Title: OpenBSD -current - Frequently Asked Questions | |
Author: Solène | |
Date: 27 March 2020 | |
Tags: openbsd | |
Description: | |
Hello, as there are so many questions about OpenBSD -current on IRC, | |
Mastodon | |
or reddit I'm writing this FAQ in hope it will help people. | |
The official FAQ already contains answers about -current like | |
[Following | |
-current and using snapshots](https://www.openbsd.org/faq/current.html) | |
and | |
[Building the system from | |
sources](https://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq5.html#Flavors). | |
## What is OpenBSD -current? | |
OpenBSD -current is the development version of OpenBSD. Lot of people | |
use it | |
for everyday tasks. | |
## How to install OpenBSD -current? | |
OpenBSD -current refers to the last version built from sources obtained | |
with | |
CVS, however, it's also possible to get a pre-built system (a snapshot) | |
usually | |
built and pushed on mirrors every 1 or 2 days. | |
You can install OpenBSD -current by getting an installation media like | |
usual, | |
but on the path /pub/OpenBSD/snapshots/ on the mirror. | |
## How do I upgrade from -release to -current? | |
There are two ways to do so: | |
1. Download bsd.rd file from the snapshots directory and boot it to | |
upgrade | |
like for a -release to -release upgrade | |
2. Run `sysupgrade -s` command as root, this will basically download | |
all sets | |
under `/home/_sysupgrade` and boot on bsd.rd with an | |
`autoinstall(8)` | |
config. | |
## How do I upgrade my -current snapshot to a newer snapshot? | |
Exactly the same process as going from -release to -current. | |
## Can I downgrade to a -release if I switch to -current? | |
No. | |
## What issues can I expect in OpenBSD -current? | |
There are a few issues possibles that one can expect | |
### Out of sync packages | |
If a library get updated into the base system and you want to update | |
packages, | |
they won't be installable until packages are rebuilt with that new | |
library, | |
this usually takes 1 up to 3 days. | |
**This only create issues in case you want to install a package you | |
don't have.** | |
The other way around, you can have an old snapshot and packages are not | |
installable because the libraries linked to by the packages are newer | |
than what | |
is available in your system, in this case you have to upgrade snapshot. | |
### Snapshots sets are getting updated on the mirror | |
If you download the sets on the mirror to update your -current version, | |
you may | |
have an issue with the sha256 sum, this is because the mirror is | |
getting | |
updated and the sha256 file is the first to be transferred, so sets you | |
are | |
downloading are not the one the sha256 will compare. | |
### Unexpected system breakage | |
Sometimes, very rarely (maybe 2 or 3 time in a year?), some snapshots | |
are | |
borked and will prevent system to boot or lead to regularly crashes. In | |
that | |
case, it's important to report the issue with the `sendbug` utility. | |
You can fix this by using an older snapshot from [this archives | |
server](http://ftp.hostserver.de/archive/) and prevent this to happen | |
by | |
reading bugs@ mailing list before updating. | |
### Broken package | |
Sometimes, a package update will break it or break some others | |
packages, this | |
is often quickly fixed on popular packages but in some niche packages | |
you may | |
be the only one using it on -current and the only one who can report | |
about it. | |
If you find breakage on something you use, it may be a good idea to | |
report the | |
problem on [email protected] mailing list if nobody did before. By | |
doing so, | |
the issue will be fixed and next -release users will be able to install | |
a | |
working package. | |
## Is -current stable enough for a server or a workstation? | |
It's really up to you. Developers are all using -current and are | |
forbidden to | |
break it, so the system should totally be usable for everyday use. | |
What may be complicated on a server is keep updating it regularly and | |
face | |
issues requires troubleshooting (like major database upgrade which was | |
missing | |
a quirk). | |
For a workstation I think it's pretty safe as long as you can deal with | |
packages that can't be installed until they are in sync. |