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# Chapter 25 Updating and Upgrading FreeBSD

Restructured, reorganized, and parts updated by Jim Mock. Original work by Jordan Hubbard, Poul-Henning Kamp, John Polstra, and Nik Clayton.

# 25.1 Synopsis

FreeBSD is under constant development between releases. Some people prefer to use the officially released versions, while others prefer to keep in sync with the latest developments. However, even official releases are often updated with security and other critical fixes. Regardless of the version used, FreeBSD provides all the necessary tools to keep the system updated, and allows for easy upgrades between versions. This chapter describes how to track the development system and the basic tools for keeping a FreeBSD system up-to-date.

After reading this chapter, you will know:

- Which utilities are available to update the system and the Ports Collection.

- How to keep a FreeBSD system up-to-date with freebsd-update, Subversion, or CTM.

- How to compare the state of an installed system against a known pristine copy.

- How to keep the installed documentation up-to-date with Subversion or documentation ports.

- The difference between the two development branches: FreeBSD-STABLE and FreeBSD-CURRENT.

- How to rebuild and reinstall the entire base system.

Before reading this chapter, you should:

- Properly set up the network connection (Chapter 32).

- Know how to install additional third-party software (Chapter 5).

> Note: Throughout this chapter, `svn` is used to obtain and update FreeBSD sources. To use it, first install the `devel/subversion` port or package.

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