can I install a FreeBSD 14 pkg on a FreeBSD 15 pfSense?

TheBigBear

Re: How to update to the latest Tailscale version?

I am on latest released Netgate 6100 pfSense PLUS v24 ( pfSense_plus-v24_11_amd64-pfSense_plus_v24_11 )

pkg config abi
FreeBSD:15:amd64

pkg -vv | grep -A 3 "pfSense:"
  pfSense: {
    url             : "pkg+https://pfsense-plus-pkg.netgate.com/pfSense_plus-v24_11_amd64-pfSense_plus_v24_11",
    enabled         : yes,
    priority        : 0,

cat /usr/local/etc/pkg.conf
ABI=FreeBSD:15:amd64
ALTABI=freebsd:15:x86:64
PKG_ENV {
	SSL_CA_CERT_FILE=/etc/ssl/netgate-ca.pem
	SSL_CLIENT_CERT_FILE=/usr/local/etc/pfSense/pkg/repos/pfSense-repo-0001-cert.pem
	SSL_CLIENT_KEY_FILE=/usr/local/etc/pfSense/pkg/repos/pfSense-repo-0001-key.pem
}

This firewall is obviously running on FreeBSD 15 no longer on 14.

But can I use the freshports link for FreeBSD 14 amd64 quarterly which is at tailscale 1.86.2 or can I only go up to version tailscale 1.84.2_1, and need to wait until they have a version of tailscale 1.86.2 or higher for the FreeBSD 15?

Would it be good enough to tell it to ignore the OSVERSION?

export IGNORE_OSVERSION=yes

Note: use of 14 and not 15 ?

pkg add https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/quarterly/All/tailscale-1.86.2.pkg

service tailscaled restart

tailscale up

Gertjan

@TheBigBear

can I install a FreeBSD 14 pkg on a FreeBSD 15 pfSense?

If the package is a simple bash script, or something light like that, maybe.
The pkg too will complain for sure, probably a lot. Still be ready to lose your system.

If the package contains binaries : forget it. The ABI is different. Package dependency night mare get introduced, consider your system as "alien ware" (not the brand) from now on, even it somehow seems to work.

TheBigBear

@Gertjan Thanks. This is a compiled binary the tailscale vpn network mesh using wireguard. So this is s definite no then.

dennypage

@Gertjan said in can I install a FreeBSD 14 pkg on a FreeBSD 15 pfSense?:

If the package contains binaries : forget it. The ABI is different.

It's not a hard and fast rule like that. It depends upon what the binary is, what dependencies it has, and how everything was compiled.

I am currently running a binary package, which was built on FreeBSD 14.2-RELEASE, on pfSense 25.07 (FreeBSD 15.0-CURRENT) without issue.

w0w

This post is deleted!

veddy254

With Tailscale, I just recommend sticking with the FreeBSD15 version. Yes, it may currently work using the FreeBSD 14 package despite being on 15, but any number of other updates could result in that not being the case anymore. Not to mention the fact that any updates newer than 1.84.2_1 don't really impact functionality for what people would be using Tailscale for with PfSense so updating past that is not an absolute necessity. I run 1.86.4 on my desktop+phone and 1.84.2_1 on my pfsense router. Phone commonly uses the PfSense router as an exit node and there's no difference for PfSense.

TL;DR: Better to be safe than sorry and stick with the FreeBSD 15 version even if it's not the latest version of Tailscale.