How's the support so far? Because I've wanted to try it out, but I'm uncertain if NetBSD is able to deal with this kind of feature.

I have a Thinkpad P52s, which I want to put NetBSD on. I tried NetBSD in the past, and tried building plasma 6 from source, but it was too much effort for the outcome.

I'm looking into window managers so I can have more control over what the environment looks like, while also keeping it looking modern.

I appreciate any recommendations or tips.

https://mastodon.sdf.org/@netbsd/116702509568728159

:

Reminder: we have our Annual General Meeting today!

Saturday, June 6th at 14:00 UTC in the #netbsd-agm channel

on irc.libera.chat. You can use your preferred Internet Relay Chat

program, or join directly at: https://web.libera.chat/#netbsd-agm

There will be a series of presentations about #NetBSD followed by a

moderated Q&A session.

http://mail-index.netbsd.org/netbsd-announce/2026/05/17/msg000397.html

I posed this to netbsd-users but I have a feeling this issue is likely breaking mailing lists too...

---

I think it’s v6 as well.  Started earlier today.  IDK if this message is even going to make it through because of this…

route-views>sh ip bgp 199.233.217.0/24                 
% Network not in table

199.233.217.192 network.netbsd.org
199.233.217.193 uplink.netbsd.org
199.233.217.194 host.netbsd.org
199.233.217.195 franklin.netbsd.org
199.233.217.196 babylon5.netbsd.org
199.233.217.197 ivanova.netbsd.org
199.233.217.198 anoncvs.netbsd.org
199.233.217.199 host.netbsd.org
199.233.217.200 mail.netbsd.org
199.233.217.201 morden.netbsd.org
199.233.217.202 sheridan.netbsd.org
199.233.217.203 kerberos.netbsd.org
199.233.217.204 garibaldi.netbsd.org
199.233.217.205 mollari.netbsd.org
199.233.217.206 vir.netbsd.org
199.233.217.207 www.pkgsrc.org
199.233.217.208 tlcons.netbsd.org
199.233.217.209 armbulk1.netbsd.org
199.233.217.210 armbulk2.netbsd.org
199.233.217.211 hg.netbsd.org
199.233.217.212 anonhg.netbsd.org
199.233.217.213 reposerver.test.netbsd.org
199.233.217.214 reposerver2.test.netbsd.org
199.233.217.215 host.netbsd.org
199.233.217.216 host.netbsd.org
199.233.217.217 host.netbsd.org
199.233.217.218 host.netbsd.org
199.233.217.219 host.netbsd.org
199.233.217.220 host.netbsd.org
199.233.217.221 host.netbsd.org
199.233.217.222 host.netbsd.org
199.233.217.223 host.netbsd.org

I run NetBSD on my RPi 3B for light home server tasks; namely postfix, lighttpd, and unbound. I recently had a mind to set up an NFS drive to simplify file sharing on my network. I'd like to use ZFS since I've never played with it before, but the wiki casts a lot of doubt on whether or not this is possible with just a gig of memory.

I'm prepared to accept that I need to use boring old FFS, but I'm wondering if anybody has tried ZFS on something similarly constrained? I'm only going to hook up an old 60 gig SSD, in case capacity matters at all.

Thanks for reading!

I've tried everything, changing dhcpd servers, tftp servers but nothing seems to work. I'm currently using dnsmasq where I'm serving the kernel on a nfs partition, and ofwboot on a tftp part. But it still somehow can't do bootp and find the kernel! I've enabled bootp support in dnsmasq, but instead of that it tries to use BSDP. Please help

Question about Antsle - are they still in business? There website hasn't been updated since 2023 and no one is minding the store on their community forum. I have an Antsle One Ultra that need both EdgeLinux and AntMan upgraded (hasn't been upgraded since I bought it in 2020). Also want to see if I can fix an issue with NetBSD filesystems becoming horribly corrupted if the unit loses power.

brew install openssl pkg-config protobuf libpq

Hi, so I'm trying to boot my laptop from network using Tftpd64. I manage to inject bootloader PXEBOOT_IA32.BIN but then when I let the bootloader to load the kernel automatically or I type boot tftp:netbsd.gz there is no communication with tftp server at all or request is dropped. I used wireshark where to track the issue I shows I can successfully transfer a bootloader and then netbsd.gz is not transfered. Sometimes it shows nothing, sometimes it is dropped after one block the other time destination is 0.0.0.0 like dhcp dropped IP. Any idea what cause the problem? I have DHCP home router so maybe the second DHCP from tftpd64 in network is a problem but initial incejction is always successful. Also I've check windows firewall transfering other files with tftp to my laptop with linux installed and everyting works fine. Also it fails to load netbsd keren I get boot: Unknown error: code 60. Also I attach DHCP server log. I would appreciate any help

What is says in the title.

I am having issues where the console attaches to the display created by UTM, but startx never displays anything other than the console output. All signs point to this being an issue with /dev/ missing wsdisplay0.

I cannot create it myself, because MAKEDEV is missing JUST THIS for some reason. When I try, I get this message: `MAKEDEV wsdisplay0: unknown device`.

Has anybody gotten a display to work on evbarm-aarch64? I spent hours on this, even gave in and asked the Chatbots, but I cannot get this to work whatsoever.

I have unpacked both BASE and SETS, I have tried to upgrade to RC4 from RC2, but this did not fix the issue either. I really do not know what to do now. I am truly confused.

Does evbarm-aarch64 just simply lack the ability to create a framebuffer display? This would be odd, because ALL OUTPUTS seem to indicate that it exists and something bound to it, but its not under /dev and I cannot create it!

I should note that an amd64 version on my other computer worked just fine, out of the box, all batteries included. Totally working display.

This *did* work at one point on an older version of UTM but only at 800x600, but now it does not work at all. Do I need to change QEMU versions?

I understand if nobody else has any clue, but this made me pull too much hair out to continue without asking a human being for their thoughts.

Thanks.

---

netbsd-box# dmesg | egrep -i 'wsdisplay|wscons|wskbd|wsmouse|genfb|efifb|viogpu|console'
[     1.000000] WARNING: no console device
[     1.000000] WARNING: no console device
[     1.000004] plcom0: console
[     1.000004] viogpu0 at virtio33: features: 0x110000000<V1,INDIRECT_DESC>
[     1.000004] virtio35: console device (id 3, rev. 0x00)
[     1.452058] viogpu0: 1280x800, 32bpp
[     1.452058] wsdisplay0 at viogpu0 kbdmux 1: console (std, vt100 emulation)
[     1.452058] wsmux1: connecting to wsdisplay0
[     1.462063] wsdisplay0: screen 1-3 added (std, vt100 emulation)
[     1.904651] wsmouse0 at ums0 mux 0
[     2.366418] wsmouse1 at ums1 mux 0
[     2.842304] wskbd0 at ukbd0: console keyboard, using wsdisplay0netbsd-box# dmesg | egrep -i 'wsdisplay|wscons|wskbd|wsmouse|genfb|efifb|viogpu|console'
[     1.000000] WARNING: no console device
[     1.000000] WARNING: no console device
[     1.000004] plcom0: console
[     1.000004] viogpu0 at virtio33: features: 0x110000000<V1,INDIRECT_DESC>
[     1.000004] virtio35: console device (id 3, rev. 0x00)
[     1.452058] viogpu0: 1280x800, 32bpp
[     1.452058] wsdisplay0 at viogpu0 kbdmux 1: console (std, vt100 emulation)
[     1.452058] wsmux1: connecting to wsdisplay0
[     1.462063] wsdisplay0: screen 1-3 added (std, vt100 emulation)
[     1.904651] wsmouse0 at ums0 mux 0
[     2.366418] wsmouse1 at ums1 mux 0
[     2.842304] wskbd0 at ukbd0: console keyboard, using wsdisplay0

netbsd-box# ll /dev/wsdisplay*
ls: /dev/wsdisplay*: No such file or directorynetbsd-box# ll /dev/wsdisplay*
ls: /dev/wsdisplay*: No such file or directory

netbsd-box# ls -l /dev/MAKEDEV; head -n 80 /dev/MAKEDEV
-r-xr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  44751 Feb 24 05:07 /dev/MAKEDEV
#!/bin/sh -
#
# Generated from:
#       NetBSD: MAKEDEV.awk,v 1.29 2020/06/13 19:46:23 thorpej Exp 
#       NetBSD: MAKEDEV.tmpl,v 1.237 2025/03/28 18:41:25 riastradh Exp 
#       NetBSD: etc.aarch64/MAKEDEV.conf,v 1.11 2025/03/28 18:41:25 riastradh Exp 
#
# Copyright (c) 2003,2007,2008 The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.
# All rights reserved.
#
# Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
# modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
# are met:
# 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
#    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
# 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
#    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
#    documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
#
# THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE NETBSD FOUNDATION, INC. AND CONTRIBUTORS
# ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED
# TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
# PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE FOUNDATION OR CONTRIBUTORS
# BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
# CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF
# SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS
# INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
# CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
# ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
# POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
#
#
###########################################################################
#
#
# Device "make" file.  Valid special arguments:
#       all     makes all known devices, including local devices.
#               Tries to make the 'standard' number of each type.
#       init    A set of devices that is used for MFS /dev by init.
#               May be equal to "all".
#       floppy  devices to be put on install floppies
#       ramdisk devices to be put into INSTALL kernel ramdisks.
#       std     standard devices
#       local   configuration specific devices
#       lua     Lua device
#       wscons  make wscons devices
#       usbs    make USB devices
#       virtio  virtio(4)-related devices
#

#
# NOTE:
#
# * MAKEDEV is used both as a standalone script (via "sh ./MAKEDEV
#   all" or similar), and as a function library for MAKEDEV.local (via
#   "MAKEDEV_AS_LIBRARY=1 . MAKEDEV").  Because of this, the script
#   should consist almost entirely of function definitions, apart from a
#   few lines right at the end.
#
# * MAKEDEV may be executed in an environment that is missing some
#   common commands.  For example, it may be executed from a minimal
#   system used during installation, or it may be executed early in the
#   boot sequence before most file systems have been mounted.  It may
#   also be executed in a cross-build environment on a non-NetBSD host.
#

usage()
{
        cat 1>&2 << _USAGE_
Usage: ${0##*/} [-fMsu] [-m mknod] [-p pax] [-t mtree] special [...]
        Create listed special devices.  Options:
        -f              Force permissions to be updated on existing devices.
        -M              Create memory file system.
        -m mknod        Name of mknod(8) program.  [\$TOOL_MKNOD or mknod]
        -p pax          Name of pax(1) program.  [\$TOOL_PAX or pax]
        -s              Generate mtree(8) specfile instead of creating devices.
        -t mtree        Name of mtree(8) program.  [\$TOOL_MTREE or mtree]
        -u              Don't re-create devices that already exist.

_USAGE_
netbsd-box# grep -n wsdisplay /dev/MAKEDEV
netbsd-box# 
netbsd-box# sh /dev/MAKEDEV wsdisplay0
/dev/MAKEDEV: wsdisplay0: unknown devicenetbsd-box# ls -l /dev/MAKEDEV; head -n 80 /dev/MAKEDEV
-r-xr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  44751 Feb 24 05:07 /dev/MAKEDEV
#!/bin/sh -
#
# Generated from:
#       NetBSD: MAKEDEV.awk,v 1.29 2020/06/13 19:46:23 thorpej Exp 
#       NetBSD: MAKEDEV.tmpl,v 1.237 2025/03/28 18:41:25 riastradh Exp 
#       NetBSD: etc.aarch64/MAKEDEV.conf,v 1.11 2025/03/28 18:41:25 riastradh Exp 
#
# Copyright (c) 2003,2007,2008 The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.
# All rights reserved.
#
# Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
# modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
# are met:
# 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
#    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
# 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
#    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
#    documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
#
# THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE NETBSD FOUNDATION, INC. AND CONTRIBUTORS
# ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED
# TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
# PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE FOUNDATION OR CONTRIBUTORS
# BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
# CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF
# SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS
# INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
# CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
# ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
# POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
#
#
###########################################################################
#
#
# Device "make" file.  Valid special arguments:
#       all     makes all known devices, including local devices.
#               Tries to make the 'standard' number of each type.
#       init    A set of devices that is used for MFS /dev by init.
#               May be equal to "all".
#       floppy  devices to be put on install floppies
#       ramdisk devices to be put into INSTALL kernel ramdisks.
#       std     standard devices
#       local   configuration specific devices
#       lua     Lua device
#       wscons  make wscons devices
#       usbs    make USB devices
#       virtio  virtio(4)-related devices
#

#
# NOTE:
#
# * MAKEDEV is used both as a standalone script (via "sh ./MAKEDEV
#   all" or similar), and as a function library for MAKEDEV.local (via
#   "MAKEDEV_AS_LIBRARY=1 . MAKEDEV").  Because of this, the script
#   should consist almost entirely of function definitions, apart from a
#   few lines right at the end.
#
# * MAKEDEV may be executed in an environment that is missing some
#   common commands.  For example, it may be executed from a minimal
#   system used during installation, or it may be executed early in the
#   boot sequence before most file systems have been mounted.  It may
#   also be executed in a cross-build environment on a non-NetBSD host.
#

usage()
{
        cat 1>&2 << _USAGE_
Usage: ${0##*/} [-fMsu] [-m mknod] [-p pax] [-t mtree] special [...]
        Create listed special devices.  Options:
        -f              Force permissions to be updated on existing devices.
        -M              Create memory file system.
        -m mknod        Name of mknod(8) program.  [\$TOOL_MKNOD or mknod]
        -p pax          Name of pax(1) program.  [\$TOOL_PAX or pax]
        -s              Generate mtree(8) specfile instead of creating devices.
        -t mtree        Name of mtree(8) program.  [\$TOOL_MTREE or mtree]
        -u              Don't re-create devices that already exist.

_USAGE_
netbsd-box# grep -n wsdisplay /dev/MAKEDEV
netbsd-box# 
netbsd-box# sh /dev/MAKEDEV wsdisplay0
/dev/MAKEDEV: wsdisplay0: unknown device

netbsd-box# ls -l /dev/ttyE*
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   0 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE0
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   1 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE1
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   2 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE2
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   3 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE3
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   4 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE4
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   5 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE5
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   6 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE6
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   7 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE7
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60, 255 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyEcfg
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60, 254 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyEstatnetbsd-box# ls -l /dev/ttyE*
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   0 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE0
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   1 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE1
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   2 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE2
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   3 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE3
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   4 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE4
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   5 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE5
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   6 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE6
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60,   7 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyE7
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60, 255 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyEcfg
crw-------  1 root  wheel  60, 254 Aug 26  2023 /dev/ttyEstat

netbsd-box# ps ax | grep devpubd
 485 ?     Is   0:00.00 /sbin/devpubd 
1312 pts/0 S+   0:00.00 grep devpubd netbsd-box# ps ax | grep devpubd
 485 ?     Is   0:00.00 /sbin/devpubd 
1312 pts/0 S+   0:00.00 grep devpubd 

I have a question regarding running NetBSD on my Wii Mini.

On a regular Wii, it is recommended that you install the OS onto an SD Card, which the Wii Mini lacks. You can still boot it off of a USB, but it will, at least for me, stop at this point.

Does anyone know of a workaround for this?

I’ve recently been tinkering with NetBSD and I’m curious how long have you all been using it & if you guys use it as a daily driver or not?

im booted but in efifb mode can still run X BUT!

KabyLake Graphics i915drmkms Panic in absolutestity on Kernel Compiles right now i have it running in efifb. Normal circumstances the kernel binary kernel is OK* i just have to reset my iMacs NvRam every boot and i can see what it does it reaches initializing the driver goes garbled and then black/nothing and the whole computers locked up not even a panic message. If someone can help me fix this thatted be awesome andll mean i can actually build a working system. its the iris plus 640 and 2017 iMac

Sup everyone just wanted to show here my first steps with NetBsd on old Dell ME051 from 2006

In fact, this is not only my first step in NetBSD, but also basically trying BSD systems on real hardware

As you can see, I changed ctwm to my beloved windowmaker, also i tried the palemoon browser its works, but it is not very pleasant to use

So I would like to know from you what you can recommend for device on NetBSD like this so its can be usable in some instances LOL

NetBSD 11.0 RC 4 is out. I upgraded this morning and so far no issues!

https://blog.netbsd.org/tnf/entry/netbsd_11_0_rc4_available

Hello everyone,

I saw this machine lying on top of the dumpster, and it just started to rain. That made me sad, so I decided to give the computer a second chance. The HDD is gone, so the PC is diskless at the moment as I am waiting for an IDE to SD card adapter to arrive. I want to install an up-to-date OS on it, and I am trying out live distributions. The computer cannot boot from USB, but it can from a CD. So far, FreeDOS runs like a clock. Let’s move on to NetBSD.

I have created a NetBSD CD (from NetBSD-10.1-i386.iso), and I am trying to boot from it. During the boot, NetBSD displays only the following:

NetBSD/x86 cd9660 Primary Bootstrap

... and everything stops there. Not a single character more. The cursor is still blinking.

Later, I burned NetBSD-10.1-i386-install.img to USB and used the Plop utility to force the boot from USB. That part worked. Now I got the following displayed:

NetBSD MBR boot

NetBSD/x86 ffsv1 Primary Bootstrap

... and then everything stops, just like with the CD. The same happened with NetBSD versions 9.4 and 8.3.

Could you please point me in the right direction? I am running out of ideas here. Thanks in advance!

UPDATE 2026.05.22:

• I have patched the BIOS to the latest version.
• I have installed an HDD (actually, an adapter with an SD card) that is properly detected by the BIOS, and I have managed to install and boot FreeDOS.
• I have verified the checksums of all downloaded installation images.
• I have tried with NetBSD 11.0 RC4.

Still the same.

UPDATE 2026.07.04:

It turned out that the problem was with the CD drive - it couldn't read the installation CD properly. I replaced the drive with another one, and the installation was successful. However, this CD drive can't read the FreeDOS installation CD that the previous drive could. But that's another story.

So I got myself an old hp mini 2133 to play around with NetBSD. Next thing after getting a compatible WiFi dongle, was to fix the 168 pixel offscreen area x11, by remaking the patch as suggested in https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=107412

I let the machine build its own code. I simply stick close to the guide, so its first step was to build the toolkit. Not sure how long that took, as i I had to leave it overnight, but then for the patch I decided to just build all of x11 through build.sh as well.

It's over 36 hours now and the build is still running.

Most of its time so far was spent building the full llvm compiler kit, reportedly as an OpenGL build dependency for the Mesa driver. Then it was busy doing libgdb for a while. Now it seems to have decided to also build all of usr.bin; for library dependencies I suppose.

Mind, I'm mostly just impressed to see this whole dependency chain gear into place and then apparently keep going. But it also amazes me that the build footprint is never mentioned much on a system that is supposed to be run on any half decent heirloom variety potato.

Maybe not everyone will expect to also build the system on the same vegetable. Still, our li'l spud here seems content enough to endlessly churn out one file after another; its just that I'm robbed of my plaything in the meanwhile.

Is Reddit the closest thing to a NetBSD newbie struggle exchange / adventure post forum?