How to install and configure FreeBSD without internet access?

After installing FreeBSD we would like to use following commands to install additional packages.

pkg
pkg install nano
pkg install xorg
pkg install mate-desktop mate
pkg install slim

The above commands require an Internet connection to install packages. But how can we install those packages without an Internet connection by using CD/DVD/USB?

Answers:

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Method 1

I’m not sure what release you’re using, but I’m assuming 10.1, currently the latest. The installation process is described in the 10.1-RELEASE errata:

1. Create a /dist directory and mount the DVD.

   # mkdir -p /dist
   # mount -t cd9660 /dev/cd0 /dist

2. Make sure REPOS_DIR is correctly pointing to your local repository.

   # export REPOS_DIR=/dist/packages/repos

   or for csh:

   # setenv REPOS_DIR /dist/packages/repos

3. Bootstrap pkg and install packages.

   # pkg bootstrap
   # pkg install xorg-server xorg gnome2 [...]

Method 2

Just to share my observation on this:

On FreeBSD 11.1, I run $ sudo bsdconfig and go to packages menu item. Then I select the first item which is CD/DVD. Then I select cd0 as my device, but I receive the following error:

No pkg(8) database found!

However, the procedure suggested by @mjturner works fine.

All methods was sourced from stackoverflow.com or stackexchange.com, is licensed under cc by-sa 2.5, cc by-sa 3.0 and cc by-sa 4.0