How to Subscribe to or Read BSD Weekly

Updated

BSD Weekly is a free, once-weekly English email newsletter that rounds up BSD news and articles. You can receive it by email subscription, and its issue-based format means each edition reads as a dated digest of releases, security notices, news, and tutorials. The site describes itself as a "free BSD e-mail newsletter," so the primary access path is the email list rather than a paywall or account system.

What BSD Weekly Provides

Each issue is organized into recurring sections. Based on the published issue content, the structure includes:

Section What it contains
Releases New BSD version announcements and their notable changes
BSDSec Security advisories, errata notices, and patch availability
News Community and project news
Tutorials How-to and instructional content

Issue 301, published October 21, 2026, illustrates the format: it covers the OpenBSD 8.0 release, several FreeBSD security advisories (sound, bhyve, tcp_rack), FreeBSD errata notices, and a NetBSD policy stance. This is a round-up model — the newsletter points to source material rather than replacing it.

Subscribing by Email

The newsletter is delivered by email on a weekly cadence. To subscribe:

  1. Go to bsdweekly.com.
  2. Locate the email sign-up form on the site.
  3. Enter your email address and confirm the subscription.
  4. Expect one issue per week; check your spam folder if the first issue does not arrive.

The site does not publish pricing details beyond describing the newsletter as free, and no login or account requirement is indicated in the available material. If a confirmation email is part of the sign-up flow, complete it to activate delivery.

Reading Issues Without Subscribing

Because BSD Weekly is issue-based, individual editions are identifiable by number and date (for example, "Issue 301, Published October 21, 2026"). This makes it possible to:

  • Browse the site for published issue content and section headings.
  • Search by issue number or date when you need a specific week's coverage.
  • Follow linked sources — advisories, release notes, and tutorials — directly from an issue.

If you only need security information, the BSDSec section is the most efficient entry point; if you are tracking a specific release, the Releases section and the linked project announcements are more authoritative than the summary.

Deciding Whether It Fits Your Needs

BSD Weekly suits readers who want a single weekly digest across OpenBSD, FreeBSD, and NetBSD rather than monitoring each project separately. It is less suitable if you need real-time security alerts — advisories appear in the next issue, so subscribing directly to project security lists is better for immediate patching decisions. For hands-on learning, the Tutorials section is a starting point, but the linked original articles carry the full detail.