Fedora Unleashes Atomic Desktops
Fedora has combined its solid distribution with rpm-ostree system to make it possible to deliver a new family of Fedora spins, called Fedora Atomic Desktops.
With Silverblue continuing to rise in popularity, Fedora saw that rpm-ostree had become a viable option. For those who don't know, rpm-ostree is a hybrid image/package system that bundles all of the necessary components for a system configuration into a single commit that can be deployed across numerous devices.
Atomic desktops solve a problem that will most likely become an issue in the future, as more spins arrive. Currently, Fedora Atomic Desktops is comprised of four atomic spins: Fedora Silverblue, Fedora Kinoite, Fedora Sway Atomic, and Fedora Budgie Atomic.
The problem is, as more and more spins come into being, it becomes more challenging to include other desktops without introducing more complexities and confusion.
By adopting an atomic approach to these spins, it makes it possible to offer the same stability and flexibility as the base Fedora, while also adding rollbacks and rebases (the key advantage of using rpm-ostree).
According to Fedora Magazine, "Going forward, new atomic spins will use the ‘Fedora (DE name) Atomic’ format to keep things simple and clear. No more questions about which name refers to what desktop environment. No more mispronunciations. Much more clarity on why these Fedora spins are different from the regular spins."
This also will aid in documentation. On that, Joseph Gayoso says, "For example, some folks may be looking for documentation on Kinoite not realizing that an article about Silverblue also applies to their problem. Using so many keywords when you’re looking for information on the one aspect they all share is inefficient."
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.
-
Ubuntu 25.04 Coming Soon
Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin) has been given an April release date with many notable updates.
-
Gnome Developers Consider Dropping RPM Support
In a move that might shock a lot of users, the Gnome development team has proposed the idea of going straight up Flatpak.
-
openSUSE Tumbleweed Ditches AppArmor for SELinux
If you're an openSUSE Tumbleweed user, you can expect a major change to the distribution.
-
Plasma 6.3 Now Available
Plasma desktop v6.3 has a couple of pretty nifty tricks up its sleeve.
-
LibreOffice 25.2 Has Arrived
If you've been hoping for a release that offers more UI customizations, you're in for a treat.
-
TuxCare Has a Big AlmaLinux 9 Announcement in Store
TuxCare announced it has successfully completed a Security Technical Implementation Guide for AlmaLinux OS 9.
-
First Release Candidate for Linux Kernel 6.14 Now Available
Linus Torvalds has officially released the first release candidate for kernel 6.14 and it includes over 500,000 lines of modified code, making for a small release.