17.2 bsdconfig

bsdconfig System Configuration Tool Overview

bsdconfig is a text-based configuration tool for FreeBSD, used for new system installation and configuration of existing systems. Unlike bsdinstall (used during installation), bsdconfig can be used at any time for configuration management.

The source code for bsdconfig is hosted at https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd-src/tree/main/usr.sbin/bsdconfig

Tip

bsdconfig also supports pure character command-line mode.

bsdconfig Main Menu Functions and Operations

The bsdconfig main menu provides various functional modules for system configuration. If FreeBSD is already installed, you can use this menu to customize the system configuration. You can use the pkg tool to install additional third-party software that is not included in the base system.

Execute the command:

# bsdconfig

The output will be as follows:

┌--------------------┤Main Menu├-------------------┐
│ If you've already installed FreeBSD, you may use │
│ this menu to customize it somewhat to suit your  │
│ particular configuration.  Most importantly, you │
│ can use the Packages utility to load extra '3rd  │
│ party' software not provided in the base         │
│ distributions.                                   │
│ ┌----------------------------------------------┐ │
│ │         X Exit                               │ │
│ │         1 Usage                              │ │
│ │         2 Documentation installation         │ │
│ │         3 Packages                           │ │
│ │         4 Root Password                      │ │
│ │         5 Disk Management                    │ │
│ │         6 Login/Group Management             │ │
│ │         7 Console                            │ │
│ │         8 Timezone                           │ │
│ │         9 Mouse                              │ │
│ │         A Networking Management              │ │
│ │         B Security                           │ │
│ │         C Startup                            │ │
│ │         D Ttys                               │ │
│ └----------------------------------------------┘ │
├--------------------------------------------------┤
│[      OK      ] [Exit bsdconfig] [     Help     ]│
└--------------------------------------------------┘

Shortcut key explanation: The number or letter before the option name indicates that pressing the corresponding key selects that item. For example, pressing 1 selects 1 Usage, and pressing uppercase A selects A Networking Management.

Option	Description
X Exit	Exit
1 Usage	bsdconfig usage instructions
2 Documentation installation	Install documentation
3 Packages	Packages
4 Root Password	Root password
5 Disk Management	Disk management
6 Login/Group Management	Login management/group management
7 Console	Console
8 Timezone	Timezone
9 Mouse	Mouse
A Networking Management	Network management
B Security	Security
C Startup	Startup items
D Ttys	TTY
OK	Confirm
Exit bsdconfig	Exit
Help	Help

1 Usage Instructions

Selecting this item will pop up a window displaying detailed usage instructions, with the following content:

How to Use This System

======================

[After reading the contents of this screen, press PageDown to proceed to the next screen]

During this installation process, most dialog boxes support the following key operations:

Key	Action
Spacebar	Select or toggle the current item.
Enter	Complete the operation for a menu or item.
Up arrow	Move to the previous item (or scroll up in a text display box).
Down arrow	Move to the next item (or scroll down in a text display box).
Tab	Move to the next item or group.
Right arrow	Move to the next item or group (same as Tab).
SHIFT + Tab	Move to the previous item or group.
Left arrow	Move to the previous item or group (same as SHIFT + Tab).
PAGE UP	Scroll up one page in a text display box.
PAGE DOWN	Scroll down one page in a text display box.
F1	Display related help text.

If you see small ^(-) or v(+) symbols at the edge of a menu, it indicates that there are more items above/below the current view due to insufficient screen space. In a text display box, the amount of text above the current position is displayed as a percentage in the lower right corner. Use the Up/Down arrow keys to scroll line by line, and PageUp/PageDown keys to scroll by page.

Selecting OK in a menu confirms the operation it controls. Selecting Cancel cancels the operation, typically returning to the previous menu. Use Tab to move the cursor and select buttons.

Most interfaces have a Help button. It is recommended to make full use of this feature, as it usually provides useful contextual hints; if you are unsure about an operation in a configuration menu, select Help.

Special Features

======================

If the first letter of a menu item name is unique, typing that letter will select the menu item. Typically, it is the item's number.

The console driver includes a scrollback buffer for viewing content that has scrolled off the screen. To use the scrollback feature, press the Scroll Lock key on the keyboard, then use the arrow keys or Page Up/Page Down keys to scroll through the saved text. To exit scrollback mode, press the Scroll Lock key again. This feature is useful for viewing boot messages and is also applicable when working with sub-shells or other "expert modes" that do not use menus and whose output often scrolls to the top of the screen.

FreeBSD also supports multiple "virtual consoles," which can be used for multiple simultaneous sessions. Use ALT + F to switch screens, where F<number> is the function key corresponding to the screen you wish to view. By default, the system enables 8 virtual consoles (ttyv0 through ttyv7); you can enable more virtual consoles by editing the /etc/ttys file, changing the "off" field of the relevant vty entries to "on" (enabling the 9th and above also requires manually adding new entries). The default kernel supports up to 12 virtual terminals (which can be increased to a maximum of 16 by rebuilding the kernel with the VT_MAXWINDOWS kernel option).

2 Documentation Installation

FreeBSD documentation can be installed via bsdconfig.

┌---------------┤FreeBSD Documentation Installation├---------------┐
│ This menu allows you to install the whole documentation set from │
│ the FreeBSD Documentation Project: Handbook, FAQ, and articles.  │
│                                                                  │
│ Please select the language versions you wish to install. At      │
│ minimum, you should install the English version, the original    │
│ version of the documentation.                                    │
│ ┌--------------------------------------------------------------┐ │
│ │         [ ] bn    Bengali Documentation                      │ │
│ │         [ ] da    Danish Documentation                       │ │
│ │         [ ] de    German Documentation                       │ │
│ │         [ ] el    Greek Documentation                        │ │
│ │         [X] en    English Documentation (recommended)        │ │
│ │         [ ] es    Spanish Documentation                      │ │
│ │         [ ] fr    French Documentation                       │ │
│ │         [ ] hu    Hungarian Documentation                    │ │
│ │         [ ] id    Indonesian Documentation                   │ │
│ │         [ ] it    Italian Documentation                      │ │
│ │         [ ] ja    Japanese Documentation                     │ │
│ │         [ ] ko    Korean Documentation                       │ │
│ │         [ ] mn    Mongolian Documentation                    │ │
│ │         [ ] nl    Dutch Documentation                        │ │
│ │         [ ] pl    Polish Documentation                       │ │
│ │         [ ] pt    Portuguese Documentation                   │ │
│ │         [ ] ru    Russian Documentation                      │ │
│ │         [ ] tr    Turkish Documentation                      │ │
│ └-↓↓↓----------------------------------------------------- 90%-┘ │
├------------------------------------------------------------------┤
│                       [  OK  ]     [Cancel]                      │
└----------------- Use arrows, SPACE, TAB or ENTER ----------------┘

Select and install the documentation for the desired languages.

Note

It is not recommended to install Chinese documentation (whether Simplified or Traditional), as its content updates lag far behind the English documentation.

3 Packages

The 3 Packages menu is used to configure the installation method for FreeBSD packages.

┌-----------------------┤Choose Installation Media├-----------------------┐
│ FreeBSD can be installed from a variety of different installation       │
│ media, ranging from floppies to an Internet FTP server.  If you're      │
│ installing FreeBSD from a supported CD/DVD drive then this is generally │
│ the best media to use if you have no overriding reason for using other  │
│ media.                                                                  │
│ ┌---------------------------------------------------------------------┐ │
│ │   1 CD/DVD      Install from a FreeBSD CD/DVD                       │ │
│ │   2 HTTP Proxy  Install from an FTP server through an HTTP proxy    │ │
│ │   3 HTTP Direct Install from an HTTP server                         │ │
│ │   4 Directory   Install from the existing filesystem                │ │
│ │   5 NFS         Install over NFS                                    │ │
│ │   6 DOS         Install from a DOS partition                        │ │
│ │   7 UFS         Install from a UFS partition                        │ │
│ │   8 USB         Install from a USB drive                            │ │
│ │   X Options     View/Set various media options                      │ │
│ └---------------------------------------------------------------------┘ │
├-------------------------------------------------------------------------┤
│                   [  OK  ]     [Cancel]     [ Help ]                    │
└------ Choose Help for more information on the various media types ------┘

Option	Description
CD/DVD	Install from FreeBSD CD/DVD
HTTP Proxy	Install from an FTP server through an HTTP proxy
HTTP Direct	Install directly from an HTTP server
Directory	Install from an existing filesystem
NFS	Install over NFS
DOS	Install from a DOS partition
UFS	Install from a UFS partition
USB	Install from a USB device
Options	View/set various media options

3 HTTP Direct

Select the most suitable site, or select "other" to specify a different site. "Main Site" directs users to the nearest official mirror via GeoDNS (carrying the full range of distributions and supporting both IPv4 and IPv6). Other sites are known as "Community Mirrors"; not every site carries more than the base distribution kits. Select a site.

┌-------------┤Please select a FreeBSD HTTP distribution site├-------------┐
│ Please select the best suitable site for you or "other" if you want to   │
│ specify a different choice. The "Main Site" directs users to the nearest │
│ project managed mirror via GeoDNS (they carry the full range of possible │
│ distributions and support both IPv4 and IPv6). All other sites are known │
│ as "Community Mirrors"; not every site listed here carries more than the │
│ base distribution kits. Select a site!                                   │
│ ┌----------------------------------------------------------------------┐ │
│ │      pkg Main Site (GeoDNS) pkg.freebsd.org                          │ │
│ │      URL                    Specify some other http site by URL      │ │
│ └----------------------------------------------------------------------┘ │
├--------------------------------------------------------------------------┤
│                           [  OK  ]     [Cancel]                          │
└----------------------------- Select a site! ------------------------------

If you select "pkg Main Site (GeoDNS) pkg.freebsd.org", you will be directed to the FreeBSD official mirror site;

If you select "URL Specify some other http site by URL":

┌------------------┤Package Selection├------------------┐
│ Please specify the URL of a FreeBSD distribution on a │
│ remote http site.                                     │
│ A URL looks like this: http://<hostname>/<path>       │
│ ┌---------------------------------------------------┐ │
│ │                                                   │ │
│ └---------------------------------------------------┘ │
├-------------------------------------------------------┤
│                 [  OK  ]     [Cancel]                 │
└-------------------------------------------------------┘

Specifying a domestic mirror site may not work.

Options

----------┤Options Editor├-----------┐
│ ┌---------------------------------┐ │
│ │  NFS Secure      NO             │ │
│ │  NFS Slow        NO             │ │
│ │  NFS TCP         NO             │ │
│ │  NFS version 3   YES            │ │
│ │  Debugging       NO             │ │
│ │  Yes to All      NO             │ │
│ │  DHCP            NO             │ │
│ │  IPv6            NO             │ │
│ │  Editor          /usr/bin/ee    │ │
│ │  Release Name    15.0-CURRENT   │ │
│ │  Media Type      <not yet set>  │ │
│ │  Media Timeout   300            │ │
│ │  Package Temp    /var/tmp       │ │
│ │  Re-scan Devices <*>            │ │
│ │  Use Defaults    [RESET!]       │ │
│ └---------------------------------┘ │
├-------------------------------------┤
│   [  OK  ]   [ Done ]   [ Help ]    │
└---- Press arrows, TAB or ENTER -----┘

Option	Description
NFS Secure	NFS secure
NFS Slow	NFS Slow
NFS TCP	NFS TCP
NFS version 3	NFS version 3
Debugging	Debugging
Yes to All	Yes to all
DHCP	DHCP
IPv6	IPv6
Editor	Editor
Release Name	RELEASE version
Media Type	Media type
Media Timeout	Media timeout
Package Temp	Package cache
Re-scan Devices	Re-scan devices
Use Defaults	Restore default configuration

4 Root Password

This menu is used to change the root user password. The entered password is displayed as *** on the screen.

┌--------------------┤Root Password├-------------------┐
│ Enter New Password                                   │
│ ┌--------------------------------------------------┐ │
│ │                                                  │ │
│ └--------------------------------------------------┘ │
├------------------------------------------------------┤
│                 [  OK  ]     [Cancel]                │
└---- Use alpha-numeric, punctuation, TAB or ENTER ----┘

5 Disk Management

┌--------------------┤Partition Editor├---------------┐
│ Create partitions for FreeBSD, F1 for help.         │
│ No changes will be made until you select Finish.    │
│                                                     │
│                                                     │
├-----------------------------------------------------┤
│  mmcsd0          116 GB    GPT                      │
│    mmcsd0p1      260 MB    efi                      │
│    mmcsd0p2      116 GB    freebsd-zfs              │
│  mmcsd0boot0     4.0 MB                             │
│  mmcsd0boot1     4.0 MB                             │
│  nda0            466 GB    GPT                      │
│    nda0p1        277 MB    efi                      │
│    nda0p2        200 GB    ms-basic-data            │
│    nda0p3        148 GB    ms-basic-data            │
│    nda0p4        85 GB     ms-basic-data            │
├---vvv----------------------------------------83%----┤
├-----------------------------------------------------┤
│[Create] [Delete] [Modify] [Revert] [ Auto ] [Finish]│

This interface is the same as the partition management interface in bsdinstall, and the operation method is also identical.

6 Login/Group Management

┌------┤Login/Group Management├------┐
│ ┌--------------------------------┐ │
│ │        X Exit                  │ │
│ │        1 Add Login             │ │
│ │        2 Edit/View Login       │ │
│ │        3 Delete Login          │ │
│ │        - -                     │ │
│ │        4 Add Group             │ │
│ │        5 Edit/View Group       │ │
│ │        6 Delete Group          │ │
│ └--------------------------------┘ │
├------------------------------------┤
│   [  OK  ]   [Cancel]   [ Help ]   │
└---- Press arrows, TAB or ENTER ----┘

Operation	Description
X Exit	Exit
Add Login	Add login
Edit/View Login	Edit/view login user
Delete Login	Delete login user
- -	Separator
Add Group	Add group
Edit/View Group	Edit/view group
Delete Group	Delete group

"Edit/View Login" Edit Login User

Using the created user account ykla as an example:

┌----------┤Edit/View User: ykla├-----------┐
│ Choose Save/Exit when finished or Cancel. │
│ ┌---------------------------------------┐ │
│ │     X Save/Exit                       │ │
│ │     1 Login: ykla                     │ │
│ │     2 Full Name: User &               │ │
│ │     3 Password: -----                 │ │
│ │     4 UID: 1001                       │ │
│ │     5 Group ID: 1001 (ykla)           │ │
│ │     6 Member of Groups: wheel         │ │
│ │     7 Login Class:                    │ │
│ │     8 Password Expires on:            │ │
│ │     9 Account Expires on:             │ │
│ │     A Home Directory: /home/ykla      │ │
│ │     B Shell: /bin/sh                  │ │
│ │     - Create Home Directory: N/A      │ │
│ │     D Create Dotfiles: No             │ │
│ └---------------------------------------┘ │
├-------------------------------------------┤
│           [  OK  ]     [Cancel]           │
└------- Press arrows, TAB or ENTER --------┘

The following information for ykla can be modified:

Item	Description
X Save/Exit	Save and exit
Login: ykla	Login name: ykla
Full Name: User &	Full name: User &
Password: -----	Password: -----, can be modified
UID: 1001	User ID: 1001
Group ID: 1001 (ykla)	Group ID: 1001 (ykla)
Member of Groups: wheel	Member of groups: wheel
Login Class:	Login class:
Password Expires on:	Password expiration date:
Account Expires on:	Account expiration date:
Home Directory: /home/ykla	Home directory: /home/ykla
Shell: /bin/sh	Shell: /bin/sh
Create Home Directory: N/A	Create home directory: N/A
Create Dotfiles: No	Create dotfiles: No

"Edit/View Group" Edit/View Group

Using the ykla group of the created user account ykla as an example:

┌----------┤Edit/View Group: ykla├----------┐
│ Choose Save/Exit when finished or Cancel. │
│ ┌---------------------------------------┐ │
│ │           X Save/Exit                 │ │
│ │           1 Group: ykla               │ │
│ │           2 Password: -----           │ │
│ │           3 Group ID: 1001            │ │
│ │           4 Group Members:            │ │
│ └---------------------------------------┘ │
├-------------------------------------------┤
│           [  OK  ]     [Cancel]           │
└------- Press arrows, TAB or ENTER --------┘

Item	Content
X Save/Exit	Save and exit
Group: ykla	Group: ykla
Password: -----	Password: -----
Group ID: 1001	Group ID: 1001
Group Members:	Group members:

7 Console

┌-------------------┤System Console Configuration├--------------------┐
│ The system console driver for FreeBSD has a number of configuration │
│ options which may be set according to your preference.              │
│                                                                     │
│ When you are done setting configuration options, select Cancel.     │
│ ┌-----------------------------------------------------------------┐ │
│ │          X Exit      Exit this menu                             │ │
│ │          2 Font      Choose an alternate screen font            │ │
│ │          3 Keymap    Choose an alternate keyboard map           │ │
│ │          4 Repeat    Set the rate at which keys repeat          │ │
│ │          5 Saver     Configure the screen saver                 │ │
│ │          6 Screenmap Choose an alternate screenmap              │ │
│ │          7 Ttys      Choose console terminal type               │ │
│ └-----------------------------------------------------------------┘ │
├---------------------------------------------------------------------┤
│                        [  OK  ]     [Cancel]                        │
└-------------- Configure your system console settings ---------------┘

Menu	Description
X Exit	Exit this menu
2 Font	Choose an alternate screen font
3 Keymap	Choose an alternate keyboard layout
4 Repeat	Set key repeat rate
5 Saver	Configure screen saver
6 Screenmap	Choose an alternate screen map
7 Ttys	Choose console terminal type

• "2 Font" is primarily for Western European character set configuration.
• "5 Saver" screen saver configuration is covered in other chapters.
• "6 Screenmap" is primarily for Western European character set configuration.
• "7 Ttys" is primarily for Western European or Russian regional configuration.

8 Timezone

The configuration is the same as bsdinstall and will not be repeated here.

9 Mouse

You can run the mouse daemon to cut and paste in the text console. You need to specify the port and mouse protocol type before enabling the daemon. If you do not want this feature, select 6 to disable the daemon.

After enabling the mouse daemon, you can set /dev/sysmouse as the mouse device and select SysMouse or MouseSystems as the mouse protocol when running the X configuration tool (see the Configuration menu).

┌----------------------┤Please configure your mouse├---------------------┐
│ You can cut and paste text in the text console by running the mouse    │
│ daemon.  Specify a port and a protocol type of your mouse and enable   │
│ the mouse daemon.  If you don't want this feature, select 6 to disable │
│ the daemon.                                                            │
│ Once you've enabled the mouse daemon, you can specify "/dev/sysmouse"  │
│ as your mouse device and "SysMouse" or "MouseSystems" as mouse         │
│ protocol when running the X configuration utility (see Configuration   │
│ menu).                                                                 │
│ ┌--------------------------------------------------------------------┐ │
│ │               X Exit    Exit this menu                             │ │
│ │               2 Enable  Test and run the mouse daemon              │ │
│ │               3 Type    Select mouse protocol type                 │ │
│ │               4 Port    Select mouse port                          │ │
│ │               5 Flags   Set additional flags                       │ │
│ │               6 Disable Disable the mouse daemon                   │ │
│ └--------------------------------------------------------------------┘ │
├------------------------------------------------------------------------┤
│                          [  OK  ]     [Cancel]                         │
└------------------------------------------------------------------------┘

Menu	Description
X Exit	Exit this menu
2 Enable	Test and run the mouse daemon
3 Type	Select mouse protocol type
4 Port	Select mouse port
5 Flags	Set additional flags
6 Disable	Disable the mouse daemon

2 Enable Test and Run the Mouse Daemon

┌------------┤User Confirmation Requested├-----------┐
│ Now move the mouse and see if it works.            │
│ (Note that buttons don't have any effect for now.) │
│                                                    │
│          Is the mouse cursor moving?               │
│                                                    │
├----------------------------------------------------┤
│                [ Yes  ]     [  No  ]               │
└------------ Press arrows, TAB or ENTER ------------┘


Now move the mouse and verify if it works.
(Note that the mouse buttons have no effect at this time.)
Is the mouse cursor moving?

3 Type Select Mouse Protocol Type

If the mouse is connected to the PS/2 mouse port or the bus mouse port, you should always choose "Auto", regardless of the model and brand of the mouse. All other protocol types are for serial mice and should not be used with PS/2 port mice or bus mice. If you have a serial mouse and are not sure about its protocol, you should also try "Auto". It may not work for the serial mouse if the mouse does not support the PnP standard, but it won't cause any harm. Many 2-button (left and right) serial mice are compatible with "Microsoft" or "MouseMan". 3-button serial mice (left, right, and middle buttons) may be compatible with "MouseSystems" or "MouseMan". If the serial mouse has a scroll wheel, it may be compatible with "IntelliMouse".

┌------------------┤Select a protocol type for your mouse├------------------┐
│ If your mouse is attached to the PS/2 mouse port or the bus mouse port,   │
│ you should always choose "Auto", regardless of the model and the brand    │
│ of the mouse.  All other protocol types are for serial mice and should    │
│ not be used with the PS/2 port mouse or the bus mouse.  If you have       │
│ a serial mouse and are not sure about its protocol, you should also try   │
│ "Auto".  It may not work for the serial mouse if the mouse does not       │
│ support the PnP standard.  But, it won't hurt.  Many 2-button serial mice │
│ are compatible with "Microsoft" or "MouseMan". 3-button serial mice       │
│ may be compatible with "MouseSystems" or "MouseMan".  If the serial       │
│ mouse has a wheel, it may be compatible with "IntelliMouse".              │
│ ┌-----------------------------------------------------------------------┐ │
│ │    1 Auto          Bus mouse, PS/2 style mouse or PnP serial mouse    │ │
│ │    2 GlidePoint    ALPS GlidePoint pad (serial)                       │ │
│ │    3 Hitachi       Hitachi tablet (serial)                            │ │
│ │    4 IntelliMouse  Microsoft IntelliMouse (serial)                    │ │
│ │    5 Logitech      Logitech protocol (old models) (serial)            │ │
│ │    6 Microsoft     Microsoft protocol (serial)                        │ │
│ │    7 MM Series     MM Series protocol (serial)                        │ │
│ │    8 MouseMan      Logitech MouseMan/TrackMan models (serial)         │ │
│ │    9 MouseSystems  MouseSystems protocol (serial)                     │ │
│ │    A ThinkingMouse Kensington ThinkingMouse (serial)                  │ │
│ └-----------------------------------------------------------------------┘ │
├---------------------------------------------------------------------------┤
│                           [  OK  ]     [Cancel]                           │
└---------------------------------------------------------------------------┘

Menu	Description
1 Auto	Bus mouse, PS/2 style mouse, PnP serial mouse
2 GlidePoint	ALPS GlidePoint touchpad (serial)
3 Hitachi	Hitachi tablet (serial)
4 IntelliMouse	Microsoft IntelliMouse (serial)
5 Logitech	Logitech protocol (old models) (serial)
6 Microsoft	Microsoft protocol (serial)
7 MM Series	MM Series protocol (serial)
8 MouseMan	Logitech MouseMan/TrackMan (serial)
9 MouseSystems	MouseSystems protocol (serial)
A ThinkingMouse	Kensington ThinkingMouse (serial)

A Networking Management

┌--------┤Network Management├--------┐
│ ┌--------------------------------┐ │
│ │    X Exit                      │ │
│ │    1 Hostname/Domain           │ │
│ │    2 Network Interfaces        │ │
│ │    3 Wireless Networks         │ │
│ │    4 Default Router/Gateway    │ │
│ │    5 DNS nameservers           │ │
│ └--------------------------------┘ │
├------------------------------------┤
│        [  OK  ]     [Cancel]       │
└---- Press arrows, TAB or ENTER ----┘

Note

Due to the inability to input passwords, this interface cannot connect to Wi-Fi. This issue has been reported as a bug, see Cannot select any wifi or input password in bsdconfig.

Menu	Description
X Exit	Exit
1 Hostname/Domain	Hostname/domain
2 Network Interfaces	Network interfaces
3 Wireless Networks	Wireless networks
4 Default Router/Gateway	Default router/gateway
5 DNS nameservers	DNS name servers

B Security

This menu is used to configure the operating system security policy. Before modifying settings, you should carefully read the system documentation to avoid service disruption caused by improper operations. Most settings will only take effect after a system reboot.

┌-----------------------┤System Security Options Menu├-----------------------┐
│ This menu allows you to configure aspects of the operating system security │
│ policy.  Please read the system documentation carefully before modifying   │
│ these settings, as they may cause service disruption if used improperly.   │
│                                                                            │
│ Most settings will take effect only following a system reboot.             │
│ ┌------------------------------------------------------------------------┐ │
│ │    X Exit            Exit this menu                                    │ │
│ │    2 [ ] Securelevel Configure securelevels for the system             │ │
│ │    3 [X] NFS port    Require that the NFS clients use reserved ports   │ │
│ └------------------------------------------------------------------------┘ │
├----------------------------------------------------------------------------┤
│                            [  OK  ]     [Cancel]                           │
└------------------------ Press arrows, TAB or ENTER ------------------------┘

Menu	Description
X Exit	Exit this menu
2 [ ] Securelevel	Configure system securelevels
3 [X] NFS port	Require NFS clients to use reserved ports

2 [ ] Securelevel Configure System Securelevels

This menu allows you to select the securelevel at which the system runs.

When operating at a securelevel, certain root privileges are disabled, which may increase resistance to exploits and protect system integrity.

┌---------------------┤Securelevel Configuration Menu├---------------------┐
│ This menu allows you to select the securelevel your system runs with.    │
│ When operating at a securelevel, certain root privileges are disabled,   │
│ which may increase resistance to exploits and protect system integrity.  │
│ In secure mode system flags may not be overridden by the root user,      │
│ access to direct kernel memory is limited, and kernel modules may not    │
│ be changed.  In highly secure mode, mounted file systems may not be      │
│ modified on-disk, tampering with the system clock is prohibited.  In     │
│ network secure mode configuration changes to firewalling are prohibited. │
│                                                                          │
│ ┌----------------------------------------------------------------------┐ │
│ │                  Disabled       Disable securelevels                 │ │
│ │                  Secure         Secure mode                          │ │
│ │                  Highly Secure  Highly secure mode                   │ │
│ │                  Network Secure Network secure mode                  │ │
│ └----------------------------------------------------------------------┘ │
├--------------------------------------------------------------------------┤
│                    [  OK  ]     [Cancel]     [ Help ]                    │
└------------------- Select a securelevel to operate at -------------------┘

Secure mode descriptions:

• In Secure mode, the root user cannot override system flags (parameters or configurations), access to kernel memory is restricted, and kernel modules cannot be changed.
• In Highly Secure mode, mounted filesystems cannot be modified directly on disk, and the system clock cannot be changed.
• In Network Secure mode, modifications to firewall configurations are not allowed.

C Startup

┌----------------┤Startup├---------------┐
│ ┌------------------------------------┐ │
│ │  X Exit                            │ │
│ │  1 Toggle Startup Services         │ │
│ │  2 View/Edit Startup Configuration │ │
│ │  3 Miscellaneous Startup Services  │ │
│ └------------------------------------┘ │
├----------------------------------------┤
│          [  OK  ]     [Cancel]         │
└------ Press arrows, TAB or ENTER ------┘

Menu	Description
X Exit	X Exit
1 Toggle Startup Services	1 Toggle startup services
2 View/Edit Startup Configuration	2 View/edit startup configuration
3 Miscellaneous Startup Services	3 Miscellaneous startup services

1 Toggle Startup Services

┌------------------------------┤Toggle Startup Services├------------------------------┐
│ ┌---------------------------------------------------------------------------------┐ │
│ │ X Exit                     Exit this menu                                       │ │
│ │ accounting_enable          [ ] /etc/rc.d/accounting; Default: NO                │ │
│ │  apm_enable                [ ] /etc/rc.d/apm; Default: NO                       │ │
│ │  auditd_enable             [ ] /etc/rc.d/auditd; Default: NO                    │ │
│ │  auditdistd_enable         [ ] /etc/rc.d/auditdistd; Default: NO                │ │
│ │  autofs_enable             [ ] /etc/rc.d/automount; Default: NO                 │ │
│ │  autofs_enable             [ ] /etc/rc.d/automountd; Default: NO                │ │
│ │  autofs_enable             [ ] /etc/rc.d/autounmountd; Default: NO              │ │
│ │  avahi_daemon_enable       [ ] /usr/local/etc/rc.d/avahi-daemon; Default: NO    │ │
│ │  avahi_dnsconfd_enable     [ ] /usr/local/etc/rc.d/avahi-dnsconfd; Default: NO  │ │
│ │ background_fsck            [X] /etc/rc.d/bgfsck; Default: YES                   │ │
│ │  blacklistd_enable         [ ] /etc/rc.d/blacklistd; Default: NO                │ │
│ │  bootparamd_enable         [ ] /etc/rc.d/bootparams; Default: NO                │ │
│ │  bsnmpd_enable             [ ] /etc/rc.d/bsnmpd; Default: NO                    │ │
│ │  bthidd_enable             [ ] /etc/rc.d/bthidd; Default: NO                    │ │
│ │ cfumass_enable             [ ] /etc/rc.d/cfumass; Default: NO                   │ │
│ │  cleanvar_enable           [X] /etc/rc.d/cleanvar; Default: YES                 │ │
│ │  cron_enable               [X] /etc/rc.d/cron; Default: YES                     │ │
│ │  ctld_enable               [ ] /etc/rc.d/ctld; Default: NO                      │ │
│ │  cupsd_enable              [ ] /usr/local/etc/rc.d/cupsd; Default: NO           │ │
│ │ dbus_enable                [X] /usr/local/etc/rc.d/dbus; Default: YES           │ │
│ │  ddb_enable                [ ] /etc/rc.d/ddb; Default: NO                       │ │
│ │  devd_enable               [X] /etc/rc.d/devd; Default: YES                     │ │
│ │  devmatch_enable           [X] /etc/rc.d/devmatch; Default: YES                 │ │
│ └-↓↓↓------------------------------------------------------------------------ 17%-┘ │
├-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------┤
│                                [  OK  ]     [Cancel]                                │
└---------------------------- Press arrows, TAB or ENTER -----------------------------┘

You can enable or disable all currently available system startup items.

2 View/Edit Startup Configuration

┌---------┤View/Edit Startup Configuration├--------┐
│ ┌----------------------------------------------┐ │
│ │  X Exit              Return to previous menu │ │
│ │  > Add New           Add new directive       │ │
│ │  > Delete            Delete directive(s)     │ │
│ │  blanktime           300                     │ │
│ │  dbus_enable         YES                     │ │
│ │   dumpdev            AUTO                    │ │
│ │  firewall_enable     NO                      │ │
│ │  gateway_enable      YES                     │ │
│ │  hostname            ykla                    │ │
│ │  ifconfig_igc0       DHCP                    │ │
│ │   ifconfig_igc0_ipv6 inet6 accept_rtadv      │ │
│ │  kld_list            i915kms fusefs          │ │
│ │  lightdm_enable      YES                     │ │
│ │  moused_enable       YES                     │ │
│ │  ntpd_enable         YES                     │ │
│ │   ntpd_sync_on_start YES                     │ │
│ │  powerd_enable       YES                     │ │
│ │  resolv_enable       NO                      │ │
│ │  saver               beastie                 │ │
│ │   sshd_enable        YES                     │ │
│ │  xrdp_enable         YES                     │ │
│ │   xrdp_sesman_enable YES                     │ │
│ │  zfs_enable          YES                     │ │
│ └----------------------------------------------┘ │
├--------------------------------------------------┤
│       [  OK   ]     [Cancel ]     [Details]      │
└----------- Press arrows, TAB or ENTER -----------┘

Menu	Description
X Exit Return to previous menu	Exit Return to previous menu
> Add New Add new directive	Add New directive
> Delete Delete directive(s)	Delete Delete directive(s)

View the configuration of currently active startup items.

Details

┌--------------------------┤Choose View Details├-------------------------┐
│ ┌--------------------------------------------------------------------┐ │
│ │  R Reset                  Reset to default view settings           │ │
│ │  D [X] Description        Toggle display of system description     │ │
│ │  1 (*) Show Value         Show configured startup value (fast)     │ │
│ │  2 ( ) Show Default/Value Show default/configured values (slow)    │ │
│ │  3 ( ) Show Configured    Calculate rc.conf(5) locations (slowest) │ │
│ └--------------------------------------------------------------------┘ │
├------------------------------------------------------------------------┤
│                          [  OK  ]     [Cancel]                         │
└---------------------- Press arrows, TAB or ENTER ----------------------┘

Menu	Description
R Reset Reset to default view settings	R Reset Restore default view settings
D [X] Description Toggle display of system description	D [X] Description Toggle display of system description
1 (*) Show Value Show configured startup value (fast)	1 (*) Show Value Display configured startup value (fast loading)
2 ( ) Show Default/Value Show default/configured values (slow)	2 ( ) Show Default/Value Display default/configured values (slow loading)
3 ( ) Show Configured Calculate rc.conf(5) locations (slowest)	3 ( ) Show Configured Calculate rc.conf(5) locations (slowest loading)

3 Miscellaneous Startup Services

This menu is used to configure various aspects of the system startup configuration.

┌----------------------┤Miscellaneous Startup Services├----------------------┐
│ This menu allows you to configure various aspects of your system's         │
│ startup configuration.  Use [SPACE] or [ENTER] to select items, and        │
│ [TAB] to move to the buttons.  Select Exit to leave this menu.             │
│ ┌------------------------------------------------------------------------┐ │
│ │  X Exit               Exit this menu                                   │ │
│ │                        --                                              │ │
│ │  1 [X] Startup dirs   Set the list of dirs to look for startup scripts │ │
│ │  2 [ ] named          Run a local name server on this host             │ │
│ │  3 [ ] named flags    Set default flags to named (if enabled)          │ │
│ │  4 [ ] NIS client     This host wishes to be an NIS client.            │ │
│ │  5 [ ] NIS domainname Set NIS domainname (if enabled)                  │ │
│ │  6 [ ] NIS Server     This host wishes to be an NIS server.            │ │
│ │                        --                                              │ │
│ │  7 [ ] Accounting     This host wishes to run process accounting.      │ │
│ │  8 [ ] lpd            This host has a printer and wants to run lpd.    │ │
│ └------------------------------------------------------------------------┘ │
├----------------------------------------------------------------------------┤
│                            [  OK  ]     [Cancel]                           │
└------------------------ Press arrows, TAB or ENTER ------------------------┘

Use [Spacebar] or [Enter] to select items, and [Tab] to move to buttons. Select Exit to leave this menu.

Menu	Description
X Exit Exit this menu	X Exit Exit this menu
--	--
1 [X] Startup dirs Set the list of dirs to look for startup scripts	1 [X] Startup dirs Set the list of directories to search for startup scripts
2 [ ] named Run a local name server on this host	2 [ ] named Run a local name server on this host
3 [ ] named flags Set default flags to named (if enabled)	3 [ ] named flags Set default flags for named (if enabled)
4 [ ] NIS client This host will be an NIS client	4 [ ] NIS client This host will be an NIS client
5 [ ] NIS domainname Set NIS domainname (if enabled)	5 [ ] NIS domainname Set NIS domainname (if enabled)
6 [ ] NIS Server This host will be an NIS server	6 [ ] NIS Server This host will be an NIS server
--	Separator
7 [ ] Accounting This host will run process accounting	7 [ ] Accounting This host will run process accounting
8 [ ] lpd This host has a printer and will run lpd	8 [ ] lpd This host has a printer and will run lpd

D Ttys TTY

┌-------------------┤User Confirmation Requested├-------------------┐
│ Configuration of system TTYs requires editing the /etc/ttys file. │
│ Typical configuration activities might include enabling getty(8)  │
│ on the first serial port to allow login via serial console after  │
│ reboot, or to enable xdm.  The default ttys file enables normal   │
│ virtual consoles, and most sites will not need to perform manual  │
│ configuration.                                                    │
│                                                                   │
│ To load /etc/ttys in the editor, select [Yes], otherwise, [No].   │
├-------------------------------------------------------------------┤
│                       [ Yes  ]     [  No  ]                       │
└------------------- Press arrows, TAB or ENTER --------------------┘


System TTY configuration requires editing the /etc/ttys file. Typical configuration activities might include enabling getty(8) on the first serial port to allow login via serial console after reboot, or enabling xdm. The default ttys file enables normal virtual consoles, and most sites do not need to perform manual configuration.

To load the /etc/ttys file in the editor, select [Yes], otherwise select [No].

If you select [Yes], the /etc/ttys file will be opened in a text editor.

References

• FreeBSD Project. bsdconfig(8)[EB/OL]. [2026-04-17]. https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=bsdconfig&sektion=8. FreeBSD system configuration tool manual page.

Exercises

1. Add a custom sysctl configuration through bsdconfig's "View/Edit Startup Configuration", and trace how the configuration is written to rc.conf and ultimately takes effect through startup scripts.
2. Use bsdconfig's command-line mode to configure a network interface, and compare the operational path differences between the graphical interface and command-line approaches.
3. Compare the differences between bsdconfig and traditional manual rc.conf editing in terms of configuration efficiency and ease of use.