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Using pkgbasify to repair a broken installation of FreeBSD 14.3-RELEASE
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freebsd-installer-pkgbasify.md

Using pkgbasify to repair a broken installation of FreeBSD 14.3-RELEASE

Condensed steps

  1. Use a memstick.img file to write a FreeBSD installer to a memory stick
  2. boot from the stick in single user mode
  3. /bin/csh
  4. use gpart(8) to resize things
  5. growfs /
  6. mount -uw /
  7. assuming vt(4)
  8. setenv TERM xterm-clear
  9. bsdconfig vt_keymap
  10. select, and continue with, a keymap that matches your keyboard layout
  11. reboot -r
  12. live system
  13. login as root, no password
  14. mount -uw /
  15. bsdconfig networking
  16. get an Internet connection – for example, enable DHCP for a network interface
  17. assuming root-on-ZFS
  18. zpool import
  19. note the name of the pool that you want to import – for example, damp
  20. zpool import -R /tmp/altroot damp
  21. zpool get bootfs damp
  22. note the value – for example, damp/ROOT/test
  23. zfs mount damp/ROOT/test
  24. pkg bootstrap
  25. add a minimal FreeBSD-base repository configuration to /etc/pkg/FreeBSD.conf – url https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/base_release_3
  26. pkg --rootdir /tmp/altroot install --repository FreeBSD-base FreeBSD-certctl FreeBSD-pkg-bootstrap FreeBSD-utilities
  27. chroot /tmp/altroot
  28. cd /root
  29. fetch https://tinyurl.com/pkgbasify-foundation -o ./pkgbasify.lua
  30. chmod +x ./pkgbasify.lua
  31. mkdir -p /var/db/etcupdate/current
  32. ./pkgbasify.lua
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grahamperrin commented Aug 26, 2025 •
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Backlinks:

  1. https://mail-archive.freebsd.org/cgi/mid.cgi?18e1a7e9-07d8-43a2-96af-0acdab6c2920 | https://lists.freebsd.org/archives/freebsd-pkgbase/2025-August/000763.html
  2. https://www.reddit.com/user/grahamperrin/comments/1msyzfe/using_pkgbasify_to_repair_a_broken_installation/
  3. https://mastodon.bsd.cafe/@grahamperrin/115041689025019258
  4. https://www.reddit.com/r/freebsd/comments/1mzlfq0/comment/napu18b/?context=1
  5. https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/index.html#192714 | https://mail-archive.freebsd.org/cgi/mid.cgi?babf662e-cded-4a2c-b5e8-c5a7175739f2 | https://lists.freebsd.org/archives/freebsd-current/2025-September/008672.html
  6. https://bugs.freebsd.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=289414#c2
  7. https://www.reddit.com/r/freebsd/comments/1ngrjc8/comment/ne67eaz/
  8. https://mail-archive.freebsd.org/cgi/mid.cgi?9f2cd23d-b0d9-4e3f-940a-7052282347e2 | https://lists.freebsd.org/archives/freebsd-current/2025-October/009023.html
  9. https://mail-archive.freebsd.org/cgi/mid.cgi?6799596f-7606-4869-a44e-17935ce0b433 | https://lists.freebsd.org/archives/freebsd-pkgbase/2025-October/000961.html

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