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NextBSD returns to dollop Apple source on FreeBSD
NextBSD, a project that ports components of Apple's open-source Darwin operating system onto the FreeBSD kernel, has been revived after years of dormancy. The new effort, dubbed NextBSD-redux, is led by Joe Maloney (GitHub handle pkgdemon), who previously built the Gershwin desktop environment for GhostBSD and had a minor role in the original NextBSD project before asking to take it over.
The original NextBSD was launched in 2015 by FreeBSD co-founder Jordan Hubbard, aiming to combine FreeBSD's kernel with userland components from Apple's Darwin, such as the XNU kernel's IPC layer, launchd, IOKit and the Apple System Log daemon, rather than building a new OS from scratch. Earlier similar attempts, including OpenDarwin, PureDarwin, GNU Darwin and DarwinBSD, all eventually stalled, underlining the difficulty of the task. NextBSD-redux is a fresh codebase rather than a fork of the decade-old original, reflecting how much FreeBSD and Darwin have since evolved, and it currently lacks a graphical desktop, though Maloney's Gershwin interface is being ported in a companion project.
In short
- NextBSD, which merges FreeBSD with Apple Darwin code, has been revived
- New maintainer Joe Maloney rebuilt it as NextBSD-redux, not a fork
- Similar past projects (OpenDarwin, PureDarwin) all eventually folded
Explained simply
NextBSD is a project that blends FreeBSD and Darwin, two computer operating systems. FreeBSD is free and open-source, while Darwin is Apple's open-source system that powers macOS. The goal is to create a new system by combining the best components of both.
The original NextBSD was started in 2015 by Jordan Hubbard, a co-founder of FreeBSD, but the project eventually became inactive. Similar attempts to combine Darwin with other systems, including OpenDarwin and PureDarwin, have all stalled over the years, suggesting the work is technically challenging. The new effort, called NextBSD-redux, has been revived by Joe Maloney, who previously worked on another open-source project called GhostBSD.
The revived project is being built from scratch rather than continuing the old codebase, reflecting how much both FreeBSD and Darwin have changed in the past decade. It currently lacks a desktop interface for everyday use, though Maloney is working to add one from his previous project called Gershwin.