--- name: "freebsd-update" section: "8" platform: "freebsd" package: "base" version: "16.0-CURRENT-20261027-61c70dc16a79" release: "FreeBSD 16.0-CURRENT (2026-10-27)" platforms: ["freebsd"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/freebsd-update" --- # freebsd-update(8) fetch and install binary updates to FreeBSD ## NAME **freebsd-update** – fetch and install binary updates to FreeBSD ## SYNOPSIS **freebsd-update** \[**-F**\] \[**-b** *basedir*\] \[**--currently-running** *release*\] \[**-d** *workdir*\] \[**-f** *conffile*\] \[**-j** *jail*\] \[**-k** *KEY*\] \[**--not-running-from-cron**\] \[**-r** *newrelease*\] \[**-s** *server*\] \[**-t** *address*\] \[**-v** *level*\] *command* *...* ## DESCRIPTION The **freebsd-update** tool is used to fetch, install, and rollback binary updates to the FreeBSD base system. ## BINARY UPDATES AVAILABILITY Binary updates are not available for every single FreeBSD version and architecture. In general, binary updates are available for ALPHA, BETA, RC, and RELEASE versions of FreeBSD, e.g.: - FreeBSD 13.1-ALPHA3 - FreeBSD 13.1-BETA2 - FreeBSD 13.1-RC1 - FreeBSD 13.1-RELEASE They are not available for branches such as PRERELEASE, STABLE, and CURRENT, e.g.: - FreeBSD 13.0-PRERELEASE - FreeBSD 13.1-STABLE - FreeBSD 14.0-CURRENT In particular, the FreeBSD Security Team only builds updates for releases shipped in binary form by the FreeBSD Release Engineering Team. ## OPTIONS The following options are supported: - **-b** *basedir* Operate on a system mounted at *basedir*. (default: */*, or as given in the configuration file.) - **-d** *workdir* Store working files in *workdir*. (default: */var/db/freebsd-update/*, or as given in the configuration file.) - **-f** *conffile* Read configuration options from *conffile*. (default: */etc/freebsd-update.conf*) - **-F** Force **freebsd-update** **fetch** to proceed in the case of an unfinished upgrade. - **-j** *jail* Operate on the given jail specified by *jid* or *name*. (The version of the installed userland is detected and the **--currently-running** option is no more required.) - **-k** *KEY* Trust an RSA key with SHA256 of *KEY*. (default: read value from configuration file.) - **-r** *newrelease* Specify the new release (e.g., 11.2-RELEASE) to which **freebsd-update** should upgrade (**upgrade** command only). - **-s** *server* Fetch files from the specified server or server pool. (default: read value from configuration file.) - **-t** *address* Mail output of **cron** command, if any, to *address*. (default: root, or as given in the configuration file.) - **-v** *level* Set output verbosity. *level* must be one of **stats** (show progress statistics while fetching files; the default), **nostats** (suppress progress statistics), or **debug** (show all output from internal utilities). - **--not-running-from-cron** Force **freebsd-update** **fetch** to proceed when there is no controlling [tty(4)](/tty/4.md). This is for use by automated scripts and orchestration tools. Please do not run **freebsd-update** **fetch** from [crontab(5)](/crontab/5.md) or similar using this flag, see: **freebsd-update** **cron** - **--currently-running** *release* Do not detect the currently-running release; instead, assume that the system is running the specified *release*. This is most likely to be useful when upgrading jails. ## COMMANDS The **command** can be any one of the following: - **fetch** Based on the currently installed world and the configuration options set, fetch all available binary updates. - **cron** Sleep a random amount of time between 1 and 3600 seconds, then download updates as if the **fetch** command was used. If updates are downloaded, an email will be sent (to root or a different address if specified via the **-t** option or in the configuration file). As the name suggests, this command is designed for running from [cron(8)](/cron/8.md); the random delay serves to minimize the probability that a large number of machines will simultaneously attempt to fetch updates. - **upgrade** Fetch files necessary for upgrading to a new release. Before using this command, make sure that you read the announcement and release notes for the new release in case there are any special steps needed for upgrading. Note that this command may require up to 500 MB of space in *workdir* depending on which components of the FreeBSD base system are installed. - **updatesready** Check if there are fetched updates ready to install. Returns exit code 2 if there are no updates to install. - **install** Install the most recently fetched updates or upgrade. Returns exit code 2 if there are no updates to install and the **fetch** command wasn't passed as an earlier argument in the same invocation. - **rollback** Uninstall the most recently installed updates. - **IDS** Compare the system against a "known good" index of the installed release. - **showconfig** Show configuration options after parsing conffile and command line options. ## TIPS - If your clock is set to local time, adding the line ``` 0 3 * * * root /usr/sbin/freebsd-update cron ``` to */etc/crontab* will check for updates every night. If your clock is set to UTC, please pick a random time other than 3AM, to avoid overly imposing an uneven load on the server(s) hosting the updates. - In spite of its name, **freebsd-update** IDS should not be relied upon as an "Intrusion Detection System", since if the system has been tampered with it cannot be trusted to operate correctly. If you intend to use this command for intrusion-detection purposes, make sure you boot from a secure disk (e.g., a CD). ## ENVIRONMENT - PAGER The pager program used to present various reports during the execution.( Default: “*/usr/bin/less*”.) PAGER can be set to “cat” when a non-interactive pager is desired. ## FILES - */etc/freebsd-update.conf* Default location of the **freebsd-update** configuration file. - */var/db/freebsd-update/* Default location where **freebsd-update** stores temporary files, downloaded updates, and files required for rollback. All files under */var/db/freebsd-update/* may be deleted if an upgrade is not in progress and rollback will not be required. ## SEE ALSO [freebsd-version(1)](/freebsd-version/1.md), [uname(1)](/uname/1.md), [freebsd-update.conf(5)](/freebsd-update.conf/5.md), [nextboot(8)](/nextboot/8.md) ## AUTHORS Colin Percival ⟨*cperciva@FreeBSD.org*⟩ ## BUGS In patch level situations – for example, 13.2-RELEASE-p1 up to 13.2-RELEASE-p2: if any previous modification to a file in */etc/* will conflict with an available update, then **freebsd-update** will make no attempt to merge. Instead: **freebsd-update** will print a list of affected locally-modified files.