Modernised use of freebsd-update for minor and major upgrades to FreeBSD

[grahamperrin]

A major upgrade example: 14.4-RELEASE to 15.1-RELEASE

All commands should be run as root.

1. pkg update
2. pkg upgrade -Uy -r FreeBSD pkg
3. freebsd-update fetch
4. freebsd-update install
5. freebsd-update upgrade -r 15.1-RELEASE
6. freebsd-version -kru ; uname -mvKU
7. freebsd-update install
8. do not reboot the operating system – ignore the on-screen advice from freebsd-update
9. freebsd-version -kru ; uname -KU
10. /bin/sh
11. export abi=FreeBSD:15:$(uname -p)
12. export osversion=1501000
13. pkg-static -o ABI=$abi -o OSVERSION=$osversion -o IGNORE_OSVERSION=yes update
14. pkg-static -o ABI=$abi -o OSVERSION=$osversion -o IGNORE_OSVERSION=yes upgrade -Fqy
15. ignore all on-screen recommendations to force a bootstrap of pkg
16. pkg-static -o ABI=$abi -o OSVERSION=$osversion -o IGNORE_OSVERSION=yes upgrade -Fqy
17. pkg-static -o ABI=$abi -o OSVERSION=$osversion -o IGNORE_OSVERSION=yes upgrade -U -r FreeBSD-kmods
18. pkg-static -o ABI=$abi -o OSVERSION=$osversion -o IGNORE_OSVERSION=yes upgrade -U -g 'virtualbox-ose-additions*'
19. exit
20. upgrade the boot loader
21. shutdown -r +10min "restarting with the upgraded kernel and boot loader"
22. after this restart, if software such as Discover invites you to upgrade software, ignore the invitation
23. freebsd-version -kru
24. freebsd-update install
25. be patient
26. freebsd-version -kru
27. if /usr/local/etc/pkg/repos/FreeBSD.conf includes FreeBSD and FreeBSD-kmods, change the names to FreeBSD-ports and FreeBSD-ports-kmods
28. pkg bootstrap -fy
29. pkg upgrade -fFqy -r FreeBSD-ports -r FreeBSD-ports-kmods
30. pkg upgrade -fFqy -r FreeBSD-ports -r FreeBSD-ports-kmods
31. pkg upgrade -fU -r FreeBSD-ports -r FreeBSD-ports-kmods
32. if the previous run of freebsd-update install asked you to rerun the command, do so
33. shutdown -r +10min "restarting with the upgraded userland"

[grahamperrin]

The guide above should help to avoid kernel panics and other issues with kernel modules.

Relevant documentation includes:

• freebsd-update(8)
• FreeBSD 15.1-RELEASE Upgrading Instructions | The FreeBSD Project (2026-06-15) – bugged.

TomAoki notes the importance of upgrading the boot loader before – not after – the first boot of 15.1-RELEASE.

Thanks to Emrion in The FreeBSD Forums for inspiring the sh(1)-specific export lines.

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Cross-post: Modernised use of freebsd-update … : r/freebsd

[grahamperrin]

upgrade the boot loader

sysutils/loaders-update

Update bootcodes and loaders

This utility is a tool designed to keep the FreeBSD bootcodes and loaders up-to-date. It's useful because the FreeBSD upgrade process doesn't update them. It verifies if they are up to date and updates them if desired.

[grahamperrin]

14.4-RELEASE to 15.0-RELEASE

Tested successfully with:

• 1500500 as the osversion
• latest for FreeBSD and FreeBSD-kmods.

I hope that 1500500 is appropriate. I took it from the FreeBSD 15 Versions section of Chapter 8 of the FreeBSD Porter's Handbook.