# Stable version download v 13.0



## dalpets (May 23, 2021)

Iso downloads on bsd servers don't seem to differentiate between stable & current versions. Is there an available repository for v 13.0 stable?


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## diizzy (May 23, 2021)

Index of /pub/FreeBSD/snapshots/ISO-IMAGES/13.0/


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## zirias@ (May 23, 2021)

What do you mean by "differentiate"?

Both are listed below "Development snapshots", which is correct. Most users won't want them.

It seems the links for 13.0-STABLE snapshots are still missing from the download page though.


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## SirDice (May 24, 2021)

-STABLE should be built from source anyway.


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## Alain De Vos (May 24, 2021)

I think the frequency of changes to stable and current don't allow usefull iso creation.


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## SirDice (May 24, 2021)

If you want 13-STABLE, just install 13.0-RELEASE and use the source to upgrade it to 13-STABLE. It's really not that difficult. If you want to run -STABLE you should be familiar with the build(7) process because you'll be doing it a lot.


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## zirias@ (May 24, 2021)

SirDice said:


> -STABLE should be built from source anyway.


Sure!

Which kind of makes me wonder, why -STABLE and -CURRENT snapshots are published at all? Just for regular testing of release(7)? You could say they're a convenient way to "bootstrap" a newly installed system, but then, starting from a -RELEASE should work just as well…


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## Menelkir (May 24, 2021)

Zirias said:


> Sure!
> 
> Which kind of makes me wonder, why -STABLE and -CURRENT snapshots are published at all? Just for regular testing of release(7)? You could say they're a convenient way to "bootstrap" a newly installed system, but then, starting from a -RELEASE should work just as well…


Maybe to test a fresh installer boot and do a fresh install to see there's something wrong there, just a wild guess.


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## zirias@ (May 24, 2021)

Menelkir said:


> Maybe to test a fresh installer boot and do a fresh install to see there's something wrong there, just a wild guess.


Yep, that's what I meant with testing of release(7). Of course includes testing the installation process as well 

I just thought it's not really necessary to publish these snapshot builds in order to do this. But, OTOH, everyone should understand what a "development snapshot" is and publishing them could help to get more testers


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## Menelkir (May 24, 2021)

Zirias said:


> Yep, that's what I meant with testing of release(7). Of course includes testing the installation process as well
> 
> I just thought it's not really necessary to publish these snapshot builds in order to do this. But, OTOH, everyone should understand what a "development snapshot" is and publishing them could help to get more testers


Yeah. I've used 12-STABLE by years because of some things I've wanted and wasn't added to RELEASE, and it makes sense at this point by not adding to the RELEASE just because it's fresh (of course, you should know what you're doing, not just installing for a matter of installing or being bleeding-edge, because isn't). It's practical if you want to bootstrap direct to STABLE, but in the end, doesn't really matter. 
Also, testing to see if, let's say, a wifi usb dongle gets detected using a specific release can be useful.


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## T-Daemon (May 24, 2021)

It's well documented what snapshots are:








						FreeBSD Snapshot Releases
					

FreeBSD is an operating system used to power modern servers, desktops, and embedded platforms.




					www.freebsd.org


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## mer (May 24, 2021)

Zirias said:


> But, OTOH, everyone should understand what a "development snapshot" is and publishing them could help to get more testers


That is actually a very important reason.  FreeBSd is running on basically commodity hardware, so while "everything works under Windows", wide variety of hardware helps stabilize the product and helps find a lot of subtle bugs.  Especially when you talk about device drivers.

But reading the documentation and understanding exactly what RELEASE/STABLE/CURRENT mean is key to not getting frustrated when things go wrong.


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## Menelkir (May 24, 2021)

mer said:


> That is actually a very important reason.  FreeBSd is running on basically commodity hardware, so while "everything works under Windows", wide variety of hardware helps stabilize the product and helps find a lot of subtle bugs.  Especially when you talk about device drivers.
> 
> But reading the documentation and understanding exactly what RELEASE/STABLE/CURRENT mean is key to not getting frustrated when things go wrong.


Despite the fact I never had issues while using STABLE or even testing CURRENT, everyone should keep in mind that using a development release (specially CURRENT) you have a slight chance to hits with your head with a very unpleaseant bug, from the tiniest ones (a device drive not working) to a worst one (whatever related to losing data).


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