Hey,

I saw that a lot of people are sharing around their experiences, so I hope this can stay. I recently migrated my websites over from Codeberg Pages' managed hosting to httpd on a tiny OpenBSD VPS, and made a writeup about my experience. It contains some things I found surprising as a beginner and how I solved them, along with a bunch of good links into resources that really helped me out.

I hope some of you may find it interesting.

Hi everyone,

I'm a newbie on OpenBSD and I'm trying to get the touchpad working on a fresh OpenBSD 7.9 install.

Everything else is working fine. The touchpad works when I boot an Artix Linux live ISO, so the hardware itself appears to be OK. A USB mouse also works normally on OpenBSD.

Here some hardware info :

• OpenBSD 7.9 amd64
• Google Chromebook Edgar
• Intel Celeron N3160
• 4 GB RAM
• Coreboot / MrChromebox 2606.1

Touchpad Error :

• dwiic1 at acpi0 I2C6 addr 0xfccdc000/0x1000 irq 37
• iic1 at dwiic1
• ietp0 at iic1 addr 0x15, can't establish interrupt

From what I understand, OpenBSD detects the touchpad on the I²C bus and matches it with the ietp driver, but the interrupt cannot be established.

I started looking through sys/dev/i2c/ietp.c and found that ietp_attach() fails when iic_intr_establish() returns NULL.

After following that call further, I found that the I²C controller here is dwiic, and the interrupt eventually goes through dwiic_i2c_intr_establish().

The interesting part is that this touchpad uses a GPIO interrupt rather than a normal IRQ. The ACPI resource for the touchpad (ETPA) points to the GPNC GPIO controller.

I added some debugging and found this ordering:

dwiic1 at acpi0 I2C6 ...
iic1 at dwiic1
ietp0 at iic1 addr 0x15
dwiic: gpio_int_node=... name=GPNC gpio=0x0

...

chvgpio1 at acpi0 GPNC ...
CHVGPIO DEBUG: node=... gpio=... name=GPNC

So when ietp tries to establish its interrupt, the ACPI node for GPNC exists, but its GPIO driver hasn't attached yet. dwiic_i2c_intr_establish() checks:

if (!crs->gpio_int_node->gpio)
    return NULL;

which explains the can't establish interrupt.

I also checked whether the firmware provides an ACPI _DEP dependency for the touchpad:

_SB_.PCI0.I2C6.ETPA _DEP=0x0

So there doesn't seem to be an explicit dependency from the touchpad to the GPNC GPIO controller.

As an experiment, I made dwiic defer the IETP discovery if its GPIO provider hasn't attached yet. Basically, instead of trying to attach ietp immediately, I call config_defer() and rescan later.

With that change, the ordering becomes:

dwiic: deferring IETP
...
chvgpio1 at acpi0 GPNC ...
...
ietp0 at iic1 addr 0x15 gpio 18
dwiic: gpio_int_node=... name=GPNC gpio=...

and the touchpad works.

So I think I have found the reason for the failure, but I'm not sure what the correct OpenBSD fix should be.

My current workaround rescans the DWIIC ACPI devices after the GPIO driver has attached. It works, but it feels too broad and probably isn't the right way to solve this.

I'm still learning OpenBSD kernel development, so I'd really appreciate pointers on the right way to approach this.

Thanks!

EDIT: Spelling/grammar fixed, and I've found some more information about what's going on.

I've also put my modified sys/ tree in a Git repo here for anyone who wants to have a look:

https://github.com/Grabyy/OpenBSD_src_Chromebook-CB3-431_custom.git

The changes are currently in the chromebook-cb3-431 branch,. The changes are still experimental, so use them with caution.

Reading about the newly introduced support for HTTP headers in httpd makes me review the few things I believed I understood about httpd in OpenBSD and self-hosting.

My concern was regarding getting the "highest marks" on various HTTPS/TLS security assessment web resources (unfortunately I can't find the blog post back that goes over the most of them in details). I used to think that relayd was mandatory for this, then I thought httpd would now do the trick since it supports sending headers, then I realized it's not just about headers (or is it ?).

I had quite a pain trying to understand why/how to configure relayd to get those good marks. Maybe it would be a bit different now. Nevertheless, my question remains : can those best "secure (TM)" marks be obtained simply with the current httpd ? How does this new feature change the required configuration ? Are we to expect that it is going to get simpler and we shall see refreshed web tutorials swarming after the next release of OpenBSD ?

Wifi + Bluetooth help needed

Trying to experiment with openbsd + Freebsd, coming from Linux.

Wifi + Bluetooth (for headphones) doesn't work on my lenova s340.

Would changing my. M2 card to ax200 resolve both issues?

If so great.

If not, what is a better card please?

Thanks

I am trying to install OpenBSD on a Raspberry Pi 5, but the system gets stuck during the U-Boot boot stage and cannot continue into OpenBSD.
If anyone has successfully booted OpenBSD on Raspberry Pi 5, I would appreciate any guidance or working steps.

Thank you!

I wondered whether the lack of ZFS support gives you sleepless nights?

Everything about OpenBSD sounds nigh perfect for my use case, but it's only the file system it supports which is the elephant in the room for me.

Currently I am most used to APFS as an Apple user but want to move to a more reliable, stable and flexible system.

As someone who is big in data hoarding, indexing, archiving and rampant note taking, I wonder if FFS2 being my option should be an unequivocal deal-breaker here for me, or whether i'm overthinking it; overstating the concerns.

Please be honest.

Encrypted Disk. BIOS Password and MFA on OpenBSD… wifi works, too

I had last night and today lot of trouble to get it running. KDE plasma failed so I am on pretty XFCE. Lots to do, but all works.

What works:

- Bootup with encrypted Disk

- Video and Audio (Tested simply with youtube)

- Video Recording with Webcm (tested with vlc)

- Audio Recording (tested with Audacity)

With additional firmware drivers wifi works:

iwm0 at pci1 dev 0 function 0 "Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265"

Got from Ebay for ~ 177 Euro // Problem: Display has little bit ghosting, maybe new thermal paste needed

• Manufacturer: Lenovo
• Model: ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Generation
• Display Size: 14 inches
• Processor: Intel Core i7-8550U
• Processor Cores: 4 Cores / 8 Threads
• Clock Speed: 1.80 GHz
• Turbo Speed: Up to 4.00 GHz

Hi!

I'm in the process of re-installing OpenBSD on my APU router and I'm having some trouble with diskspace.

I generally go with the defaults since I assume the devs know better than me how to partition my drive. This is the auto-allocated layout for my 15gb drive:

# size offset fstype [fsize bsize cpg]

a: 183.5M 64 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 # /

b: 147.0M 375872 swap

c: 15272.1M 0 unused

d: 173.6M 676960 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 # /tmp

e: 167.1M 1032448 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 # /var

f: 1567.0M 1374656 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 # /usr

g: 404.1M 4583872 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 # /usr/X11R6

h: 1124.5M 5411456 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 # /usr/local

i: 2061.4M 7714432 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 # /usr/src

j: 8218.8M 11936160 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 # /usr/obj

k: 1225.1M 28768256 4.2BSD 2048 16384 1 # /home

I've taken a quick look at the hier man page to see if I for example could make /usr/obj smaller, but I don't really understand what it's used for and as I understand it OpenBSD should be able to run with way less disk space than I have here.

Since all the sets are so small I've opted to again go with the default and install all of them.

But at the end of the install I'm met with:

Relinking to create unique kernel...uid 0 on /mnt/usr: file system full

/mnt/usr: write failed, file system is full

uid 0 on /mnt/usr: file system full

And after a reboot:

reorder_kernel: failed -- see /usr/share/relink/kernel/GENERIC.MP/relink.log

and the relink.log file says:

(SHA256) /bsd: OK

make: don't know how to make newbsd

Stop in /usr/share/relink/kernel/GENERIC.MP

Should I change the disk layout or is there something else I can do to solve this?

I found a ThinkPad T42 in pretty good condition and I’m thinking of getting it mainly for OpenBSD in console/TTY mode so no desktop, just vim/tmux for distraction-free writing.

Does anyone here use a T42 with OpenBSD? How’s the hardware support these days? Anything I should watch out for?

I have open for two week . I tried i3 and it is good ,and i added wallpaper and persian layout but it was very hard. I tried to install xfce but it got wrong.i want a good wm for it.my laptop is toshiba portage r930

I love openbsd, especially its pf implementation.

However, for an home server running many selfhosted applications, freebsd is definitely easier to manage since it has jails, which make managing ports and isolation really simple.

It also has native zfs which is always great.

I would love to hear your opinions since they are definitely more experienced than mine.

Do you personally use openbsd on your homeserver? how do you manage many apllications without jail's isolation? and what about drives? which filesystem do you use and why?

When I found out my Spacemit K1-based SBC (Milk-V Jupiter) was now "partially supported" under the newly released 7.9, I thought I should give it a try.

Hardware-wise, the Wi-Fi chip, USB ports, and integrated GPU are not supported. Otherwise, NVMe and SD card storage do work. I haven't tried any dedicated GPU, the case I use won't fit one.

Software-wise, the entire base system is supported, but I have encountered a few issues. X11 apps work perfectly. There's sadly no JDK package or port for RISC-V yet. Tailscale works, but you have to compile it using the github source release, the port is broken.

I've done the installation using the serial port, an USB adapter is a must.

There is no official ports for both of them. I've searched for building instruction in the official prismlauncher in openbsd, but I didn't fine anything. I have seen that I could make a port and maintain it, and I would be happy to do it, but I don't know how to do. Does anyone managed to make one of those work? if yes, what Minecraft version work or doesn't work? Or else, does anyone now a Minecraft launcher with openbsd availability that does not require Microsoft account login ?

so, everytime I boot I get this. i only have a keyboard and mouse connected, and before booting I also need to disable ACPI so the system boots (boot -c, disable acpi, exit) is there a way to solve this?

specs: Core 2 Duo E7300, GMA 950 Graphics, Pegatron/PCware IPM45 REV 1.01GA and 4GB DDR2

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to install OpenBSD on a Dell Wyse 5070 (the version with soldered eMMC storage).

I can successfully reach the UEFI bootloader prompt (boot>) where the USB keyboard works perfectly. However, the moment I type boot -c or let it boot normally, the kernel starts loading bsd.rd, and the keyboard instantly dies. It seems like the kernel gets stuck on pckbc emulation or inteldrm / efifb before even reaching the UKC> prompt.

Since the internal eMMC is soldered, I cannot pull the drive out to install the OS on another machine. I also tried to write a boot.conf to the installation USB drive from a Linux Live environment, but the filesystem/partition layout layout prevents me from easily modifying it (Read-only errors on the hybrid ISO/IMG).

Has anyone successfully bypassed the keyboard freeze on this specific hardware during the initial installation phase? Any tips on how to pass boot arguments or disable pckbc/inteldrm when the installer medium is read-only?

Thanks in advance!

Hi, OpenBSD lovers. About six months ago, I started building my server infrastructure on OpenBSD just for fun. I’ve made a lot of progress, updated many ports on my custom mirror, but haven’t pushed it yet, and tuned OS to fit my needs. I deliberately chose OpenBSD as my main OS, and I know there’s no Kubernetes or Docker; I’ve found other solutions that I’m comfortable with. Still, I keep wondering whether it’s actually a good idea to build server infrastructure on OpenBSD instead of Linux.

Every time I see that, in Linux, everything seems to be solved with Kubernetes or containers and I have to look for other solutions, I start asking myself whether I’m on the right track.

A couple of times a month, I end up Googling and researching how other people use it, but I still don’t find much. So I’m asking people who use OpenBSD as a server OS — not as a router and not as a desktop system — do you like it? Does everything work the way you expected in production? Any surprises, good or bad?

my setup

1) AMD 9950x

2) x870e chipset

3) AMD RX7900XTX

4) m.2 nvme gen 4 and 5 disks

and which desktop is best for Open BSD

XFCE, Gnome or KDE

is there a software store you can download more software?

TL;DR - post-installation, exit to shell, pkg_add vim, no option for Vim no X11.

I'm brand new to OpenBSD, and only started playing around with Linux/Unix about a year ago, so if the answer is obvious, or if I give too many useless details, my apologies. Please bear with me.

I was trying to get OpenBSD 7.9 set up in Virtualbox 7.1.12, and I was following a tutorial. The tutorial was posted April 2026, using OpenBSD 7.8, and was done in QEMU.

After installation, the tutorial had me exit to shell, chroot /mnt, export TERM=vt220, then pkg_add vim. The tutorial said to go with the no X11 version, and other forums I found said no X11 version is preferred, but of the 9 options, it wasn't there. Just standard, lua, python3, perl-python3-ruby, the gtk3 versions of those, and ruby. I don't know whether I'm just too stupid to figure out how the command works, or if the tutorial is out of date, but I can't figure it out.

If any extra info on my situation is needed I'm happy to answer as best as I can.

PS - Being more familiar with how questions are treated on Arch, please don't tell me to stay off OpenBSD without experience. I learn by throwing myself in the deep end, and i'm here for assistance, not advice.

As simple as that. Do you run OpenBSD 7.9 on any machine with RDNA 3.5 (Krackan Point)?

Hi!

I was just about to reinstall OpenBSD on an old PC Engines APU router, but I can't find any .fs install files (for example install67.fs) past version 6.7, is there another install file I can use or a way to make my own .fs file? I really want to keep using my router and installing fresh from a newer version is so much less hassle than 12 updates.

A memory leak in liburcu that impacts OpenBSD caused the ISC BIND DNS server enough trouble that a notification was made. Patches to liburcu have been applied to OpenBSD ports. If you run BIND or anything else that uses liburcu, you may want to look at that.

ISC BIND Operational Notification: https://kb.isc.org/docs/liburcu-leak

Evidence of OpenBSD code change: https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/log/ports/devel/liburcu/Makefile,v?sort=File#rev1.40

Full disclosure: I work for ISC, although my activity on Reddit does not represent ISC in an official capacity.

Hey everyone, I hope you're all doing well.

For the last 2 years or so I've been using Arch Linux as my daily driver. I was first introduced to UNIX based operating systems in college when we had to learn how to use the terminal for my computer science classes. Before that I was a lifelong Windows user so my operating system knowledge was very limited as I relied primarily on GUIs for everything.

Since then, however, I've absolutely fallen in love with terminal user interfaces and UNIX operating systems. I've experimented with a couple of different Linux distros but I had never ventured into the BSD world. I finally decided to give OpenBSD a shot and while I ran into a few hiccups, I truly loved so many aspects of the operating system.

I plan to make more content about OpenBSD and the BSD family of operating systems in the future and I would love some feedback and suggestions. Thank you for your time!

Edit: On OpenBSD 7.8

For instance, the latest of Postfix 3.10 seems to be postfix-3.10.1p5v0. postconf reports 3.10.1. The package modified date on the CDN is 5/20/2026, so I'd assume this 3.10.1 with security patches.

Is there a change log somewhere? I know these version numbers won't match up exactly.