SmolBSD – build your own minimal BSD system

Summary

smolBSD build your own minimal BSD UNIX system About smolBSD is a meta-operating system built on top of NetBSD. It lets you compose your own UNIX environment — from a single-purpose microservice system to a fully-custom OS image — in just a few minutes. The smolBSD environment uses the netbsd-MICROVM kernel as its foundation, leveraging the same portable, reliable codebase that powers NetBSD itself. You decide what to include — sshd, httpd, or your own service — and smolBSD builds a coherent, minimal, bootable image ready to run anywhere. $ bmake SERVICE=bozohttpd build ➡️ starting the builder microvm ➡️ host filesystem mounted on /mnt ➡️ fetching sets ➡️ creating root filesystem (512M) done ✅ image ready: bozohttpd-amd64.img Why smolBSD Build BSD systems like you build software — fast, reproducible, and minimal. 🧩 Composable Pick only the components you need — from kernel to services. ⚙️ Reproducible Every build is deterministic, portable, and easy to version-control. 🚀 Instant Boot Powered by netbsd-MICROVM — boot to service in milliseconds. 💻 Universal Runs anywhere QEMU or Firecracker runs — cloud, CI, edge, or laptop. Quick Start Build and boot your own BSD system in seconds: $ git clone https://github.com/NetBSDfr/smolBSD $ cd smolBSD $ bmake SERVICE=sshd build ➡️ starting the builder microvm ➡️ fetching sets ➡️ creating root filesystem (512M) done ✅ image ready: sshd-amd64.img ➡️ killing the builder microvm $ ./startnb.sh -f etc/sshd.conf [ 1.0092096] kernel boot time: 14ms Starting sshd. Server listening on :: port 22. Server listening on 0.0.0.0 port 22. Download Examples bozohttpd A complete static web server in a few megabytes. smolBSD builds a minimal system with bozohttpd preconfigured and ready to serve content immediately on boot. $ bmake SERVICE=bozohttpd build ➡️ starting the builder microvm ➡️ fetching sets ➡️ creating root filesystem (512M) done ✅ image ready: bozohttpd-amd64.img $ ./startnb.sh -f etc/bozohttpd.conf [ 1.001231] kernel boot time: 1...