Fresh air with X: GhostBSD switches from X.org to XLibre

GhostBSD is switching from X.Org, whose development is practically stagnant, to its fork XLibre with the upcoming version 26.01. In his blog, GhostBSD founder Eric Turgeon explains the background to the decision. GhostBSD is not Linux, but it uses software from the Linux desktop world such as MATE or Xfce. Dependencies on Linux-specific peculiarities like systemd, which do not exist in the rest of the open-source world, are being built into more and more technologies, including desktop environments. This also includes Wayland, which runs to some extent on the BSDs, but whose development is focused on a Linux monoculture.

According to Turgeon, neither GhostBSD nor MATE or Xfce are technically ready for Wayland. The young alternative desktop project Gershwin, which is reminiscent of macOS, is also not focused on Wayland. According to Turgeon, Wayland would only partially work under GhostBSD and has therefore not been an option so far.

The decision to switch from X.Org to XLibre is therefore technically justified, as the further development of X.Org has not only been frozen thanks to IBM/Red Hat, but has even been declining due to mass deletion of code. For this reason, X.Org developer Enrico Weigelt created his fork called XLibre in June 2025, where absolutely everyone who wants to advance X is welcome.

The Ubuntu of the BSDs

Currently, GhostBSD 25.02-R14 with X.Org is available, but Eric Turgeon has indicated in his blog that he will probably have to postpone the upcoming GhostBSD 26.01 by one to two months due to the switch to XLibre. A preview version with XLibre, still based on 25.02, can be downloaded free of charge from the project page. When tested on an old Lenovo ThinkPad T520, GhostBSD/XLibre ran flawlessly; Eric Turgeon himself uses it without problems on a T580.

The user-friendly, stylish GhostBSD, which can also be used as a live system, comes from FreeBSD developer Eric Turgeon and is being slowly but steadily advanced together with a small development team. In addition to a pre-configured MATE and an Xfce desktop, the (currently) current GhostBSD 25.02 can also be downloaded as an ISO image free of charge with the NeXT/macOS-like Gershwin Desktop Environment. Those who want to dive into the classic Unix world of BSDs without having to manually configure a graphical desktop under NetBSD, OpenBSD, or in this case FreeBSD, will find turnkey desktop systems in NomadBSD and especially in GhostBSD.

Mediator between applications, graphics hardware, and input devices

A graphical desktop requires a display server that determines what is visible on the screen, when, and where, and who receives which input. There are various display servers for graphical desktops: the Windows Display Driver Model, macOS's Quartz Compositor, and for Unix-like open-source operating systems, X.Org with its fork XLibre, and Wayland. The latter has been under development for 18 years, is considered modern, but is still not finished. Alternatives such as Canonical/Ubuntu's Mir, which has disappeared from the scene again, Arcan, or DirectFB have special application scenarios.

For GNU/Linux and the BSDs, the classic X11 model and Wayland are relevant. Simply put: X11 follows a strict client-server principle with a window manager as a separate component, while in Wayland the compositor takes over the tasks of the display server and applications render themselves (OpenGL/Vulkan). Obviously, the two systems are not fully compatible with each other.

IBM and Red Hat are increasingly giving the impression that they want to cement monopolistic standards in this field with their product policy. The alternative X.Org was rather systematically disrupted. Whether a slowly emerging IBM/Red Hat monopoly (systemd/Wayland/GNOME) is advantageous for GNU/Linux and the rest of the Unix-like open-source world, as it is for Windows, is at least questionable. Free choice, diversity, and cooperation are usually the better choice.

(mho)