Upgrading to Fedora Linux 44 on Silverblue: A Step-by-Step Q&A

Fedora Silverblue is an immutable desktop operating system built on Fedora Linux, ideal for daily use, development, and container workflows. One of its key features is atomic upgrades and easy rollbacks. This guide answers common questions about rebasing your Silverblue system to Fedora Linux 44, covering both graphical and command-line methods, plus how to undo changes if needed.

1. What is Fedora Silverblue and why would I rebase it?

Fedora Silverblue is an immutable variant of Fedora Linux that uses rpm-ostree for atomic updates. It treats the operating system as a read-only base image, with applications installed via Flatpak or containers. Rebasing means switching from one major version of Fedora to another (e.g., from 43 to 44) by downloading a new ostree commit. This process preserves your user data and applications, and if something goes wrong, you can roll back to the previous deployment instantly. Unlike traditional upgrades, Silverblue keeps multiple deployments, so you can always return to a known-good state.

2. What should I do before starting the rebase?

First, ensure your current Fedora Silverblue system is fully updated. Run rpm-ostree update in the terminal or check for updates in GNOME Software and reboot if necessary. This minimizes conflicts during rebase. You may also want to back up important files, though Silverblue's immutable nature protects system files. Optionally, pin the current deployment using sudo ostree admin pin 0 so it remains available in GRUB until you explicitly remove it. Pinning is recommended if you are unsure about the new version's stability.

3. How do I rebase using GNOME Software?

Open GNOME Software and go to the Updates tab. If Fedora Linux 44 is available, you'll see a notification. Click Download to fetch the new image; this may take a while depending on your internet speed. Once downloaded, the button changes to Restart & Upgrade. Click it, and the system will apply the update and reboot automatically. After restart, you'll be running Fedora 44. This graphical method is the simplest and provides clear progress feedback. No command-line interaction is needed.

4. How do I rebase using the terminal?

Open a terminal and check if the Fedora 44 branch is available with: ostree remote refs fedora. Look for fedora:fedora/44/x86_64/silverblue in the output. If you want to pin the current deployment (keeping it in GRUB), run sudo ostree admin pin 0 (adjust the index as needed). Then rebase with: rpm-ostree rebase fedora:fedora/44/x86_64/silverblue. Finally, reboot to boot into the new version. The terminal method gives you finer control, such as pinning multiple deployments or inspecting the refs list before proceeding.

5. What if I encounter problems after rebasing?

If Fedora 44 fails to boot or has issues, you can easily roll back. At boot, press Esc (or hold Shift) to open the GRUB menu. Select the entry for your previous Fedora version (e.g., Fedora 43) and boot into it. Once logged in, run rpm-ostree rollback to make the previous deployment the default permanent boot option. This reverts the rebase completely while keeping your user data intact. If you pinned a deployment earlier, it will automatically be available in GRUB. This atomic rollback is a major advantage of Silverblue over traditional upgrades.

6. How can I manage multiple deployments with pinning?

Pinning ensures a deployment stays in GRUB even if you rebase multiple times. To pin the current deployment at index 0: sudo ostree admin pin 0. To unpin a pinned deployment at index 2: sudo ostree admin pin --unpin 2. You can check the index with rpm-ostree status. Pinning is useful when you want to keep a known-good version as a fallback while experimenting with a new release. Note that pinned deployments consume disk space, so consider unpinning old ones after confirming the new version works well.