Running Linux Software

As Linux and BSD are both Unix-style operating systems, nearly all of the common applications that run on Linux have a FreeBSD version. The exceptions are in the area of proprietary software. FreeBSD has a Linux compatibility layer, but simply enabling it is unlikely to be sufficient to run the majority of larger Linux applications. In many cases, you'll need to install a small chroot environment containing a mini Linux installation, and this requires quite a lot of BSD expertise to get working.

However, don't despair – most of the large applications that you're likely to need have wrapper scripts to handle the installation. Google Chrome, for example, has no native FreeBSD build, but you can install it using the browser installation script (see the box entitled "Chrome vs. Chromium"). One snag I encountered is that the browser installation script is no longer in the repository, so I had to visit its GitHub page [3].

I ran the script, and it was obvious from the terminal output that the script was doing a great deal of work and pulling through a lot of files to set up a suitable environment. Having run the script and let it run its course, I ended up with a Chrome icon in Xfce4's launcher application, but it didn't run until I had reset the machine. Once I launched it, Chrome ran like it does on Linux, and I could log into my Google account for synchronization. I was able to log into Netflix and play content (see Figure 6).

Figure 6: The Linux version of Google Chrome browser running on FreeBSD and accessing the Netflix website.

I had less luck getting the Steam installation script running. It did run and pull through some files, but Steam itself never worked. I have a feeling that it might have been possible to get it running with enough research.

Conclusion and Reflections

Building a desktop system on FreeBSD is a great way to learn about the BSD environment, but if you're looking for a shortcut, you might explore the GhostBSD variant, which is based on FreeBSD but comes with the MATE desktop pre-installed and offers Xfce as a community-based variant.

My experience with Steam on FreeBSD, I feel, highlights a problem with relying on Linux emulation for major applications under FreeBSD: If the wrapper script breaks, you can find yourself stuck until someone makes an updated script. I'd be reluctant to rely on this mechanism for running applications that are critical to my workflow. It's an ironic situation, as for most of its life, the Linux desktop was the one that had to rely on tricks and workarounds to get mainstream software to run. Thankfully, over the last decade, many software developers and organizations have awakened to the advantages of supporting a cross-platform or cloud-based approach.

I'll make a controversial point as there's another irony here – if anything, FreeBSD is more consistent and reliable than Linux because it hasn't fractured into an ecosystem of incompatible distributions. For embedded work or even server applications, FreeBSD has its advantages. For building a general purpose desktop (the subject that I've examined in this case), it's closer to what Linux had to offer 10 or 15 years ago as a desktop operating system. It can handle the basics, despite a few rough edges compared to modern Linux, but you might hit some brick walls when you need to interact with proprietary technology.

The Author

Michael Reed bounced around between platforms such as the BBC Micro, RISC OS, Commodore Amiga, DOS, IBM OS/2, and Microsoft Windows before he made a home for himself in the world of Linux in the late '90s.