retaining changes to the OS through updates/upgrades

[eil]

Hello,

I understand that OPNSense is FreeBSD under the hood (or bonnet if you prefer). What I'm not sure about is this. I would like to make a number of custom changes to the OS, for example placing a script here, adding a cron job there, maybe even adding an extra user or two.

My question is: will changes such as these be retained across minor/major version upgrades as long as I don't do a fresh re-install?

Everything I've seen about how the system is set up points to yes, but I thought I would try to get clarification before doing anything drastic.

(Note that I am not asking about API or any other kind of software compatibility with OPNsense itself. I understand those are always subject to change.)

[yourfriendarmando]

I think packages I installed one time, in 20.x series, didn't survive. Every since, they have remained. I usually install vim, screen.

I too am curious about safe locations to store custom configs, scripts. If an upgrade obliterates Cron jobs, just knowing to symlink to safe locations is fine