iocell - A FreeBSD jail manager

iocell manages FreeBSD jails using ZFS, shared-IP or VNET networking, templates, clones, snapshots and optional kernel resource limits. It requires uclcmd and stores UCL configuration alongside native ZFS properties.

Start with Basic usage. A default jail is a basejail using shared read-only release files, not an independent OS copy. See Known limitations for current command restrictions and storage limitations.

Project website · Source code

Documentation

• Changelog
  • 2.3.0 (2026-11-03)
• Basic usage
  • Activate a pool and fetch a release
  • Create a jail
  • Listing and lifecycle
  • Console and commands
  • Properties and defaults
  • Destroy a jail
• Networking
  • Shared IP
  • VNET
  • Inspecting and maintaining networks
• Jail types
  • Basejail (default)
  • Clone
  • Template
  • Empty
  • Independent/full (legacy thick jail)
• Best practices
  • Identify and back up jails
  • Restart deliberately
  • Isolate networking and firewall changes
  • Resource limits and templates
  • Clean up explicitly
• Advanced usage
  • Clones
  • Updating jails
  • Upgrading jails
  • Auto boot
  • Snapshot management
  • Resource limits
  • Replication and moves
  • Automatic package installation
• How to create and use templates
• Jail images and historical differential packages
• Migration from ezjail
• Known limitations
  • Command restrictions
  • Storage boundaries
  • Kernel and networking notes
• FAQ

Reference

iocell help and the generated iocell(8) manual describe the command interface. Their source is lib/ioc-help.

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