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Subject: Re: Questions about freebsd-update
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>>>> 2) How do I get freebsd-update to install only specific patches or
>>>> updates instead of everything?
>>
>> Given the integration of base system packages & kernel, I don't think
>> you would want to do this. This actually sounds kinda .... dare I say it
>> (?) .... *linuxy* .... ick
>
> The main rationale here is that updates can occasionally cause behavior
> changes which can negatively interact with 3rd party software. If we're
> trying to test new patches for compatibility issues or we're seeing a
> bug that seems dependent on patch level, it's kind of a requirement to
> be able to step though the updates one by one.

I should clarify: I know it's possible to do this by downloading the 
patch/asc files and doing the whole make/install dance, but that 
requires all the build tools to be installed which is awkward on 
dedicated systems that need a small footprint. What I'm hoping for is a 
way to download the patches in binary form and use some flavor of 
'freebsd-update install patch_file' instead.