OpenBSD is Hard to Show Off

2024-10-09

Good software is good. That might not be a surprise but it seems increasingly hard to find software that just...works.

With that in mind, and because it's OctOpenBSD month, I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring and write about what OpenBSD means to me.

My first foray into UNIX-likes was over 12 years ago when I installed Ubuntu 12.04 on a severely under powered ASUS EeePC 10005PE - a now seemingly forgotten netbook. Linux then made up to my primary OS for the following ten years - across Ubuntu, Zorin, Lubuntu, and finally Debian.

Linux was, usually, a delight to use. The software repositories available with most distributions made it quick and easy to get the tools I wanted installed and the typical similarity between distributions made switching a breeze. But I found myself grating with the unending and pervasive issues with Wi-Fi, audio, GPUs etc.

It was time to try something new again.

Some digging started bringing up whispers of this BSD-thing. After a glance over FreeBSD and NetBSD, I settled on the aquatic-option: OpenBSD and its puffer fish mascot.

For the past 2 years I've used OpenBSD as my primary OS for work, play, everything. It just works. But for real. OpenBSD has never crashed on me, lost anything, did anything unexpected. The reliability alone would be comforting but its everything that comes together to form OpenBSD that make it truly special.

Installing OpenBSD can be as easy as just hitting Enter over and over and can be done in less than 10 minutes. Its sensible defaults for installation are extremely sensible and you rarely need to manually adjust anything.

The famed 'man' pages are really that good. It is astonishing how easy it is to get a seemingly obtuse command under your control after only a quick skim of the relevant pages.

The base installation is minimal but not sparse. Without needing to install anything extra, you have the tools you'd need to do most basic tasks you'd expect for a UNIX-like: mg as a lightweight version of Emacs, vi instead of vim, three different desktop environments to suit your preference (cwm, twm, fvwm). There's even a bunch of games installed should you so desire.

Consistency is also much appreciated. Whereas Linux might have some files in '/usr', others in '/bin', others still in '.local' or at worst even just dumping random files in your '$HOME' directory. OpenBSD has been much more consistent: config files are in '.config', programs you install are in '/usr/local/bin', it's refreshing that my first guess of where a file is located is usually correct.

I upgraded to 7.6 yesterday, the whole process took less than 20 minutes, was fully automated and when it was done it was like nothing changed. I can't think of the last time I upgraded another OS that didn't require something to need fixing after it was done. In fact, previously I upgraded to 7.5 minutes before giving a live presentation; that's the level of trust I have in OpenBSD. I wouldn't do that with a Windows machine or Mac but I would with OpenBSD. Sure enough, the update took a few minutes, rebooted, and was good to go.

I've already made it clear in various other blog posts that I firmly prioritise reliable, stable computing over chasing the latest trend. OpenBSD is that epitomised. There's less features than a typical Linux install, there's less software available than a typical Linux install, there is absolutely not the kind of graphical fidelity you'll get from a typical Linux install - but all of what is there just works and works extremely well.

My Macbook is a joy to use - when it works. Terminals that crash when I create a new tab, notifications for phantom updates, repeated nudges to enable Siri and a host of other features. Windows is Windows. But OpenBSD is what I wish all experiences with computers could be. I am more than willing to take a seemingly 'ugly' interface design if that interface works as I expect, every time.

OpenBSD is hard to show off because it just gets out of the way. The OS installs and updates without complaint. Most basic tasks can be accomplished with the base installation. Any programme you need is just a pkg_add away. Managing the system is easy with config files where you'd expect. I've not even touched on OpenBSDs many security contributions. It's a shame that this simplicity and reliability isn't the norm across the board.