README.md
May 6, 2026 ยท View on GitHub
FreeBSD Source:
This is the top level of the FreeBSD source directory.
FreeBSD is an operating system used to power modern servers, desktops, and embedded platforms. A large community has continually developed it for more than thirty years. Its advanced networking, security, and storage features have made FreeBSD the platform of choice for many of the busiest web sites and most pervasive embedded networking and storage devices.
For copyright information, please see the file COPYRIGHT in this directory. Additional copyright information also exists for some sources in this tree - please see the specific source directories for more information.
The Makefile in this directory supports a number of targets for building components (or all) of the FreeBSD source tree. See build(7), config(8), FreeBSD handbook on building userland, and Handbook for kernels for more information, including setting make(1) variables.
For information on the CPU architectures and platforms supported by FreeBSD, see the FreeBSD website's Platforms page.
For official FreeBSD bootable images, see the release page.
Source Roadmap:
| Directory | Description |
|---|---|
| bin | System/user commands. |
| cddl | Source code for third-party software under the Common Development and Distribution License. |
| contrib | Source code for third-party software. |
| crypto | Source code for cryptographic libraries and commands (see crypto/README). |
| etc | Template files for /etc. |
| gnu | Source code for third-party software under the GNU General Public License (GPL) or Lesser General Public License (LGPL). Please see gnu/COPYING and gnu/COPYING.LIB for more information. |
| include | System include files. |
| kerberos5 | Build system for Kerberos 5 (Heimdal). |
| krb5 | Build system for Kerberos 5 (MIT). |
| lib | System libraries. |
| libexec | System commands intended to be executed by other commands or daemons. |
| packages | Base system packages. |
| release | Makefiles and scripts used for building releases and VM images. |
| rescue | Build system for statically linked /rescue commands. |
| sbin | System commands. |
| secure | Build system for cryptographic libraries and commands (excluding Kerberos). |
| share | Shared resources. |
| stand | Boot loader sources. |
| sys | Kernel sources (see sys/README.md). |
| targets | Support for experimental DIRDEPS_BUILD |
| tests | Tests which can be run by Kyua. See tests/README for additional information. |
| tools | Ancillary utilities and tests (not included in the build). |
| usr.bin | User commands. |
| usr.sbin | System administration commands. |
For information on synchronizing your source tree with one or more of the FreeBSD Project's development branches, please see FreeBSD Handbook.