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We want to try out OpenBSD on desktop, but using the -current flavor:

https://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq5.html#Flavors

-current: The -current branch is where active development work is done.
Every six months, -current is tagged and becomes the next-release.

Where can I download the installer ISO for this flavor and how do I keep the installed -current flavor up-to-date?

pkg_add handles ports, but this is about the main OS, so it must be something else with we can update the binary files.

Hessnov
  • 591

3 Answers3

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If you already have stable installed, you can change to current with the following instructions:

  1. doas ftp -o /bsd.rd https://cloudflare.cdn.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/snapshots/amd64/bsd.rd

  2. Reboot your machine with doas reboot

  3. Type: boot bsd.rd at bootloader prompt

  4. Select U(Upgrade) at first prompt question

  5. After upgrading everything and after rebooting again, type: doas pkg_add -u to get all the most recent updates since your installation.

rodolfo
  • 41
3

Download the snapshot for your platform and install it. When you want to update the base, download the file bsd.rd from the snapshot directory in the mirror, copy it to / and reboot. Run boot bsd.rd in the boot loader prompt and reply u in the question which the installer asks you. That's all.

Rufo El Magufo
  • 3,226
3

If you're installing from scratch, instead of installing -stable , you can just download the snapshot installXX.iso for your arch and install as usual.

Once in a while you'll need to upgrade to the actual -current. While you can use the bsd.rd method or the manual one (extracting the sets - like for a remote machine you don't have console access), there is now sysupgrade(8), an official tool for upgrades that handles -current too.

Anyhow, following current.html is quite mandatory, and be sure to always upgrade from stable to current from a snapshot (not compiling from source) as stated in said page.

petrus
  • 191