# Is there a list of packages/programs  for FreeBSD?



## Sonyboyj (Mar 4, 2016)

Is there a list of packages/programs that are in the  FreeBSD repository? I'm new to the whole Linux/BSD scene, so can you install Linux programs/tar.gz on BSD? On Mozilla website, there is not BSD option for Firefox so I'd assume you would use Linux, is it correct?


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## jrm@ (Mar 4, 2016)

See 4.3 Finding Applications of the FreeBSD Handbook.

To answer your question directly, you can find a list of all available packages in the default repository with `pkg rquery %n-%v`.

While it is possible to 1) manually install and run GNU/Linux applications (binaries) on FreeBSD or 2) manually compile applications that are primarily targeted to GNU/Linux, you'll want to install the FreeBSD package.  For example, `pkg install firefox`.


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## tobik@ (Mar 4, 2016)

Sonyboyj said:


> Is there a list of packages/programs that are in the FreeBSD repository.


https://www.freshports.org/categories.php or on your system `pkg search -g '*'`



Sonyboyj said:


> can you install Linux programs/ tar.gz in BSD


Not in general no. That requires some porting effort which is what the FreeBSD ports are. It also depends on what exactly is in those tarballs (source code or binaries?). FreeBSD has a Linux compatibility layer which can help in making pre-compiled Linux binaries run on FreeBSD if there is no source code available, but that should be an absolute last resort IMHO. Using the source code makes it possible to make changes to the programs that may make it run more smoothly on FreeBSD. With pre-compiled software that is not possible.



Sonyboyj said:


> On Mozilla website theirs is not BSD option for Firefox so id assume you would use Linux correct.


No, FreeBSD has its own port (www/firefox) of Firefox that is build from Firefox' source code. You can install it with `pkg install firefox`.


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## balanga (Mar 4, 2016)

Sonyboyj said:


> Is there a list of packages/programs that are in the  FreeBSD repository.



According to:-

https://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/faq/applications.html#idp63398608

There are 24,000!!!  applications  available for FreeBSD. 

Sometimes it's a problem finding what you want, but it's usually available.


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## kpa (Mar 4, 2016)

Sonyboyj said:


> On Mozilla website theirs is not BSD option for Firefox so id assume you would use Linux correct.



No, FreeBSD is a different animal. It is mostly POSIX compatible but web browsers rely on many APIs that are not covered by POSIX and there are some major differences between Linux and BSD operating systems in those areas. The FreeBSD version of Mozilla Firefox is built from the same sources as the other versions but there are a large number of local patches that have to be applied to the source code before it can be built on FreeBSD.


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## ANOKNUSA (Mar 4, 2016)

Sonyboyj said:


> ...so can you install Linux programs/tar.gz on BSD?



This is a question with a complex answer that would probably only confuse you as a new user. The short answer is "Maybe, but don't bother."  In *nix Land your first stop should _not_ be a project's homepage, but the official software repository for your operating system. On FreeBSD, this means your local ports tree (for building custom packages from source code) or the official package repository (for quickly installing pre-built packages with reasonable default features/options). Follow the resources others here have mentioned---the relevant sections of the _Handbook_ can teach you the basics---and check out the ports(7) and pkg(8) manuals when you get a chance. Since you're new, I'd recommend starting with pre-built packages to get up and running quickly. You'll probably hear a lot of buzz about two (fantastic) programs called Poudriere and Synth, but hold off on those for now.

The folks in the Arch Linux community have compiled a pretty good list of commonly used applications, organized by purpose and interface type (GUI vs. CLI/TUI). From my experience, if it's on that list, it's almost certainly available on FreeBSD. You can have a look at that list, and search for anything that interests you using pkg-search(8) or FreshPorts. A neat tip: if you use DuckDuckGo as your search engine, you can do a quick search of FreshPorts with its "!bang" syntax---for example, `firefox !freshports`.


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## ronaldlees (Mar 9, 2016)

Agree with Anoknusa about reading the manuals such as pkg(8).  I would additionally suggest that the OP could read the more specific package manager manuals, like pkg-fetch(8), etc.  Often the main pkg man page misses useful specific options.


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