# Linux (systemd) refugee seeks deblobbed BSD



## D4rren (Sep 4, 2014)

Hello and thank you FreeBSD devs and supporters for providing a forum for me to ask this question. This is my first post here. I come from Linux (specifically, Debian) and when Debian voted to get on the bus with systemd, I grabbed my bags and started hitchhiking back towards the freedom that I was seeking when I left windows/mac. Well, that ride has brought me here, and I have a couple of concerns.

I had been using the Linux-libre kernel until Debian moved all the binary blobs into non-free with Wheezy, then I ran the kernel provided by Debian with no issues. I run hardware that needs no proprietary firmware (in Linux), so I avoid it. Because I can.

I understand that FreeBSD includes binary blobs and my question is simply.... Is there an effort anywhere to provide a FreeBSD kernel that is deblobbed? You know, a version of the kernel I could install that contains no undocumented, binary firmware.

Thanks for any responses,
D4rren


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## JX8P (Sep 4, 2014)

Hiya,

The NuBSD Fire project seeks to create a deblobbed FreeBSD kernel.

I'm not sure how well they're progressing, but it should be an option.

Alternatively, Debian's GNU/kFreeBSD distro is deblobbed, and might be an alternative worth considering. If you're set on having the full FreeBSD experience, it should be possible to use their scripts to deblob a standard FreeBSD kernel.

Hope this helps.


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## D4rren (Sep 4, 2014)

Amazing.... I had googled around for an answer to this, but NuBSD never came up on my radar. I will check it out in depth. Any other responses are greatly appreciated as I attempt to re-wire my brain here. Thanks much JX8P.

D.


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## Oko (Sep 5, 2014)

D4rren said:
			
		

> I understand that FreeBSD includes binary blobs and my question is simply.... Is there an effort anywhere to provide a FreeBSD kernel that is deblobbed? You know, a version of the kernel I could install that contains no undocumented, binary firmware.


I am not aware that FreeBSD includes any binary blobs in default installation but I might be wrong. However FreeBSD community has fairly liberal stand on binary blobs and you can easily include NVidia binary blob crap for example. The only OS which is 100% free of binary blobs and on which binary blobs can't be even installed is OpenBSD. OpenBSD developers are not even allowed to sign non disclosure agreements. 

One word of caution. Firmware which is a binary blob injected into devices is not considered the part of OS. So yes after the installation you can download for example firmware for some wireless devices or even a scanner (I have epson scanner working on OpenBSD which requires firmware) but that is purely optional.


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## HD Scania (Dec 26, 2017)

For Linux, you would like to still init Parabola into OpenRC instead of systemd (esp that you are enough against systemd), and Devuan is no-systemd Debian fork and you are free to switch to OpenRC, OpenRC itself, is designed to be protable between FreeBSD, Linux, NetBSD. 


D4rren said:


> Hello and thank you FreeBSD devs and supporters for providing a forum for me to ask this question. This is my first post here. I come from Linux (specifically, Debian) and when Debian voted to get on the bus with systemd, I grabbed my bags and started hitchhiking back towards the freedom that I was seeking when I left windows/mac. Well, that ride has brought me here, and I have a couple of concerns.
> 
> I had been using the Linux-libre kernel until Debian moved all the binary blobs into non-free with Wheezy, then I ran the kernel provided by Debian with no issues. I run hardware that needs no proprietary firmware (in Linux), so I avoid it. Because I can.
> 
> ...


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## SirDice (Dec 27, 2017)

Thread 62997


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