Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 4, 2026

GhostBSD

GhostBSD is a Unix-like operating system based on FreeBSD for x86-64, with MATE 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.

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GhostBSD
GhostBSD 18.10 (October 2018) with MATE
DeveloperEric Turgeon and GhostBSD Team
OS familyUnix-like (BSD)
Working stateCurrent
Source modelOpen source
Latest release26.1-R15.0p21 Edit this on Wikidata / 18 April 2026 (18 April 2026)
Repository
Supported platformsamd64
Kernel typeMonolithic FreeBSD kernel
Default
user interface		MATE and Xfce
LicenseFreeBSD license
Official websitewww.ghostbsd.org Edit this at Wikidata

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.23 In 2020, with the discontinuation of TrueOS, GhostBSD switched back to FreeBSD.4

Version history

FreeBSD based releases (1.0–11.1)

GhostBSD version Release date FreeBSD version Desktop environments Changes
1.05 March 2010 8.0 GNOME 2.28 First general availability release6
1.5 ? 8.1 GNOME 2.30 Introduced 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.)
2.0 March 13, 2011 8.2 ? Improvements to GDM et al.
2.578 January 24, 2012 9.0 ? Choice of preconfigured GNOME or LXDE desktop9
3.0 March 10, 2013 9.1 ? The last release to deploy the GNOME 2 desktop environment
3.1 June 28, 2013 ? ? A point release primarily to fix bugs
3.510 November 7, 2013 ?
LibreOffice exchanged for Apache OpenOffice 4.11
4.012 October 4, 2014 10.0 ? Various new features13
10.114 September 13, 2015 10.1 ? Software additions15
10.3 August 31, 2016 10.3 ? ZFS support, UEFI support, ...16
11.117 November 16, 2017 11.1 MATE 1.18
Xfce 4.12		 GhostBSD Software repositories, dropped i386 support, WhiskerMenu as default menu (Xfce)18

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:

GhostBSD version Release date Desktop environment Changes
18.101920 November 1, 2018 MATE 1.20 First release based on TrueOS
19.0421 April 13, 2019 MATE 1.22 and Xfce
19.0922 September 16, 2019 MATE and Xfce Moved from TrueOS CURRENT to STABLE
19.1023 October 26, 2019
20.0124 January 22, 2020
20.03 March 31, 2020
20.0425 August 10, 2020 MATE 1.24 and Xfce
21.01.2026 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.

GhostBSD version Release date Desktop environment Changes
21.04.27 April 29, 2021 GhostBSD is now based on FreeBSD 13.0-STABLE
21.5.1127 May 11, 2021
21.09.0628 September 7, 2021 Switch from OpenRC to FreeBSD rc.d
21.09.0829 September 9, 2021
22.06.15 June 18, 2022
22.06.1830 June 20, 2022
23.06.01 June 5, 2023
23.10.0131 October 28, 2023 MATE 1.26.0
24.01.01 February 13, 2024 Based on FreeBSD 14.0-STABLE
24.04.132 May 20, 2024 MATE 1.28.1 Based on FreeBSD 14.0-STABLE
24.07.333 September 12, 2024
24.10.134 November 17, 2024 UFS installation support removed from installer
25.01-R14.2p135 February 28, 2025 1.28.2 Now based FreeBSD RELEASE with a new versioning scheme
25.02-R14.3p236 August 25, 2025 Addition of a community-supported GNUstep desktop environment

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.

The following are the recommended requirements:37

  • 2 GHz dual core Intel/AMD 64-bit processor
  • 8 GB RAM (system memory for physical and virtualized installs)
  • VGA capable of 1024 × 768 screen resolution
  • 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.38

See also

See also

References

References

  1. "GhostBSD 26.1-R15.0p2 Is Now Available". 18 April 2026. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  2. "GhostBSD Is Switching Its System Base". GhostBSD. Archived from the original on 2021-12-31. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  3. Salter, Jim (2020-04-13). "Not actually Linux distro review deux: GhostBSD". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  4. Cao (2020-05-19). "TrueOS has been discontinued". FreeBSDNews.com. Archived from the original on 2022-04-10. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  5. DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 361, 5 July 2010
  6. "GhostBSD 1.0 Release. Go Green!". Archived from the original on 2010-03-16.
  7. GhostBSD 2.5 review | LinuxBSDos.com
  8. DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 443, 13 February 2012
  9. Sanchez, Nahuel. "GhostBSD 2.5 finally here!". Ghostbsd.org. Archived from the original on 2012-01-31. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  10. DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 535, 25 November 2013
  11. "GhostBSD 3.5 "Levi" Released". GhostBSD. Archived from the original on 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  12. DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 582, 27 October 2014
  13. "GhostBSD 4.0-RELEASE Karine finally ready". GhostBSD. Archived from the original on 2014-10-05. Retrieved 2014-11-13.
  14. DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 633, 26 October 2015
  15. "GhostBSD 10.1 Finally Available". GhostBSD. Archived from the original on 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2015-09-13.
  16. "GhostBSD 10.3 Enoch Finally Available". GhostBSD. Archived from the original on 2016-09-03. Retrieved 2016-09-05.
  17. DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 745, 8 January 2018
  18. "GhostBSD 11.1 Finally Ready and Available!". www.ghostbsd.org. GhostBSD. Archived from the original on 2017-11-18. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
  19. "GhostBSD 18.10 setzt auf TrueOS". Pro-Linux (in German). Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  20. "GhostBSD 18.10 Now Available". www.ghostbsd.org. GhostBSD. Archived from the original on 2018-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  21. "GhostBSD 19.04 Now Available". www.ghostbsd.org. GhostBSD. Archived from the original on 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  22. "GhostBSD 19.09 Now Available". www.ghostbsd.org. GhostBSD. Archived from the original on 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  23. "GhostBSD 19.10 Now Available". www.ghostbsd.org. GhostBSD. Archived from the original on 2019-12-30. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  24. "GhostBSD 20.01 Now Available". www.ghostbsd.org. GhostBSD. Archived from the original on 2020-01-22. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  25. "GhostBSD 20.08.04 Now Available". www.ghostbsd.org. GhostBSD. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  26. "GhostBSD 21.01.20 release note". www.ghostbsd.org. GhostBSD. Archived from the original on 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  27. "GhostBSD 21.05.11 ISO now available". Archived from the original on 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  28. "GhostBSD 21.09.06 ISO's now available". Archived from the original on 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  29. "Quick fix GhostBSD 21.09.08 ISO now available". Archived from the original on 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  30. ""GhostBSD 22.06.18 Released"".
  31. "GhostBSD 23.10.1 Now Available". Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  32. "GhostBSD 24.04.1 Is Now Available". ghostbsd.org. ghostbsd.org. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  33. "GhostBSD 24.07.3 Is Now Available". www.ghostbsd.org. GhostBSD. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  34. "GhostBSD 24.10.1 Is Now Available". www.ghostbsd.org. GhostBSD. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  35. "GhostBSD 25.01-R14.2p1 Now Available". www.ghostbsd.org. GhostBSD. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  36. "GhostBSD 25.02-R14.3p2 Is Now Available". www.ghostbsd.org. GhostBSD. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  37. "Getting Started". GhostBSD-Documentation-Portal.ReadTheDocs.io. GhostBSD. 2025. System requirements. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
  38. Salter, Jim (2020-04-13). "Not Actually Linux Distro Review Deux: GhostBSD". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
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