The release of the desktop-oriented distribution GhostBSD 25.01 has been announced, based on FreeBSD 14 and featuring the Mate and XFCE user environments. GhostBSD utilizes the ZFS file system by default and supports both Live mode and installation on a hard drive using the Ginstall installer, written in Python. Download images for architecture x86_64 are available for Mate (2.8 GB) and XFCE (2.6 GB).
Key highlights of the new version include a shift from FreeBSD-Stable branch to FreeBSD releases, with GhostBSD 25.01 synchronized with FreeBSD 14.2-Release-P1. The Mate desktop environment has been updated to version 1.28.2, with additional updates for Mate-Panel 1.28.4, Mate-Notification-Daemon 1.28.3, and Document Viewer Atril 1.28.1. The release offers complete compatibility with the AMD Radeon R7 240 and support for USB keyboards and mice connected via USB3 (XHCI) when starting in Qemu. Additionally, a new “Workstation” mode with optimized settings for desktop management has been introduced by default.
Memory consumption settings in Live mode have been optimized for faster boot times, driver and application lists have been streamlined for simplification, and the UDISKS2 tool is now used for improved handling of external storage devices instead of Automount. The XFCE session has addressed issues related to USB drive rejections.
