🟠 High   ⏱ 5–30 min  Last verified: 19 May 2026
Affected versions: FreeBSD 14

📖 ~1 min read

Table of contents
  1. Symptom & Impact
  2. Environment & Reproduction
  3. Root Cause Analysis
  4. Quick Triage
  5. Step-by-Step Diagnosis
  6. Solution – Primary Fix
  7. Solution – Alternative Approaches
  8. Verification & Acceptance Criteria
  9. Rollback Plan
  10. Prevention & Hardening
  11. Related Errors & Cross-Refs
  12. References & Further Reading

Symptom & Impact

Custom or third-party service does not start after reboot although manual service start works later.

Environment & Reproduction

Seen on systems with recently added rc.d scripts or copied service templates.

service -e
service  onestatus || true
rcorder /etc/rc.d/* /usr/local/etc/rc.d/* | tail -n 60

Root Cause Analysis

The script lacks correct PROVIDE/REQUIRE/BEFORE keywords, so boot ordering omits or delays startup.

Quick Triage

Review script headers and enabled settings.

head -n 40 /usr/local/etc/rc.d/
sysrc -a | grep 
service  enabled

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Map dependency chain and boot logs for ordering mismatch.

grep -E 'PROVIDE|REQUIRE|BEFORE' /usr/local/etc/rc.d/
rcorder /etc/rc.d/* /usr/local/etc/rc.d/* | nl | grep 
dmesg -a | tail -n 120
Illustrative mockup for freebsd-14 — terminal_or_console
Diagnosis commands for post 153 — Illustrative mockup — Progressive Robot

Solution – Primary Fix

Add correct dependency metadata and rcvar handling in the script, then reload service flow.

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vi /usr/local/etc/rc.d/
chmod 555 /usr/local/etc/rc.d/
service  rcvar
service  restart
Illustrative mockup for freebsd-14 — log_or_dashboard
Fix validation evidence for post 153 — Illustrative mockup — Progressive Robot

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Use late start hooks if strict dependency wiring is not immediately possible.

sysrc _enable=YES
echo 'sleep 10; service  start' >> /etc/rc.local

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

Service starts automatically after reboot with no ordering warnings.

shutdown -r now
service  status
grep  /var/log/messages | tail -n 20

Rollback Plan

Restore previous script and disable auto-start if startup regression affects boot critical path.

cp /root/backup/.rc.d /usr/local/etc/rc.d/
sysrc _enable=NO

Prevention & Hardening

Validate rc.d script headers in code review before deployment.

grep -R 'PROVIDE:' /usr/local/etc/rc.d
rcorder /etc/rc.d/* /usr/local/etc/rc.d/* >/dev/null

Can overlap with missing network-online behavior and jailed service startup assumptions.

Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for FreeBSD 14.

View all FreeBSD 14 tutorials on the Tutorials Hub →

Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.

References & Further Reading

rc.subr, rcorder, and FreeBSD service management documentation.

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