DesktopBSD Tools in FreeBSD

The DesktopBSD tools are available for installation via the sysutils/desktopbsd-tools port in FreeBSD.

You can also obtain a development snapshot from our Subversion repository. More information on this is available from our development Wiki. Please note that these snapshots are usually not as well-tested as the versions in the FreeBSD ports and contain more bugs.

Your user account must be in the wheel group to be able to access DesktopBSD's system configuration facilities.

The DesktopBSD tools include translations to many languages. In order to use them in your language, the LANG and LC_ALL environment variables must have proper values. Please read the localization chapter of the FreeBSD handbook for more information.

• Package Manager (dbsd-pkgmgr)
  • Extensive support for the features of the FreeBSD ports and packages system. Includes support for updating the ports tree (“package list”), browsing, installing and upgrading packages, deinstallation with dependency removal and security information. CVSup server, installation method (ports or packages), make options and much more can be customized.
  • Troubleshooting: This section contains guides on common dbsd-pkgmgr problems.

• Battery Information (dbsd-battinfo)
  • Displays battery life status and notifies you when it is low.
• Hardware Notifications (dbsd-hwnotify)
  • Displays notifications, for example when hardware is attached or detached. This tool uses DCOP to get events from FreeBSD's devd and requires modifications to /etc/devd.conf. Please have a look at the devd.conf file used in DesktopBSD.
• Network Tray (dbsd-nettray)
  • Displays network state changes (link up/down, IP address changed). Double-click the icon to open network configuration.
• Tray Mounter (dbsd-traymounter)
  • Enables you to mount and unmount partitions by right-clicking on the icon and clicking the partition to mount/unmount.
    • The “wheel” group needs write access to mountable devices in /dev such as ad0, da0, ar0, etc. Have a look at this custom devfs.rules file (use group wheel instead of mount).
    • The sysctl vfs.usermount needs to be set properly. Run sysctl vfs.usermount=1 on the command line and add the line vfs.usermount=1 to /etc/sysctl.conf (example here).
    • A /media directory as root directory for mounts is required. The wheel group needs read/write access to /media: Run mkdir -m 1775 /media and chown root:wheel /media on the command line.

• Networking
  • Create and manage network profiles. A profile typically consists of IP address and subnet mask and optionally gateway and DNS servers and can be applied to any network card in the computer. Support for wireless network configuration is included.
• Device Information
  • Shows you a list of all devices in the system.
• Disk partitioner
  • Can be used to create and delete partitions. Formatting UFS2 and FAT partitions is supported.
• Mounting facilities
  • Mount and unmount partitions. See Tray Mounter.
• User management
  • Add, delete and lock or unlock users.