Title: OpenBSD -current - Frequently Asked Questions
       Author: Solène
       Date: 27 March 2020
       Tags: openbsd
       Description: 
       
       Hello, as there are so many questions about OpenBSD -current on IRC,
       Mastodon
       or reddit I'm writing this FAQ in hope it will help people.
       
       The official FAQ already contains answers about -current like
       [Following
       -current and using snapshots](https://www.openbsd.org/faq/current.html)
       and
       [Building the system from
       sources](https://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq5.html#Flavors).
       
       
       ## What is OpenBSD -current?
       
       OpenBSD -current is the development version of OpenBSD. Lot of people
       use it
       for everyday tasks.
       
       
       ## How to install OpenBSD -current?
       
       OpenBSD -current refers to the last version built from sources obtained
       with
       CVS, however, it's also possible to get a pre-built system (a snapshot)
       usually
       built and pushed on mirrors every 1 or 2 days.
       
       You can install OpenBSD -current by getting an installation media like
       usual,
       but on the path /pub/OpenBSD/snapshots/ on the mirror.
       
       
       ## How do I upgrade from -release to -current?
       
       There are two ways to do so:
       
       1. Download bsd.rd file from the snapshots directory and boot it to
       upgrade
          like for a -release to -release upgrade
       2. Run `sysupgrade -s` command as root, this will basically download
       all sets
          under `/home/_sysupgrade` and boot on bsd.rd with an
       `autoinstall(8)`
          config.
       
       
       ## How do I upgrade my -current snapshot to a newer snapshot?
       
       Exactly the same process as going from -release to -current.
       
       
       ## Can I downgrade to a -release if I switch to -current?
       
       No.
       
       
       ## What issues can I expect in OpenBSD -current?
       
       There are a few issues possibles that one can expect
       
       
       ### Out of sync packages
       
       If a library get updated into the base system and you want to update
       packages,
       they won't be installable until packages are rebuilt with that new
       library,
       this usually takes 1 up to 3 days.
       
       **This only create issues in case you want to install a package you
       don't have.**
       
       The other way around, you can have an old snapshot and packages are not
       installable because the libraries linked to by the packages are newer
       than what
       is available in your system, in this case you have to upgrade snapshot. 
       ### Snapshots sets are getting updated on the mirror
       
       If you download the sets on the mirror to update your -current version,
       you may
       have an issue with the sha256 sum, this is because the mirror is
       getting
       updated and the sha256 file is the first to be transferred, so sets you
       are
       downloading are not the one the sha256 will compare.
       
       
       ### Unexpected system breakage
       
       Sometimes, very rarely (maybe 2 or 3 time in a year?), some snapshots
       are
       borked and will prevent system to boot or lead to regularly crashes. In
       that
       case, it's important to report the issue with the `sendbug` utility.
       
       You can fix this by using an older snapshot from [this archives
       server](http://ftp.hostserver.de/archive/) and prevent this to happen
       by
       reading bugs@ mailing list before updating.
       
       
       ### Broken package
       
       Sometimes, a package update will break it or break some others
       packages, this
       is often quickly fixed on popular packages but in some niche packages
       you may
       be the only one using it on -current and the only one who can report
       about it.
       
       If you find breakage on something you use, it may be a good idea to
       report the
       problem on ports@openbsd.org mailing list if nobody did before. By
       doing so,
       the issue will be fixed and next -release users will be able to install
       a
       working package.
       
       
       ## Is -current stable enough for a server or a workstation?
       
       It's really up to you. Developers are all using -current and are
       forbidden to
       break it, so the system should totally be usable for everyday use.
       
       What may be complicated on a server is keep updating it regularly and
       face
       issues requires troubleshooting (like major database upgrade which was
       missing
       a quirk).
       
       For a workstation I think it's pretty safe as long as you can deal with
       packages that can't be installed until they are in sync.