200 MB RAM FreeBSD Desktop

Recorded: Jan. 21, 2026, 11:03 a.m.

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200 MB RAM FreeBSD Desktop | 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚗

𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚗
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200 MB RAM FreeBSD Desktop

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Recently I came across Lunduke post about some mysterious Vendefoul Wolf Linux distribution that uses 217 MB RAM with Devuan as base (no systemd(1) here) and XLibre X11 server along with IceWM window manager.

For the record – the Lunduke post states 200 MB RAM but XLibreDev quotes a post where exactly 217 MB RAM is reported.
Later Lunduke even posted a video about it.

As I use similarly low resource setup with Openbox/Tint2/Dzen2 setup (documented FreeBSD Desktop here) I was wondering … how low can I go with FreeBSD RAM usage.

Lets try …
The Table of Contents is as follows.

Install
Configuration

/boot/loader.conf
/etc/rc.conf
/etc/sysctl.conf
/etc/devfs.rules
Installed Packages
Login Manager
~/.xinitrc

Startup
RAM Usage
End Session
Comparison
Summary

Install
I wanted to use most recent FreeBSD so I used 15.0-RELEASE version – including the Tech Preview PKGBASE setup for FreeBSD Base System.
As Xorg X11 implementation is currently intentionally crippled by some Red Hat employees and some people from FreeDesktop.org I decided to use actively developed and maintained XLibre X11 server instead.
Example of such behavior below.

More on that tragic Xorg story where open source spirit died long time ago is available here:

https://youtu.be/iwaaSatk0pI
https://youtu.be/ONdcalK5JLQ
https://youtu.be/ujJCyXfWpOo
https://youtu.be/WdlhHOLaRgQ

A lot has also been explained in this message:

As the Vendefoul Wolf Linux did not used ZFS I also decided to fight fair and used UFS with Soft Updates Journaling mode that minimizes fsck(8) time to minimum. For the record Netflix also uses FreeBSD with UFS filesystem.
Using UFS would mean loosing great FreeBSD feature called ZFS Boot Environments … but fortunately you can use UFS Boot Environments as replacement on UFS filesystems.
Configuration
After install I created my vermaden user with membership in these groups.
FreeBSD $ id | tr ', ' '\n'
uid=1000(vermaden)
gid=1000(vermaden)
groups=0(wheel)
5(operator)
44(video)
48(idletime)
69(network)
1000(vermaden)

Later I disabled additional virtual terminals that I would not use anyway in the /etc/ttys file.

/boot/loader.conf
Next used /boot/loader.conf file.
# CONSOLE COMMON
loader_logo=none
loader_menu_frame=none
screen.font="6x12"

# CONSOLE RESOLUTION
kern.vt.fb.default.mode="1920x1080"
efi_max_resolution="1920x1080"
vbe_max_resolution="1920x1080"

# ENABLE SYNAPTICS
hw.psm.synaptics_support=1

# DISABLE /dev/diskid/* AND /dev/gptid/* ENTRIES FOR DISKS
kern.geom.label.disk_ident.enable=0
kern.geom.label.gptid.enable=0

# POWER MANAGEMENT POWER OFF DEVICES WITHOUT ATTACHED DRIVER
hw.pci.do_power_nodriver=3

# POWER MANAGEMENT FOR EVERY USED AHCI CHANNEL (ahcich 0-3)
hint.ahcich.0.pm_level=5
hint.ahcich.1.pm_level=5
hint.ahcich.2.pm_level=5
hint.ahcich.3.pm_level=5

# MAX SEND QUEUE SIZE
net.link.ifqmaxlen=2048

# DISABLE USB PACKET FILTERING
hw.usb.no_pf=1

# NO USB DEVICE ENUMERATE WAITING AT BOOT AND SHUTDOWN
hw.usb.no_boot_wait=1
hw.usb.no_shutdown_wait=1

# DISABLE hwpstate_intel(4) DRIVER
hint.hwpstate_intel.0.disabled=1

/etc/rc.conf
Now the main FreeBSD /etc/rc.conf configuration file.
# SILENCE
rc_startmsgs=NO
rc_info=NO

# NETWORK
hostname=minimal
defaultroute_delay=3
defaultroute_carrier_delay=3
ifconfig_vtnet0="inet 10.1.1.71/24 up"
defaultrouter="10.1.1.1"
gateway_enable=YES
harvest_mask=351
rtsol_flags="-i"
rtsold_flags="-a -i"

# POWER
performance_cx_lowest=C1
economy_cx_lowest=Cmax

# DAEMONS
update_motd=NO
local_unbound_enable="NO"
dbus_enable=YES
syslogd_flags='-s -s'
sendmail_enable=NO
sendmail_submit_enable=YES
sendmail_outbound_enable=NO
sendmail_msp_queue_enable=NO

# FS
fsck_y_enable=YES
clear_tmp_enable=NO
clear_tmp_X=YES

# OTHER
keyrate=fast
virecover_enable=NO
devfs_system_ruleset=desktop
entropy_file=NO
savecore_enable=NO
dumpdev=AUTO

/etc/sysctl.conf
Now FreeBSD system settings in the /etc/sysctl.conf file.
# HARVEST MASK FOR random(4)
kern.random.harvest.mask=33119

# SECURITY
security.bsd.see_jail_proc=0
security.bsd.unprivileged_proc_debug=0

# SECURITY/RANDOM PID
kern.randompid=1

# DISABLE ANNOYING THINGS
vfs.usermount=1
kern.coredump=0
hw.syscons.bell=0
kern.vt.enable_bell=0

# DO NOT WAIT FOR USB DEVICES ON SUSPEND/SHUTDOWN
hw.usb.no_suspend_wait=1
hw.usb.no_shutdown_wait=1

# DESKTOP/INTERACTIVITY
kern.sched.preempt_thresh=224

# DESKTOP QUANTUM FOR TIMESHARE THREADS IN stathz TICKS
kern.sched.slice=3

# DESKTOP/IRIDIUM/CHROMIUM
kern.ipc.shm_allow_removed=1

# ALLOW idprio(8) USE BY REGULAR USER
security.bsd.unprivileged_idprio=1

# PREVENT SHARED MEMORY FROM BEING SWAPPED TO DISK
kern.ipc.shm_use_phys=1

# DO NOT SWITCH VIRTUAL CONSOLES BACK AND FORTH ON SUSPEND
kern.vt.suspendswitch=0

# MAKE FUSEFS DO NOT USE WIRED MEMORY
vfs.fusefs.data_cache_mode=0

/etc/devfs.rules
The devfs_system_ruleset specified desktop in the /etc/devfs.rules file.
[desktop=10]
add path 'acd*' mode 0660 group operator
add path 'cd*' mode 0660 group operator
add path 'da*' mode 0660 group operator
add path 'pass*' mode 0660 group operator
add path 'xpt*' mode 0660 group operator
add path 'fd*' mode 0660 group operator
add path 'md*' mode 0660 group operator
add path 'uscanner*' mode 0660 group operator
add path 'ugen*' mode 0660 group operator
add path 'usb/*' mode 0660 group operator
add path 'video*' mode 0660 group operator
add path 'cuse*' mode 0660 group operator

Installed Packages
Only a few … with few hundred dependencies 🙂
FreeBSD # pkg install xlibre openbox tint2 dzen2 xterm htop ifstat doas \
gnome-icons-faenza adwaita-icon-theme mate-icon-theme

What I really loved is that XLibre X11 packages DOES NOT CONFLICT with Xorg packages. You just install xlibre instead of xorg and everything works … even better then with Xorg 🙂
Login Manager
I did not used login manager such as xdm(1) as its not needed in the setup.
I just start X11 directly with xinit(1) command like that.
FreeBSD % xinit -- -dpi 75 -nolisten tcp

If you would like to add xdm(1) to the mix then it would add additional 12 MB to RAM usage.
FreeBSD # ps aux -o user,rss,command | grep -e xdm -e RSS | cut -c 59-
USER RSS COMMAND
root 8824 xdm: :0 (xdm)
root 4596 /usr/local/bin/xdm -server :0 local /usr/local/bin/X :0 vt05

~/.xinitrc
Now the details what is being set and started for this minimalistic yet powerful desktop.
# PATH
export PATH=${PATH}:~/scripts

# SET PROPER locale(1)
export LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8
export LANG=en_US.UTF-8

# fontconfig
export FREETYPE_PROPERTIES="cff:no-stem-darkening=0 autofitter:no-stem-darkening=0"

# MODIFY QT FONT DPI
export QT_FONT_DPI=75

# DISABLE OVERLAY SCROLLBARS
export GTK_OVERLAY_SCROLLING=0

# XDG
export DESKTOP_SESSION=openbox
export XDG_SESSION_DESKTOP=openbox
export XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=openbox
export XDG_SESSION_CLASS=user
export XDG_SESSION_TYPE=x11

# DISABLE GVFS FUSE ~/.gvfs MOUNT
export GVFS_DISABLE_FUSE=1

# QT MUST KNOW WHERE IS GTK2 CONFIG
export GTK2_RC_FILES="${HOME}/.gtkrc-2.0"

# QT5 qt5ct
export QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME=qt5ct

# GTK/QT ANTIALIASING
export QT_XFT=1
export GDK_USE_XFT=1

# FORCE LIBREOFFICE TO USE GTK2 THEME
export OOO_FORCE_DESKTOP=gnome

# WM
exec dbus-launch --exit-with-session openbox-session 1> /dev/null 2> /dev/null & WM=${!}

# DAEMONS/TOOLS/TASKBARS/BACKGROUND
( sleep 1 && ~/scripts/__openbox_restart_dzen2.sh 1> /dev/null 2> /dev/null ) &
( sleep 1 && ~/scripts/__openbox_restart_tint2.sh 1> /dev/null 2> /dev/null ) &
xbindkeys 1> /dev/null 2> /dev/null &
setxkbmap -option terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp,caps:none pl &
( sleep 5 && xmodmap ~/.xmodmaprc ) &

# WAIT FOR openbox(1) WM PID
wait ${WM}

# LOGOUT WHEN X11 STARTED FROM PLAIN login(1) CONSOLE
XINIT=$( ps -o pid,comm | awk '/xinit/ {print $1}' )
SHELL=$( ps -o ppid -p ${XINIT} | grep -v PPID )
LOGIN=$( ps -o ppid -p ${SHELL} | grep -v PPID )
kill -9 ${XINIT} ${SHELL} ${LOGIN} 2> /dev/null

# EXIT
exit 0

For the record … this section at the end makes sure that after X11 will end its process my user will be securely and automatically logged out.
# LOGOUT WHEN X11 STARTED FROM PLAIN login(1) CONSOLE
XINIT=$( ps -o pid,comm | awk '/xinit/ {print $1}' )
SHELL=$( ps -o ppid -p ${XINIT} | grep -v PPID )
LOGIN=$( ps -o ppid -p ${SHELL} | grep -v PPID )
kill -9 ${XINIT} ${SHELL} ${LOGIN} 2> /dev/null

Startup
This is how the system looks after its booted.

After executing the xinit -- -dpi 75 -nolisten tcp command Openbox window manager awaits our commands with Tint2 and Dzen2 bars on the top.

The kld.sh script converts FreeBSD kernel (and its modules) RAM usage display into MB units and its talked in depth in the Part 6 – Learn Shell Scripting of the Ghost in the Shell series.
RAM Usage
After starting xterm(1) terminal and then htop(1) inside to measure RAM usage the number stops at 230 MB … but as we started these only to measure the usage the real RAM usage of such FreeBSD desktop without any applications is 206 MB RAM.
I subtracted:
– 19 MB for xterm(1) terminal.
– 5 MB for htop(1) process viewer.
Math.
230 - 19 - 5 = 206
As calculated in the terminal.

End Session
After stopping X11 server this is how console looks like (and safely logged out).

I was also positively surprised how cleanly and without any errors Xlibre servers ends its work.
Comparison
You can compare these 200 MB RAM to other desktop environments and window managers in one of my older articles – Desktop Environments Resource Usage Comparison – here.

Summary
As I used GENERIC FreeBSD kernel its possible to use even smaller amount of RAM with kernel recompilation.
UPDATE 1 – Hard 220 MB Limit
The tests I have done above were done on a FreeBSD Bhyve virtual machine with 6 GB RAM. That means plenty of space for buffers and cache – and the FreeBSD motto is that – “Free memory is wasted memory.” – I decided to try with smallest VM I can start in UEFI mode.
That means 220 MB of RAM.
The results I got surprised me more then I expected.
Plain FreeBSD
When VM had 6 GB RAM plain FreeBSD used about 115 MB RAM – but when I limited the physical memory to 220 MB RAM for that virtual machine only 82 MB RAM were used.

Openbox
Here the results are also better.
My complete Openbox/Tint2/Dzen2 desktop uses only 134 MB RAM!
The calculations are: 142 (ram) + 14 (swap) – 18 (xterm) – 4 (htop)

Hope that helps.
EOF
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This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged desktop, dzen2, freebsd, laptop, linux, openbox, pkgbase, tint2, ufs, x11, xlibre, xorg on 2026/01/18 by vermaden.

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9 thoughts on “200 MB RAM FreeBSD Desktop”

Gianmarco Giovannelli 2026/01/18 at 12:37

Good morning, excellent article.
I still use wmaker in a very minimalist way. Has its memory usage ever been tested in an optimized configuration?
Thank you.
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vermaden Post author2026/01/18 at 19:43

Has its memory usage ever been tested in an optimized configuration?
Probably more then once 🙂
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Gianmarco 2026/01/19 at 00:50

Hi,I did a simple test and I found that also the oldie wmaker runs with few resources.
https://imgur.com/a/Z0SN6kr
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vermaden Post author2026/01/19 at 11:48

Thanks.
I see that wmaker process is twice in the list with 27 MB and 21 MB – that means wmaker uses 48 MB RAM total while Openbox uses 24 MB RAM.
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DF 2026/01/18 at 18:24

Hey, nice post. Could you please check how much ram you will use with dwm window manager and st terminal emulator from suckless?
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vermaden Post author2026/01/18 at 19:41

You can see how much RAM takes Openbox/Dzen2/Tint2 in the htop(1) output.
Subtract that and add what dwm(1) and st(1) use.
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geobarrod 2026/01/20 at 04:18

🤩
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