Utils:
ssh
mg
- debloated emacs
- even smaller than nvi/nex!
tmux
- a lot of people don't realize this is an OpenBSD project
- session retention
doas
- configuring sudo feels horrible after configuring doas
- invaluable in ports
pf
- ironic that this is most popular outside of OpenBSD (PFSense)
ifconfig
- command line interface translates directly to configuration files
login.conf/login
- anything on PenguinOS seems insane by comparison
sndio
- actually works
- hopefully this gets popular outside of OpenBSD ;) ;) ;)
vmm/vmd
- still in its early stages, but I love it
got (technically not an OpenBSD project, but adjacent)
- debloated git
- partial git compatibility
Library Functions/Syscalls:
pledge & unveil
- interesting new approach to jails
- set and forget, no interaction needed on the user's end
- with exceptions like chromium & firefox
strtonum
- far nicer than strto* functions in stdlib
malloc
- now with use after free and leak detection! who needs valgrind?
Readers of this thread might find https://why-openbsd.rocks/ interesting.
I've been using OpenBSD for years now and still find new and helpful stuff in core on occasion. For instance, this week I wanted to convert some old CDs to FLAC, and found cdio can do the CDDA extraction (and faster than cdparanoia, even.)
I use cwm on my OpenBSD workstations. It is fast, stays out of my way, and does not depend on a whole cockamamie "desktop environment." It's not for everyone (especially those who feel the need to "theme" things) but I like that it's available in core.