Future of 32-bit platform support in FreeBSD
12 February, 2024 by jhb@FreeBSD.org | freebsd
FreeBSD is deprecating 32-bit platforms over the next couple of major releases. We anticipate FreeBSD 15.0 will not include the armv6, i386, and powerpc platforms, and FreeBSD 16.0 will not include armv7. Support for executing 32-bit binaries on 64-bit kernels will be retained through at least the lifetime of the stable/16 branch if not longer. (There is currently no plan to remove support for 32-bit binaries on 64-bit kernels.) More background: Since its inception, FreeBSD has aimed to provide a stable and performant general-purpose BSD-based operating system for modern and widely-available systems. Initially this took the form of focusing on the i386 architecture. Over time FreeBSD has added and removed support for various architectures based on changes in the marketplace (in some cases, anticipated changes in the marketplace). The decision to remove support for an architecture in particular depends on a couple of factors including both the future viability and availability of systems using that architecture as well as the developer resources available in the project to continue maintaining support. In addition, some changes and features may require explicit support on each architecture. Architectures that are less well-maintained can degrade into a tax on such changes delaying their implementation on architectures with stronger support. Looking forward, general purpose 32-bit platforms are in a state of decline in the marketplace (some more quickly than others), and we have a shrinking pool of developers dedicated to supporting them. Of our existing 32-bit platforms today (i386, armv[67], powerpc), only armv7 continues to be used in recent system designs. We feel that FreeBSD will be better served by narrowing the focus of our developer resources on 64-bit systems moving forward. This includes both deprecating existing 32-bit platforms and not adding new 32-bit platforms (e.g., FreeBSD does not plan to add a 32-bit RISC-V architecture). Support for individual 32-bit platforms may be extended if there is both demand and commitment to increased developer resources. More details on the current plans for the future of 32-bit platforms can be found in the "General Notes Regarding Future FreeBSD Releases" section of the 14.0 release notes at https://www.freebsd.org/releases/14.0R/relnotes/ On behalf of the FreeBSD Core Team, -- John Baldwin