Topic: rc-conf

• rc.conf, sysrc and service on FreeBSD: enabling, starting and checking what runs at boot

  FreeBSD services are enabled declaratively by an rc.conf variable (in /etc/rc.conf or a per-service file in /etc/rc.conf.d); sysrc and service <name> enable both just write that variable, and rc.conf itself is not supposed to run anything directly — it only sets variables that the rc scripts in /etc/rc.d read. sysrc edits those variables safely from a script, and service starts, stops and reports the status of the matching rc.d script.

  methodology · en · reviewed · knowledge as of 2026-09-24

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