Development Branch Names

During the development cycle of pfSense® software work happens on specific branches for specific purposes.

HEAD (master)

HEAD, also known as -HEAD, master, plus-master, devel, plus-devel, or main, refers to the latest bleeding edge development version of pfSense software, where all new features are first added. The specific branch name varies depending on the repository.

When a release nears, this branch of a given repository is branched to create a RELENG (Release Engineering) branch. This follows the FreeBSD project’s development model.

RELENG_x_y_z

A branch with a complete version number, such as RELENG_x_y_z (CE) or plus-RELENG_yy_mm (Plus) is a maintenance branch for a specific release, x.y.z (CE) or yy.mm (Plus). This may be updated after a release and eventually become the next patch release, if necessary.

Others

For links to other branches, past and present, see Versions of pfSense software and FreeBSD.