[Bug 293983] [request] Label partitions of install images with version info to enable quick identification

From: <bugzilla-noreply_at_freebsd.org>
Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2026 18:59:45 UTC
https://bugs.freebsd.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=293983

            Bug ID: 293983
           Summary: [request] Label partitions of install images with
                    version info to enable quick identification
           Product: Base System
           Version: Unspecified
          Hardware: Any
                OS: Any
            Status: New
          Severity: Affects Many People
          Priority: ---
         Component: misc
          Assignee: bugs@FreeBSD.org
          Reporter: walter.von.entferndt@posteo.net

OBSERVED STATUS: The partitions of the installation images shipped by FreeBSD
are not labeled.  The result is that when you have some installation media with
FBSD, you can not easily identify which version they hold -- and some people
have dozen's of USB thumb drives with FBSD and it's derivatives flying around
;)

EXPECTED/SUGGESTION: Label the FBSD partition with the version they install,
e.g. s/th like FBSD-15.1-RELEASE_INST or FBSD-15-STABLE_INST.  2nd there could
be a zero-length file in the root filesystem named like the installed version. 
Is it possible to label a whole disk?

RATIONALE: This would enable a very quick identification just by looking up the
label with gpart(8) or mounting the media and listing the root filesystem. 
Currently one has to browse the filesystem and find e.g.
/usr/freebsd-packages/offline, where the version is in the filenames
(/etc/os-release is only available at runtime).  This could be easier.

EXAMPLE:
root@t450s:~ # gpart show -l da0
=>      1  3932159  da0  MBR  (2G)
1    66584    1  (null)  (33M)
66585  2962960    2  (null)  [active]  (1G)
3029545   902615       - free -  (441M)
The 2nd partition could be labeled like this:
66585  2962960    2  FBSD-15-STABLE-20260312030027  [active]  (1G)
or FBSD-15-STABLE_INST_20260312030027 [...]

root@t450s:~ # gpart show -l da0s2
=>      0  2962960  da0s2  BSD  (1G)
0       16         - free -  (8K)
16  2962944      1  (null)  (1G)
The last line could be
16  2962944      1  FBSD-15-STABLE_20260312030027 (1G)

No one cares if you choose a dash or underscore here.

Thx in advance!

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