diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 300fffae..6071c8e3 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file. This projec
 If you are upgrading from v0.16.x, replace the binary (or run `docker pull`). If you are upgrading from v0.15.x and below, please read the [upgrading documentation](https://github.com/stalwartlabs/stalwart/blob/main/UPGRADING/v0_16.md) for more information on how to upgrade from previous versions.
 
 ## Added
+- FreeBSD support (x86_64 only for now): release binaries, installer support with rc.d service, and hier(7)-compliant default paths (`/usr/local/etc/stalwart`, `/var/db/stalwart`).
 
 ## Changed
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b8491e93..1a21c613 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ Key features:
 
 Install Stalwart on your server by following the instructions for your platform:
 
-- [Linux / MacOS](https://stalw.art/docs/install/platform/linux)
+- [Linux / MacOS / FreeBSD](https://stalw.art/docs/install/platform/linux)
 - [Windows](https://stalw.art/docs/install/platform/windows)
 - [Docker](https://stalw.art/docs/install/platform/docker)
 
diff --git a/crates/jmap/src/registry/mapping/bootstrap.rs b/crates/jmap/src/registry/mapping/bootstrap.rs
index 6264522e..283a7e2c 100644
--- a/crates/jmap/src/registry/mapping/bootstrap.rs
+++ b/crates/jmap/src/registry/mapping/bootstrap.rs
@@ -651,6 +651,14 @@ fn map_dns_server(dns_server: &DnsServerBootstrap) -> Option<registry::schema::s
     }
 }
 
+// FreeBSD keeps variable application data under /var/db (hier(7))
+// rather than FHS /var/lib.
+const DEFAULT_DATA_PATH: &str = if cfg!(target_os = "freebsd") {
+    "/var/db/stalwart/"
+} else {
+    "/var/lib/stalwart/"
+};
+
 fn build_default_bootstrap(server: &Server) -> Bootstrap {
     let server_hostname = server.registry().local_hostname().to_string();
     let default_domain = psl::domain_str(&server_hostname)
@@ -659,7 +667,7 @@ fn build_default_bootstrap(server: &Server) -> Bootstrap {
 
     Bootstrap {
         data_store: DataStore::RocksDb(RocksDbStore {
-            path: "/var/lib/stalwart/".to_string(),
+            path: DEFAULT_DATA_PATH.to_string(),
             ..Default::default()
         }),
         blob_store: BlobStore::Default,
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index bb518080..a270b7b0 100644
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -34,11 +34,11 @@ main() {
     # Detect OS
     local _os _uname _account
     _uname="$(uname)"
-    _account="stalwart"
     case "$_uname" in
-        Linux)  _os="linux" ;;
-        Darwin) _os="macos"; _account="_stalwart" ;;
-        *)      err "❌ Install failed: Unsupported OS: $_uname" ;;
+        Linux)   _os="linux"; _account="stalwart" ;;
+        Darwin)  _os="macos"; _account="_stalwart" ;;
+        FreeBSD) _os="freebsd"; _account="stalwart" ;;
+        *)       err "❌ Install failed: Unsupported OS: $_uname" ;;
     esac
 
     # Parse arguments
@@ -70,9 +70,16 @@ main() {
     local _bin_dir _bin_file _conf_dir _log_dir _data_dir _env_file _config_file
     if [ -z "$_prefix" ]; then
         _bin_dir="/usr/local/bin"
-        _conf_dir="/etc/stalwart"
         _log_dir="/var/log/stalwart"
-        _data_dir="/var/lib/stalwart"
+        if [ "$_os" = "freebsd" ]; then
+            # hier(7): third-party config lives under /usr/local/etc,
+            # variable data under /var/db
+            _conf_dir="/usr/local/etc/stalwart"
+            _data_dir="/var/db/stalwart"
+        else
+            _conf_dir="/etc/stalwart"
+            _data_dir="/var/lib/stalwart"
+        fi
     else
         _bin_dir="${_prefix}/bin"
         _conf_dir="${_prefix}/etc"
@@ -139,6 +146,10 @@ main() {
             create_service_macos "$_bin_file" "$_config_file" "$_env_file" "$_account"
             _service_type="launchd"
             ;;
+        freebsd)
+            create_service_freebsd "$_bin_file" "$_config_file" "$_env_file" "$_account" "$_log_dir"
+            _service_type="rcd"
+            ;;
     esac
 
     # Completion message
@@ -162,6 +173,9 @@ main() {
         launchd)
             say "     sudo log show --predicate 'process == \"stalwart\"' --last 5m"
             ;;
+        rcd)
+            say "     grep -A8 'bootstrap mode' ${_log_dir}/stalwart.log"
+            ;;
     esac
     say ""
     say "   Or set STALWART_RECOVERY_ADMIN=admin:<password> in"
@@ -190,6 +204,11 @@ With no PREFIX, Stalwart is installed under standard FHS paths:
   logs     /var/log/stalwart/
   data     /var/lib/stalwart/
 
+On FreeBSD, config and data follow hier(7) instead:
+  config   /usr/local/etc/stalwart/config.json
+  env      /usr/local/etc/stalwart/stalwart.env
+  data     /var/db/stalwart/
+
 When PREFIX is provided, a self-contained layout is used instead:
   binary   $PREFIX/bin/stalwart
   config   $PREFIX/etc/config.json
@@ -265,6 +284,8 @@ create_account() {
 
         ensure dscl /Local/Default -delete /Users/_stalwart AuthenticationAuthority
         ensure dscl /Local/Default -delete /Users/_stalwart PasswordPolicyOptions
+    elif [ "$_os" = "freebsd" ]; then
+        ensure pw useradd -n "$_account" -c "Stalwart service" -d /nonexistent -s /usr/sbin/nologin -w no
     else
         ensure useradd "$_account" -s /usr/sbin/nologin -M -r -U
     fi
@@ -451,6 +472,60 @@ EOF
     launchctl enable system/stalwart
 }
 
+create_service_freebsd() {
+    local _bin="$1" _config="$2" _env="$3" _user="$4" _log_dir="$5"
+    ensure mkdir -p /usr/local/etc/rc.d
+    cat > /usr/local/etc/rc.d/stalwart <<EOF
+#!/bin/sh
+
+# PROVIDE: stalwart
+# REQUIRE: NETWORKING LOGIN
+# KEYWORD: shutdown
+
+. /etc/rc.subr
+
+name="stalwart"
+rcvar="stalwart_enable"
+desc="Stalwart Server"
+
+load_rc_config \$name
+
+: \${stalwart_enable:="NO"}
+: \${stalwart_user:="${_user}"}
+: \${stalwart_config:="${_config}"}
+: \${stalwart_envfile:="${_env}"}
+: \${stalwart_logfile:="${_log_dir}/stalwart.log"}
+: \${stalwart_fdlimit:="65536"}
+
+pidfile="/var/run/stalwart.pid"
+procname="${_bin}"
+command="/usr/sbin/daemon"
+command_args="-f -o \${stalwart_logfile} -p \${pidfile} -u \${stalwart_user} ${_bin} --config=\${stalwart_config}"
+sig_stop="INT"
+start_precmd="stalwart_precmd"
+
+stalwart_precmd()
+{
+    # daemon(8) passes its environment through to the service
+    if [ -r "\${stalwart_envfile}" ]; then
+        set -a
+        . "\${stalwart_envfile}"
+        set +a
+    fi
+    ulimit -n "\${stalwart_fdlimit}"
+
+    # Binding privileged ports (25/443/465/993/...) as a non-root user
+    # requires: sysctl net.inet.ip.portrange.reservedhigh=0
+}
+
+run_rc_command "\$1"
+EOF
+    chmod +x /usr/local/etc/rc.d/stalwart
+    sysrc stalwart_enable=YES
+    service stalwart stop > /dev/null 2>&1 || true
+    service stalwart start
+}
+
 
 get_architecture() {
     local _ostype _cputype _bitness _arch _clibtype