Introduction

CheriBSD is a version of the open-source FreeBSD operating system that has been extended to use CHERI architectural protections. CheriBSD is intended to:

• Provide a clean, in-depth illustration and template for how CHERI support can be integrated with a general-purpose, MMU-enabled operating system;
• Enable validation and evaluation of CHERI-extended processor architectures and microarchitectures;
• Act as an OS research platform for how operating systems can use CHERI;
• Support the development and evaluation of CHERI-enabled applications; and
• Provide a foundation for CHERI-enabled software demonstrations.

This guide will support you in getting up and running with CheriBSD on the CHERI-RISC-V and Arm Morello platforms. As platforms vary substantially, from instruction-set emulators and executable formal models through to FPGA- and ASIC-based hardware implementations, there are several paths that can be taken to reach a shell prompt and start productive work. You might find that you want to build CheriBSD from scratch, or simply use one of our downloadable pre-compiled images. You may want to run directly from a live image in an emulator, or alternatively want to use an installer image to install onto an internal disk in an Arm Morello-based server or workstation.