GhostBSD 20.1

There were many people who said BSD didn’t have a ghost of a chance on the desktop. Mayank Sharma was one of them.

- Mayank Sharma

IN BRIEF

One of the handful of projects that leverages the robust and stable base of the FreeBSD OS to create a lightweight desktop that resembles a typical Linux distro in both form and function.

MIN SPEC

CPU: Any 64-bit processor
RAM: 2.5GB
HDD: 15GB
Build: Available for 64-bit only

BSDs have all the hallmarks of server operating systems, but you wouldn’t think of running them on the desktop. GhostBSD is one of a small number of projects that’s working to change that perception. Unlike its peers, though, which just slap a desktop environment on top of a BSD base, GhostBSD puts in the effort to create a very approachable and functional desktop. For instance, GhostBSD boots straight into a live graphical desktop environment, which makes it accessible to users irrespective of their familiarity with BSDs. The OS uses the lightweight MATE desktop environment, and you wouldn’t even realise you’re running a BSD-based OS.