Fedora is a free, open-source Linux operating system for desktop computers, laptops, servers and cloud environments. It is available in editions built around different kinds of work. Fedora Workstation provides a GNOME desktop for everyday applications and software development, while other editions change the desktop interface, the way the system is updated or the workloads it runs.
Fedora Workstation and alternative desktops
Fedora Workstation uses GNOME to bring application launching, search and desktop controls together. Pressing the Super key and typing searches for what you need, while Do Not Disturb suppresses notifications when you want to keep working without interruptions. Dark mode changes the desktop appearance, and Night Light adjusts the display for evening use.
Online accounts can connect calendars, contacts and other account data to the desktop. This integration is optional. Included utilities such as Clocks, Weather and Maps handle smaller desktop tasks.
Fedora also offers different desktop environments. The KDE Plasma edition provides configurable widgets for functions such as a clipboard manager, application launcher, calendar and weather display. Spins supply Fedora preconfigured with alternatives including Xfce, Cinnamon and MATE.
RPM packages
Fedora Workstation obtains applications from Fedora repositories and Flathub. Repository packages supply programs and the libraries they use, while Flathub provides applications through Flatpak.
For package-based software, DNF provides command-line management. It can list installed packages, show what repositories have available and identify packages with upgrades. A request can name an individual package or a group of packages; DNF works out the related packages needed to satisfy it and checks for conflicts before applying the transaction.
DNF can also work with a local RPM file or an RPM supplied through a URL. When a program relies on libraries that are not already present, DNF uses accessible repositories to resolve the required software together.
Development containers
Fedora provides programming tools and language runtimes through its package collection. Its container tools offer another way to organize development work when projects need different software environments.
Toolbx creates containers integrated with the host desktop, allowing both graphical applications and command-line tools to run inside them. Separate project environments can hold different tool versions without requiring those versions to replace one another in the base operating system. Podman handles container creation, execution and management for applications packaged as containers.
Virtual machines provide a separate route for working with another operating system. In Fedora Workstation, Boxes lets you select the operating system to run and manages the virtual machine around that choice.
Atomic desktops
Fedora Silverblue supplies a GNOME desktop with a different system-maintenance model. Its operating system is updated as a complete unit, and the new system takes effect after restarting. A previous system deployment is retained so the user can return to it if needed.
Graphical applications are supplied as Flatpaks, keeping them separate from the base system and allowing application permissions to be controlled. Toolbx provides development environments alongside that base.
Silverblue uses rpm-ostree, which combines an operating-system image with support for layering local RPM packages. Fedora Kinoite offers the atomic desktop approach with KDE Plasma. Workstation uses package-based system management, while these atomic variants maintain a complete system deployment.
Server, cloud and IoT editions
Fedora Server targets services running on physical machines or virtual machines. It includes Cockpit for remote server administration, with libvirt available for virtual machines and Podman for containers.
Other Fedora editions narrow the operating system around particular deployment targets. Cloud supplies minimal images for virtual-machine environments, CoreOS concentrates on automatically updated container hosts, and IoT targets edge devices.
