Alpine

Recipe: community/unit/APKBUILD in alpinelinux/aports.

1. Rename the aport

   Move community/unit/ to community/freeunit/ and update APKBUILD:

   community/freeunit/APKBUILD§

   pkgname=freeunit
   pkgver=1.35.3
   source="$pkgname-$pkgver.tar.gz::https://github.com/freeunitorg/freeunit/archive/refs/tags/$pkgver.tar.gz"
   builddir="$srcdir/freeunit-$pkgver"
   subpackages="$pkgname-openrc $pkgname-doc $pkgname-dev
    $pkgname-perl $pkgname-php83 $pkgname-python3 $pkgname-ruby"
   provides="unit=$pkgver-r$pkgrel"
   replaces="unit"
   

2. Refresh checksums

   $ abuild checksum
   

3. Build and test

   $ abuild -r
   

4. Submit an MR to aports following the Alpine contributing guide.

Runtime details (unchanged from the legacy unit aport):

Control socket	/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

ALT

Recipe: unit.spec in the Sisyphus gears/u/unit repository.

1. Clone the gear and branch it

   $ git clone git://git.altlinux.org/gears/u/unit.git freeunit
   $ cd freeunit
   

2. Update the spec

   freeunit.spec§

   Name:    freeunit
   Version: 1.35.3
   Source0: https://github.com/freeunitorg/freeunit/archive/refs/tags/%version.tar.gz
   Provides: unit = %EVR
   Obsoletes: unit < %EVR
   

   Rename subpackages the same way (unit-perl → freeunit-perl, unit-php → freeunit-php, …).

3. Rebuild in the hasher

   $ gear-rpm -bb
   $ hsh --init && hsh --build freeunit-*.src.rpm
   

4. Push to Sisyphus via gear-commit + git push once a maintainer has reviewed.

Runtime details (unchanged from the legacy unit gear):

Control socket	/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	_unit (mind the _ prefix)

Arch

Recipe: PKGBUILD in the nginx-unit AUR package.

Recommended path: publish a new AUR package named freeunit and keep nginx-unit around for a release or two pointing at the same tarball (provides=('nginx-unit'), conflicts=('nginx-unit')).

1. Clone the AUR repo and rename

   $ git clone ssh://aur@aur.archlinux.org/freeunit.git
   $ cd freeunit
   

2. Update PKGBUILD

   PKGBUILD§

   pkgbase=freeunit
   pkgname=('freeunit' 'freeunit-php' 'freeunit-python' 'freeunit-nodejs')
   pkgver=1.35.3
   url='https://github.com/freeunitorg/freeunit'
   source=("freeunit-$pkgver.tar.gz::https://github.com/freeunitorg/freeunit/archive/refs/tags/$pkgver.tar.gz")
   provides=("nginx-unit=$pkgver")
   replaces=('nginx-unit')
   conflicts=('nginx-unit')
   

3. Refresh checksums and .SRCINFO

   $ updpkgsums
   $ makepkg --printsrcinfo > .SRCINFO
   

4. Build in a clean chroot, then push

   $ makepkg -s
   $ git commit -am "freeunit 1.35.3: rebase on freeunitorg/freeunit"
   $ git push
   

Runtime details (unchanged from the legacy nginx-unit AUR package):

Control socket	/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	nobody

FreeBSD

Recipe: the www/unit port in freebsd/freebsd-ports.

Strategy: create a new slave-free port www/freeunit and mark the old www/unit port deprecated with MOVED redirect.

1. Copy the port tree

   $ cp -R www/unit www/freeunit
   $ cp -R www/unit-php www/freeunit-php
   $ cp -R www/unit-python www/freeunit-python
   # …repeat for perl, ruby, wasm, libunit → libfreeunit
   

2. Update each Makefile

   www/freeunit/Makefile§

   PORTNAME=    freeunit
   DISTVERSION= 1.35.3
   CATEGORIES=  www
   MAINTAINER=  you@example.org
   COMMENT=     Dynamic application server, community LTS fork of NGINX Unit
   
   USE_GITHUB=  yes
   GH_ACCOUNT=  freeunitorg
   GH_PROJECT=  freeunit
   
   CONFLICTS_INSTALL= unit-[0-9]* unit-php-[0-9]* unit-python-[0-9]* unit-perl-[0-9]* unit-ruby-[0-9]* unit-wasm-[0-9]*
   

3. Regenerate distinfo

   $ make makesum
   

4. Register the rename in ``MOVED``

   www/unit|www/freeunit|2026-04-19|Project renamed to FreeUnit
   

5. Test-build via poudriere, then submit a PR to freebsd-ports.

Runtime details (unchanged from the legacy www/unit port):

Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	www

Gentoo

Recipe: www-servers/nginx-unit in the ::gentoo tree.

Strategy: add www-servers/freeunit and last-rite nginx-unit by adding a dated block to profiles/package.mask (with a 30-day removal notice) once the replacement is stable.

1. Create the new package directory

   $ git mv www-servers/nginx-unit www-servers/freeunit
   $ cd www-servers/freeunit
   $ git mv nginx-unit-1.34.2.ebuild freeunit-1.35.3.ebuild
   

2. Update the ebuild

   www-servers/freeunit/freeunit-1.35.3.ebuild§

   EAPI=8
   DESCRIPTION="Dynamic application server, community LTS fork of NGINX Unit"
   HOMEPAGE="https://freeunit.org/"
   SRC_URI="https://github.com/freeunitorg/freeunit/archive/refs/tags/${PV}.tar.gz -> ${P}.tar.gz"
   S="${WORKDIR}/freeunit-${PV}"
   
   RDEPEND="!!<www-servers/nginx-unit-1.35"   # hard block, forces removal before merge
   

3. Regenerate Manifest

   $ pkgdev manifest
   

4. Test

   $ sudo ebuild freeunit-1.35.3.ebuild clean merge
   $ pkgcheck scan
   

5. Submit a PR to gentoo/gentoo per the Gentoo developer manual.

Runtime details (unchanged from the legacy nginx-unit ebuild):

Control socket	/run/unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	nobody

NetBSD

Recipe: www/unit in pkgsrc.

1. Copy the category directory

   $ cd pkgsrc/www
   $ cp -R unit freeunit
   

2. Update the Makefile

   www/freeunit/Makefile§

   DISTNAME=       freeunit-1.35.3
   CATEGORIES=     www
   MASTER_SITES=   ${MASTER_SITE_GITHUB:=freeunitorg/freeunit/}
   GITHUB_TAG=     ${PKGVERSION_NOREV}
   HOMEPAGE=       https://freeunit.org/
   COMMENT=        Community LTS fork of NGINX Unit
   
   CONFLICTS+=     unit-[0-9]*
   SUPERSEDES+=    unit-[0-9]*
   

   Do the same for www/freeunit-perl, www/freeunit-python*, www/freeunit-ruby*, devel/libfreeunit.

3. Regenerate distinfo

   $ make distinfo
   

4. Test-build

   $ cd www/freeunit && make package
   

5. Commit and send-pr via pkgsrc-wip first if the rename needs broader review.

Runtime details (unchanged from the legacy www/unit pkgsrc entry):

Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Nix

Recipe: pkgs/servers/http/unit/default.nix in NixOS/nixpkgs.

The NixOS module also lives at nixos/modules/services/web-servers/unit/default.nix — keep option names as aliases so existing configurations don’t break.

1. Rename the derivation directory

   $ git mv pkgs/servers/http/unit pkgs/servers/http/freeunit
   

2. Update default.nix

   pkgs/servers/http/freeunit/default.nix§

   stdenv.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
     pname = "freeunit";
     version = "1.35.3";
   
     src = fetchFromGitHub {
       owner = "freeunitorg";
       repo  = "freeunit";
       rev   = finalAttrs.version;
       hash  = "sha256-...";
     };
   
     meta = with lib; {
       description = "Community LTS fork of NGINX Unit";
       homepage    = "https://freeunit.org/";
       license     = licenses.asl20;
     };
   })
   

3. Add an alias in ``pkgs/top-level/aliases.nix``

   unit = freeunit;  # renamed 2026-04, remove after 25.11
   

4. Update the NixOS module to reference pkgs.freeunit and add a mkRenamedOptionModule entry for services.unit.* → services.freeunit.*.

5. Refresh the hash and build

   $ nix-prefetch-github --rev 1.35.3 freeunitorg freeunit  # writes SRI hash for fetchFromGitHub (unpacked)
   $ nix-build -A freeunit
   $ nixos-rebuild build-vm -I nixpkgs=.
   

6. Submit a PR to nixpkgs.

Runtime details (unchanged from the legacy unit derivation):

Control socket	/run/unit/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

OpenBSD

Recipe: www/unit in the OpenBSD ports tree.

1. Create the new port

   $ cd /usr/ports/www
   $ cp -R unit freeunit
   

2. Update the Makefile

   www/freeunit/Makefile§

   COMMENT =       community LTS fork of NGINX Unit
   GH_ACCOUNT =    freeunitorg
   GH_PROJECT =    freeunit
   GH_TAGNAME =    1.35.3
   DISTNAME =      freeunit-${GH_TAGNAME}
   PKGNAME =       freeunit-${GH_TAGNAME}
   
   PSEUDO_FLAVORS = no_nonfree
   FLAVORS =        php python ruby perl
   

   Subpackage PKGNAME``s follow: ``freeunit-php, freeunit-python, freeunit-perl, freeunit-ruby.

3. Regenerate distinfo

   $ cd /usr/ports/www/freeunit && make makesum
   

4. Record the rename for ``pkg_add -u``

   OpenBSD has no ports-wide MOVED file. Instead, add the old pkgstem as an @pkgpath line in the new port’s pkg/PLIST so pkg_add -u auto-upgrades unit-* installs:

   www/freeunit/pkg/PLIST§

   @pkgpath www/unit
   @pkgpath www/unit,-main
   

5. Test-build and submit the diff to ports@openbsd.org per the OpenBSD porter’s handbook.

Runtime details (unchanged from the legacy www/unit port):

Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	_unit

Remi's RPM

Recipe: Remi Collet builds from his own infrastructure — see blog.remirepo.net for the canonical spec tree and contact path. Coordinate the rename with Remi directly rather than opening a PR to the GitHub mirror.

The core package gets renamed; the PHP modules (phpXX-unit-php) stay as-is — they are ABI-compatible with FreeUnit and Remi’s naming scheme is valuable to existing users.

1. Fork the spec to ``freeunit.spec``

   freeunit.spec§

   %global         gh_owner   freeunitorg
   %global         gh_project freeunit
   
   Name:           freeunit
   Version:        1.35.3
   Release:        1%{?dist}
   Summary:        Community LTS fork of NGINX Unit
   URL:            https://freeunit.org/
   Source0:        https://github.com/%{gh_owner}/%{gh_project}/archive/refs/tags/%{version}.tar.gz
   
   Provides:       unit = %{version}-%{release}
   Obsoletes:      unit < %{version}-%{release}
   
   %prep
   %autosetup -n %{gh_project}-%{version}
   

   Leave --prefix=/usr in %configure so paths stay at /usr/sbin/unitd and /usr/lib64/unit/modules/ for drop-in compatibility with phpXX-unit-php.

2. Update ``phpXX-unit-php`` sub-specs

   No rename required — only bump their BuildRequires: freeunit-devel >= %{version} / Requires: freeunit >= %{version} lines so they link against the renamed core.

3. Build and hand the SRPM to Remi

   $ rpmbuild -ba freeunit.spec
   

   The upload path into rpms.remirepo.net is Remi-internal — don’t invent one. Send the resulting SRPM to Remi via the contact on blog.remirepo.net for repo ingestion.

4. Verify the upgrade path

   # dnf upgrade freeunit
   # /usr/sbin/unitd --version
   freeunit/1.35.3
   

Runtime details (unchanged from the legacy unit RPM):

Control socket	/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	nobody