FreeBSD/powerpc is undergoing rapid development on the newest processor families (POWER8/POWER9). Here are some hints to get you started.

• FreeBSD 12 or above is required.
• FreeBSD 12.0-STABLE is recommended, rather than 12.0R.
• Packages are built for the following OS versions:
  • For FreeBSD 12, from the ports -quarterly branch.
  • For FreeBSD-CURRENT, from ports-head.

Your choice of what to use is depending on your use case and level of interest:

• If you want to use FreeBSD as a server, your best choice is FreeBSD 12-STABLE with quarterly packages. Most ports are believed to work.
• If you want to use FreeBSD as a desktop, you have the following choices:
  • Stay with FreeBSD 12 using quarterly packages. with the caveat that desktop support is not well-tested; and, in particular, kde is known not to build.
  • Run FreeBSD-CURRENT using base GCC and the existing -head packages.
  • Run FreeBSD-CURRENT using clang instead of GCC. As of 20190613, you will need to build your own packages.

The plan is to move FREEBSD-CURRENT/powerpc to clang and elfv2. As of 20190613, this work is under rapid development. Please only select this case if you are willing to help develop and debug both the OS and ports; we know there are many rough edges.