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daemonless

The native container platform for FreeBSD. Run 78+ modern apps with standard OCI tooling.

Production-grade images, automated builds, native performance.

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What is Daemonless?

Daemonless is a collection of FreeBSD-native OCI images that run directly on the FreeBSD kernel. It combines the power and security of Jails with the modern container ecosystem—compatible with Podman, AppJail, or any OCI-compliant runtime. No Linux virtual machines or overhead required.

Positioning & Comparison

How Daemonless compares to traditional virtualization and manual jail administration.

Feature Docker on Linux/VM Traditional Jails Daemonless
OCI Images Yes (Native) No (Manual packages) Yes (Standard OCI compliance)
Native FreeBSD No (Requires Linux VM) Yes (Native Jails) Yes (Native Jails)
App-Store Deploy (Compose) Yes (Docker Compose) No (Custom shell/jails) Yes (Podman/AppJail Compose)
VM Required Yes (On non-Linux hosts) No No (Zero VM overhead)
ZFS Volume Integration No (Virtual disk overhead) Yes (Native datasets) Yes (Native datasets)

Architecture: How it Works

Run standard, unmodified container commands. Podman translates them natively to FreeBSD Jails.

flowchart TD
    host["FreeBSD Host Kernel"] --> runtime["Podman / ocijail / runj"]
    subgraph isolation["Native Jail Isolation (Zero VM Overhead)"]
        runtime --> base["Base Image (s6 init)"]
        base --> apps["Image Fleet (Plex, Radarr, Nextcloud...)"]
    end

    style host fill:#ab2b28,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
    style runtime fill:#2980b9,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
    style base fill:#d35400,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff
    style apps fill:#27ae60,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px,color:#fff

  • Reliable Foundation

    Built on FreeBSD, utilizing s6 for robust process supervision and ocijail for secure isolation.

  • Minimal Footprint

    Ultra-lightweight images with cleaned package caches and minimal overhead.

  • Secure by Default

    Run as any user with PUID/PGID support. True isolation with Jails.

  • Networking

    Full port forwarding support and seamless integration with pf firewall.

  • Automated Updates

    Automated CI/CD pipelines ensure images are built against the latest upstream releases and FreeBSD packages.

  • Transparent & Open

    100% open source. Every image is built from a visible Containerfile.

Quick Example

Launch your first container in seconds with a familiar syntax.

pkg install podman-suite
podman run -d --name plex \
  -p 32400:32400 \
  -e PUID=1000 -e PGID=1000 \
  -v /data/config/plex:/config \
  -v /data/media:/media \
  ghcr.io/daemonless/plex:latest
  1. Installs Podman and its networking dependencies directly from the FreeBSD pkg repository.
  2. Ensures the container runs securely as your host user instead of root.

Guides & How-Tos

  • Quick Start

    Host setup, pf firewall, and your first container — with Podman or AppJail.

    Get deployed

  • ZFS Storage

    Map OCI volumes to native ZFS datasets for snapshots, quotas, and replication.

    Storage guide

  • Networking

    Port forwarding, bridges, and routing traffic behind a reverse proxy.

    Networking guide

  • Operations & Updates

    Keep services current with podman pull and CI-rebuilt images — no manual jails.

    Operations guide

Why Daemonless?

  • Philosophy

    We believe in the power of FreeBSD Jails and the convenience of OCI containers. Daemonless is about bridging that gap for the community.

    Our Mission

  • Architecture

    Deep dive into how Podman, ocijail, and the FreeBSD kernel work together to provide native performance.

    How it Works

  • Join the Lab

    Daemonless is more than a tool—it's a community of FreeBSD enthusiasts. Help us build the next generation of images.

    Start Contributing