Bryan Steele :flan_beard:

AKA canadianbryan. I like tinkering with #OpenBSD and occasionally other Unix-like systems. In other words, not a MCP. He/Him. 🍕💻🇨🇦

Public Key

npub1v0cgfpg6ztw59lxzcc9843ltrutm5se9yx4k0563jukkscxh7tgsewa5xp

NIP-05 Address

brynet@bsd-network.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsx8uyys5dp9h2zlnpvvzn6cl4379a6gvjjr2m86dgewttgvrtl95gpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsya5gqg

Publishing to

nostr.now

nos.lol

relay.damus.io

Author Public Key

npub1v0cgfpg6ztw59lxzcc9843ltrutm5se9yx4k0563jukkscxh7tgsewa5xp

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Last Notes

2026-10-20 02:06:39 UTC

OpenBSD 8.0 release song? Oh yes— there's a release song.. 😏
"The Simps on AI"
https://www.openbsd.org/lyrics.html#80
https://media.bsd.network/media_attachments/files/117/470/786/544/239/296/original/ec8687be9447dd11.jpg

2026-10-20 01:45:00 UTC

If you're looking for some #OpenBSD #80HYPE I have a summary post from earlier this month. :flan_thumbs:
https://bsd.network/@brynet/117407035545900963

2026-10-20 01:34:02 UTC

Surprise! 🎉 #OpenBSD 8.0 is released! Happy release day! :flan_hacker: 🐡
https://www.openbsd.org/80.html
This is the 61st release of OpenBSD. Now get to upgrading/installing on all your machines. :flan_thumbs:
Announcement mail: https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-announce&m=179245843570316&w=2

2026-10-18 22:29:35 UTC

Pigs really can fly, the moon is made of cheese and Wine now runs on #OpenBSD! :flan_cool:
Largely made possible by the work of Andrii (NethIafin), fabien@, and thfr@, 64-bit Windows applications (yes, games) run on -current!
WIP ports@ patch here: https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-ports&m=179236125692175&w=2
#PlayOnBSD 🎮

2026-09-28 21:30:08 UTC

If any of my work on #OpenBSD, or my highlight posts here (or elsewhere) has been helpful in the past, a small recurring monthly donation would be extremely appreciated. :flan_heart:
https://brynet.ca/wallofpizza.html
https://dir.floss.fund/view/@brynet.ca
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114458997143046937
#bsd #opensource #foss
https://media.bsd.network/media_attachments/files/117/350/784/849/634/949/original/4883f61df89b0f5e.png

2026-07-24 00:35:38 UTC

If any of my work on #OpenBSD, or my highlight posts here (or elsewhere) has been helpful in the past, a small recurring monthly donation would be extremely appreciated. :flan_heart:
https://brynet.ca/wallofpizza.html
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114458997143046937
https://media.bsd.network/media_attachments/files/116/920/994/944/629/617/original/981726ce3780206d.png

2026-07-15 20:16:02 UTC

Support for the loongson platform has been retired in #OpenBSD -current and has now been unhooked from the build. 7.9 is the last release for this platform.
https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-cvs&m=178414195958403&w=2
https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-cvs&m=178414227758657&w=2
https://media.bsd.network/media_attachments/files/116/925/826/948/870/786/original/0d08fbd8d4317669.jpg

2026-05-10 09:36:57 UTC

Slides from Florian Obser (florian@)'s talk "Let's find out how to get predictable IPv6 addresses assigned to #OpenBSD VMs" yesterday at @nprofile…x40h's "Early 2026" conference.
https://www.openbsd.org/papers/bsdnl2026-predictable-ipv6.pdf
https://events.bsdnl.nl/early2026/talk/W9P9RT/
Video is up on their Exquisite.tube channel! :flan_thumbs:
@nprofile…34j9

2026-04-13 19:41:56 UTC

I think it's time for some #OpenBSD #79HYPE :flan_hacker: :flan_cool:
After ~21 years, gcc 3.x has left the building, with the last remaining platform (OpenBSD/luna88k) ported to gcc4.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/115425313813361816
Jonathan Gray (jsg@) has updated the drm graphics drivers (inteldrm/radeondrm/amdgpu) in #OpenBSD 7.9 to Linux 6.18.y/6.18.22 from the 6.12.y longterm support version.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/116201960048161449
https://freshbsd.org/openbsd/src?q=drm&committer[]=jsg
OpenBSD now supports "Delayed hibernation" on amd64: After waiting a number of seconds (up to 24 hrs) the machine will wake from S0ix/S3 idle sleep/suspend and hibernate to disk.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/116217813921273057
The OpenBSD kernel gains a new "parking mutex".. inspired by WebKit.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/115503876824188865
A long standing ACPI issue (boot delay) that has plagued several Intel Mac models has been fixed by jcs@
https://bsd.network/@brynet/115602160298028722
OpenBSD's EFI bootloader now supports loading files from the ESP, making it easier to e.g: copy & bootstrap a ramdisk kernel.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/115630978565153559
Improved support for running OpenBSD as a guest VM on Apple Silicon machines under macOS.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/115899206016337373
OpenBSD/amd64 now supports SMP on up to 255 CPUs, such as on AMD Threadripper/EYPC.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/115899248487624689
OpenBSD iwx(4) now supports additional Intel AX211 WiFi 6/6E models, as well as 160MHz channel support! :flan_thumbs:
https://bsd.network/@brynet/116210371257002339
https://bsd.network/@brynet/116319563256899912
Important security refinements to both pledge(2) and unveil(2), fixing several early design issues.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/116136000669207850
https://bsd.network/@brynet/116197240853794609
https://bsd.network/@brynet/116217472157803716
Plus lots more to see in 7.9! Stay tuned! :flan_thumbs::flan_hacker:

2026-04-08 17:53:27 UTC

A lot of hubbub over remote a crash, a DoS, not a privesc or RCE.
#OpenBSD never claimed to have zero remote crashes. The goal has always been to minimize attack surface, and mitigate the impact of attacks.
I believe it's worth pointing out the errata was out for 7.7/7.8 almost ~3 weeks ago, and users had a patch ~90 minutes after it was committed. :flan_hacker:

2026-03-31 17:33:03 UTC

Theo de Raadt has introduced a new hw.blockcpu sysctl to #OpenBSD -current to offer more control over which CPU core types (Performance, Efficiency, and SMT) are available to schedule processes on. Modern Intel (and ARM) CPUs additionally have slower LP-E (low-power) cores that severely hinder system performance.
deraadt@ modified src/sys/*: Some new intel machines have a new 3rd tier of cpus called LP-E which are E-core (Atom) without L3 cache. These cpus are Lethargic, and it sucks when processes migrate to them.
This introduces sysctl hw.blockcpu= which takes a sequence of 4 letters.
S (for SMT), P (regular performance cpu), E (efficient cpu) generally 80% to 50% as fast), and L (lethargic cpu) which are even slower.
By setting this, you can select cpus to kick out of the scheduler. The default is SL.
The hw.smt sysctl remains for now but we will eventually delete it.
hw.smt changes and follows hw.blockcpu=S.
ok kettenis mlarkin

2026-03-23 21:36:07 UTC

Or maybe the true "future value" is in the human beings who write, review, and maintain the open source code.
https://media.bsd.network/media_attachments/files/116/280/635/659/378/829/original/03fed19d058c0afd.png

2026-03-04 18:31:44 UTC

The OpenBSD project, being based in Canada for the past 30 years, is not subject to California law.
Now stop fucking asking. :flan_cleaver:
Note: Not speaking authoritatively on behalf of the project, yadda yadda.

2026-02-26 08:32:16 UTC

Goodbye pledge "tmppath", hello unveil("/tmp", "rwc")! :flan_cheer:
Some observant #OpenBSD users may have noticed developers removing the pledge(2) "tmppath" promise from all base utilities that were using along with a handful of ports, because this promise, well.. it kinda sucks, and it predates a much better solution: unveil(2).
More info & some backstory in Theo de Raadt's commit.
deraadt@ modified src/{sys,lib}/*: pledge "tmppath" goes away because it sucks. The history is kind of
sad: unveil(2) was invented by Bob Beck and myself because a couple of us struggled and couldn't expand the "tmppath" mechanism to general use.
unveil(2) ended up being kind of "upside down" different, and so we never deleted "tmppath" because the refactorings seemed complicated.
However over the last two weeks, we're removed all the "tmppath" in base pretty easily, and the 18 ports using it have also been fixed.
The majority of situations now use unveil "/tmp" "rwc", unveil "/" "r" or similar, and then pledge "rpath wpath cpath", and this is generally needed to satisfy the mkstemp(3) family of functions in libc.
Use of "tmppath" will now cause pledge(2) to return EINVAL. There is no backwards compatible way of mimic the behaviour correctly using kernel-internal unveil hackery.
Prompted by a report from David Leadbeater; and extensive conversations with beck and semarie.

2026-02-23 02:18:41 UTC

Dave Voutila (dv@) continues his work on multi-process device emulation for #OpenBSD vmd(8), this time moving virtio scsi (CDROM) device emulation to a separate process, further reducing the amount of code running in-process for VMs.
dv@ modified src/usr.sbin/vmd/*: vmd(8): convert virtio scsi device to a subprocess.
Break the virtio scsi device (used as a cd-rom drive) into a subprocess like the virtio block and network devices. This leaves only the entropy device (viornd) and vmmci device running in-process with the vcpus.
ok mlarkin@
This follows up on work presented by Dave at EuroBSDCon 2024.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKrxVzS96BM
https://www.openbsd.org/papers/eurobsdcon2024-vmd_multiprocessing.pdf

2026-02-20 06:52:57 UTC

Not great timing, I know, but I'm thinking a Intel mini PC (e.g: N150, 11th Gen i5/i7) would work for my #OpenBSD testing & hacking, Any help towards this would be greatly appreciated. :flan_heart:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=ZQJC48GUPB3UU&source=url
https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/2E7N6O3GTI6JF?sort=custom

2026-02-07 21:41:16 UTC

If any of my past work on #OpenBSD, or my highlight posts here (or elsewhere) has been helpful, a small recurring monthly donation would be extremely appreciated. :flan_heart:
https://brynet.ca/wallofpizza.html
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114458997143046937

2026-01-31 22:01:06 UTC

2026-01-26 01:46:09 UTC

Heads up for Firefox users on #OpenBSD -current, landry@ the mozilla port maintainer has committed a new policy configuration file which changes some (annoying) default behaviour.
landry@ modified ports/www/mozilla-firefox/*: Install a policy configuration file
mostly taken from https://justthebrowser.com/firefox/, Disables:
Firefox Studies
Checking if firefox is the default browser
Sponsored stuff on the home page
GenAI features
PerplexityAI from the default search engines
in addition, frob GoToIntranetSiteForSingleWordEntryInAddressBar, which forces firefox to ask your dns first if you enter a single word in the address bar, useful to access local sites on your network instead of sending your internal dns entries to $searchengine.
cf https://mozilla.github.io/policy-templates/#gotointranetsiteforsinglewordentryinaddressbar
many knobs to frob, but those seem to be a decent baseline to fight against enshittification.

2026-01-16 04:38:51 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…qu7g Virtualization is provided as a "high-level" framework on macOS that can be used by applications, there's an example on Apple's developer site.
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/virtualization/running-gui-linux-in-a-virtual-machine-on-a-mac?language=objc
Not sure if this is how OpenBSD was being tested, or if it was something else, but it might be work asking on the lists about it or reaching out directly.

2025-12-23 15:58:10 UTC

Hope everyone has a great Christmas! 🎅:flan_hurrah:

2025-12-21 03:32:57 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…gzem *ahem* :flan_coffee:
I made this.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/115678433381799726

2025-10-28 00:20:38 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…370p There's a statement from @nprofile…76lz on the OpenSSH mailing lists.
https://lists.mindrot.org/pipermail/openssh-unix-dev/2025-October/042261.html

2025-10-20 00:04:48 UTC

EDIT: 7.8 is now released! 🎉
I think it's time once again for some OpenBSD #78HYPE :flan_hacker: :flan_cool:
LLVM/Clang/lld have been updated to 19.1.7 from 16.0.x, as well as libc++, libc++abi, compiler-rt and libunwind support libraries.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/115067656300420200
#OpenBSD 7.8's TCP stack now runs in parallel on multiple CPUs on network interfaces supporting multiqueue: bnxt, igc, ix, ixl, ngbe, vmx, vio, aq and ice(4).
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114405759583057709
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114467756116824641
Jonathan Gray (jsg@) continues to keep the drm graphics drivers in sync with the Linux 6.12.y longterm maintenance tree, bringing OpenBSD 7.8 up to 6.12.50, as well as Mesa 25.0.7. TearFree has been backported to the accelerated modesetting(4) used on modern Intel GPUs.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114631270504655811
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114655260755077237
A new watch(1) utility, for periodically executing a command while displaying its output. Based on IIJ (Internet Initiative Japan)'s "iwatch", with modifications.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114538687714442526
pkgconf replaces OpenBSD's implementation of pkg-config(1), pkgconf being a modern replacement written in C instead of perl.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114445047214287864
The fc-cache(1) utility runs as an unprivileged '_fc-cache' user, drops root privileges at both build & runtime (pkg_add).
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114846583340693029
pkg_add(8) no longer advises users to rm(1) files on package upgrade erroneously.. or humorously, if you were perhaps to ask @nprofile…5hme :flan_peek:
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114418407170384274
The gprof process profiling facility has been overhauled and now works for privsep / privdrop software using things like, chroot, pledge, unveil, etc. Additionally, profiling threaded programs is possible now.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114563085929044964
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114864449905751040
Support for Qualcomm Snapdragon laptops has improved, such as configuring battery charge limits, as well as initial driver support for the graphics display controller and basic drm(4) modesetting.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114620210383704670
OpenBSD/arm64 now supports apmd -A/hw.setperf on Qualcomm X Elite laptops, and on Radxa Orion O6 motherboards.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114948596188757416
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114659654469988048
And lots more to see in 7.8! :flan_hacker:

2025-10-18 02:12:54 UTC

- reply

Some exciting news to look forward to for #OpenBSD -current users once amd64 package builds resume (like base has).
The chromium browser ports now include VA-API support, which means hardware GPU accelerated video decode/encode on AMD/Intel! :flan_cheer:
You'll need the chromium-141.0.7390.107 package or or later (2025.10.141.1 for iridium).
For Intel GPUs, you will need to install either intel-media-driver or intel-vaapi-driver, depending on hardware generation. AMD GPUs require no additional dependencies.:flan_hacker:

2025-05-29 03:48:44 UTC

Non-CW post again, sorry! :flan_peek:
I really need some help with new monthly donations, or the occasional pizza or two. :flan_thumbs:
Boosts are appreciated! :flan_heart: :flan_thumbs:
https://bsd.network/web/@brynet/114458997143046937

2025-05-16 12:35:55 UTC

I'm boosting this EU petition for more visibility.
Conversion therapy was successfully banned in Canada in 2022 (Bill C-4), and should be banned in the EU and the rest of the world as well. It's a horrible, evil practice.
https://eci.ec.europa.eu/043/public/#/screen/home

2025-05-06 04:28:13 UTC

#MutualAid #MutualAidRequests
I could use some help, friends. I'd really appreciate sharing. :flan_peek:
If you can help out with the occasional pizza, that would really mean a lot to me. Monthly gifts would take care of a lot of my financial stress/anxiety as well.
https://brynet.ca/wallofpizza.html
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=ZQJC48GUPB3UU&source=url
Progress: $310 / $2500 CAD (monthly goal)
If you aren't able help with PayPal, I have an Amazon .ca wishlist with some odds & ends, computer hardware: https://www.amazon.ca/hz/wishlist/ls/2E7N6O3GTI6JF
(Native SegWit): bc1qzkchnc25yeqt9p24edsu5ln0mvh8hqdzdznlk2

2025-04-25 22:23:12 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…t4qe It is not compiled with graphics features like Sixel (at least since 2013) or Tektronix emulation. At least Sixel has had security issues in the past and would have likely hindered the pledge(2)/unveil(2) support that was added (xterm on OpenBSD uses both).
https://github.com/openbsd/xenocara/blob/598358d185b5e06513eb7f1467877d49096f4b62/app/xterm/xtermcfg.h#L196
https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-cvs&m=147733753103048&w=2
https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-cvs&m=164543434016543&w=2

2025-04-25 04:32:32 UTC

Heads up: #OpenBSD snapshots that are rolling out shortly for some architectures (e.g: amd64) are post-7.7 release, -current, be aware. If you sysupgrade -s now, downgrading to the 7.7 release when it releases later this month is NOT supported. :flan_thumbs:

2025-04-14 19:09:34 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…xyvy At least with this driver? Which makes sense as it doesn't support hardware performance features checksum offload or TSO yet.
But I think you're trolling now at not asking seriously.

2025-04-14 19:01:13 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…xyvy I don't think it's expected to, at least not at this point, but more features are planned for 7.8.
https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-cvs&m=174409696915906&w=2
https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-cvs&m=174349602914392&w=2

2025-04-14 18:14:38 UTC

With 7.7 on track, I think it's time for some OpenBSD #77HYPE :flan_hacker: :flan_cool:
#OpenBSD 7.7 adds ice(4), a new driver for Intel E810 based 100Gb Ethernet devices, and ixv(4), a driver for the virtual functions (SR-IOV) of the Intel 82598EB, 82559, and X540.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/113411620687454163
UEFI support improvements, such as preferring GPT in the installer over MBR when installing on modern machines... as well an initial UEFI boot manager support! :flan_cheer:
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114001271669308309
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114032859758474770
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114291458529230770
Jonathan Gray (jsg@) updated the drm(4) graphics drivers (inteldrm/radeondrm/amdgpu) in #OpenBSD 7.7 to 6.12.y/6.12.21 longterm stable drivers, from 6.6.68.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/113960404744684278
OpenBSD 7.7 extends pf(4) HFSC Queues to support larger than 4Gbit/s values.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/113469322883795072
OpenBSD now has separate performance policies (hw.perfpolicy) for when on battery power vs. on AC power, extending the syntax for hw.perfpolicy=ac-policy,battery-policy.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/113520914552845426
AF_FRAME a new socket(4) type, intended for implementing low-overhead/data rate protocols, such as LLDP.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/113657729323839447
Many previously unsupported internal webcams now work on more laptops, numerous improvements to the uvideo(4) driver, USB3 speeds, and video(4), the V4L2 compat layer.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/113698420641534149
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114088125248117126
An issue with flaky PS/2 keyboards/trackpads on some laptops, such as chromebooks was fixed by Miod Vallat.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/113981026507464726
Support for the Radxa Orion O6 Armv9 motherboard was as added for OpenBSD 7.7.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/114000276863849190
#OpenBSD/arm64 now has SVE (Scalable Vector Extension) support.
https://bsd.network/@brynet/113987732150965462
..and lots more for users to discover in the 7.7 release! Keep a look out for the announcement later this month! :flan_guns:

2025-04-08 03:56:28 UTC

Sorry again for the non-CW, but I could really use your help to get by, friends.. :flan_tired:
Boosts on my pinned profile post would be appreciated. :flan_heart:
https://bsd.network/web/@brynet/112562999207243012

2025-04-06 14:20:57 UTC

- reply

Nice little follow-up tweak to the initial EFI boot manager support added to installboot(8), #OpenBSD will now no longer set itself as the default OS during upgrades if you've previously customized the BootOrder. :flan_hacker:
kettenis@ modified usr.sbin/installboot/efi_bootmgr.c: Only set BootOrder if our boot option isn't already part of it. This means sysupgrade (or reinstalls) will not longer set OpenBSD as the default OS if users change the boot order by some other means. Fresh installs will still make OpenBSD the default OS.
ok kn@

2025-04-05 17:25:31 UTC

It's now possible on #OpenBSD to load/apply a sysctl.conf(5) file using the sysctl(8) utility without having to iterate over each setting, one at a time, or resort to rebooting just to have /etc/rc handle it.
kn@ modified src/sbin/sysctl/sysctl.{8,c}: Add [-f file] to apply sysctl.conf in one go
Intended as simpler alternative to scripting around a list of assignments (or passing multiple on the command line), which is useful for the occasional local edit-and-apply as well as config management tools handling sysctl.conf(5) incl. comments.
deraadt millert like it

2025-04-01 00:04:11 UTC

Heads up for users testing #OpenBSD snapshots as the 7.7 release rolls closer: Don't forget to periodically send in your dmesgs, it really helps developers see what people are using. These mails might be read by actual humans so maybe include a nice message. :flan_hacker:
https://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq4.html#SendDmesg

2025-02-19 22:15:53 UTC

#OpenBSD -current now has minimal EFI boot manager support built into installboot(8), a new option, '-c' was added which sets the necessary EFI system variables (Boot####, BootOrder), using the efi(4) device driver added a few releases ago.
kettenis@ modified src/usr.sbin/installboot/*: Add -c option that sets up the machine to boot from the specified disk.
For now, this is only implemented on amd64 and arm64 machines that use UEFI and a GPT partition table. Will be used by the installer soon.
ok deraadt@, kn@
This is used by the installer to boot from the correct disk instead of relying on firmware booting from a default path (EFI/BOOT/BOOT{AA64,X64}.efi).
kettenis@ modified sys/arch/amd64/conf/RAMDISK_CD: Add efi(4) such that we can use installboot -c in the installer.
ok deraadt@, kn@
kettenis@ modified src/*: Use installboot -c in the installer such that a freshly installed or upgraded system will boot from the disk we installed on.
ok deraadt@, kn@

2024-12-12 02:04:59 UTC

Who all still has a /pub directory on their website that's been collecting junk for the past ~10 years?
Yeah, me neither.. :flan_peek:

2024-12-06 03:12:21 UTC

I know everyone's busy planning to eat the rich, but I could really use a pizza in the meantime. :flan_peek:

2024-09-23 00:59:41 UTC

A guaranteed $2500 CAD a month would go a long way towards solving a lot of my problems.. sigh. :flan_tired:
It would allow me to spend less time worrying about food, rent, bills, and more on open source. :flan_insomnia:

2024-09-11 16:23:54 UTC

Support for AMD #SEV encrypted memory guests in #OpenBSD vmm(4)/vmd(8) is now enabled in -current! :flan_cool:
This follows kernel SEV guest mode support added to ccp(4) in July, later split off into a new psp(4) driver.
To enable SEV for a guest use the parameter "sev" in the guest's vm section in vm.conf.
https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-cvs&m=172606928823175&w=2

2024-07-28 01:24:44 UTC

A friendly reminder to check out the #OpenBSD want.html page on occasion, developers may add requests for hardware they want/need for development. :flan_hacker:
mlarkin@ modified www/want.html: Mac mini M2 needed for vmm(4) development.
https://www.openbsd.org/want.html