release_announcement |title=GhostBSD 20.01 Now Available {{!}} GhostBSD |website=www.ghostbsd.org |access-date=2020-01-22 |archive-date=2020-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122211437/https://ghostbsd.org/20.01_release_announcement |url-status=dead }}

| January 22, 2020

|

20.03

| March 31, 2020

|

20.04{{Cite web |url=https://ghostbsd.org/20.08.04_release_announcement |title=GhostBSD 20.08.04 Now Available {{!}} GhostBSD |website=www.ghostbsd.org |access-date=2020-08-12 |archive-date=2020-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812162654/http://www.ghostbsd.org/20.08.04_release_announcement |url-status=dead }}

| August 10, 2020

| MATE 1.24 and Xfce

|

21.01.20{{Cite web |url=https://www.ghostbsd.org/21.01.20_release_notes |title=GhostBSD 21.01.20 release note {{!}} GhostBSD |website=www.ghostbsd.org |access-date=2021-04-02 |archive-date=2021-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420070243/http://ghostbsd.org/21.01.20_release_notes |url-status=dead }}

| January 23, 2021

|

|

= FreeBSD based releases (21.04.27 - present) =

Beginning from GhostBSD 21.04.27, the project has moved its base back to FreeBSD.

class="wikitable"

! GhostBSD version

! Release Date

! Desktop Environment

! Changes

21.04.27

| April 29, 2021

|

| GhostBSD is now based on FreeBSD 13.0-STABLE

21.5.11{{Cite web |url=https://www.ghostbsd.org/GhostBSD_21.05.11_ISO_now_available |title=GhostBSD 21.05.11 ISO now available |access-date=2021-09-08 |archive-date=2021-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908064917/https://www.ghostbsd.org/GhostBSD_21.05.11_ISO_now_available |url-status=dead }}

| May 11, 2021

|

|

21.09.06{{Cite web |url=https://www.ghostbsd.org/ghostbsd_21.09.06_iso_now_available |title=GhostBSD 21.09.06 ISO's now available |access-date=2021-09-08 |archive-date=2021-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908064917/https://www.ghostbsd.org/ghostbsd_21.09.06_iso_now_available |url-status=dead }}

| September 7, 2021

|

| Switch from OpenRC to FreeBSD rc.d

21.09.08{{Cite web |url=https://www.ghostbsd.org/ghostbsd_21.09.08_iso_now_available |title=Quick fix GhostBSD 21.09.08 ISO now available |access-date=2021-09-09 |archive-date=2021-09-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909105152/https://www.ghostbsd.org/ghostbsd_21.09.08_iso_now_available |url-status=dead }}

| September 9, 2021

|

22.06.15

| June 18, 2022

|

|

22.06.18{{Cite web|url=https://www.ghostbsd.org/22.06.18_iso_is_now_available|title="GhostBSD 22.06.18 Released"}}

| June 20, 2022

|

|

23.06.01

| June 5, 2023

|

|

23.10.01{{Cite web |url=https://www.ghostbsd.org/news/GhostBSD_23.10.1_Now_Available |title=GhostBSD 23.10.1 Now Available|access-date=2023-11-03}}

| October 28, 2023

| MATE 1.26.0

|

24.01.01

| February 13, 2024

|

| Based on FreeBSD 14.0-STABLE

24.04.1{{cite web |title=GhostBSD 24.04.1 Is Now Available |url=https://www.ghostbsd.org/news/GhostBSD_24.04.1_Is_Now_Available |website=ghostbsd.org |publisher=ghostbsd.org |access-date=20 July 2024}}

| May 20, 2024

| MATE 1.28.1

| Based on FreeBSD 14.0-STABLE

License

GhostBSD was originally licensed under the 3-clause BSD license ("Revised BSD License", "New BSD License", or "Modified BSD License")

In 2014 Eric Turgeon re-licensed GhostBSD under 2-clause license ("Simplified BSD License" or "FreeBSD License"). GhostBSD contains some GPL-licensed software.

Recommended system requirements

The following are the recommended requirements.

  • 2 GHz dual core Intel/ARM 64-bit processor [https://ghostbsd-documentation-portal.readthedocs.io/en/latest/user/installation-guide/getting-started.html#system-requirements]
  • 4 GB of RAM
  • 15 GB of free hard drive space
  • Network access

Reception

Jim Salter of Ars Technica concluded that GhostBSD was "... perfectly reasonable choice for a desktop distribution." However, Google Chrome support was unlikely to come anytime soon. Without a specific desire for running BSD he wouldn't recommend the operating system instead of a more mainstream Linux distribution.{{Cite web |last=Salter |first=Jim |date=2020-04-13 |title=Not actually Linux distro review deux: GhostBSD |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/04/not-actually-linux-distro-review-deux-ghostbsd/ |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-US}}

See also

{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • {{Official website|https://www.ghostbsd.org/}}
  • [https://ghostbsd-documentation-portal.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ GhostBSD Documentation]
  • [https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=ghostbsd GhostBSD] on DistroWatch

{{FreeBSD}}

Category:2010 software

Category:FreeBSD