I'm curious why root was required. If I had to guess it was building some filesystem images where the in-kernel filesystem driver previously needed to be used?
“Building FreeBSD release artifacts no longer requires root access to create device files, set proper ownership, and mount file systems during the build process. ”
you mean, docker? Everything you can do in docker, you can do with jails.
Jails can have Virtual Networks with their own interfaces, you can resource limit, host virtual machines and setup nested jails. As well run the Linux kernel. What more could you want?
I'm curious why root was required. If I had to guess it was building some filesystem images where the in-kernel filesystem driver previously needed to be used?
“Building FreeBSD release artifacts no longer requires root access to create device files, set proper ownership, and mount file systems during the build process. ”
Now if only container support was ready it would be a viable option instead of Linux as the default base OS and container assumption.
Container support is ready since year 2000 on FreeBSD while Linux needed to catch up the game and with Docker finally made it in 2013.
More here:
- https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2023/06/28/freebsd-jails-cont...
- https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2025/04/11/freebsd-jails-secu...
- https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2025/04/08/are-freebsd-jails-...
Your ignorance is showing. Jails have been supported for a bit over 25 years.
Current docker tooling is so much nicer than whatever I was messing around with in jails 16 years ago.
> container support
you mean, docker? Everything you can do in docker, you can do with jails.
Jails can have Virtual Networks with their own interfaces, you can resource limit, host virtual machines and setup nested jails. As well run the Linux kernel. What more could you want?
He means he wants to run FreeBSD inside the container environment, not as the host OS.
The container environment has to sit on a kernel. Whether that being Linux or BSD; BSD has shown support where *nix has not.