openSUSE Tumbleweed is a rolling Linux distribution. Its repositories publish tested batches of package changes instead of waiting for a separate major release. The project calls each tested repository batch a Tumbleweed snapshot. Snapper also uses the word snapshot for a Btrfs filesystem state, but the two objects solve different problems.
A repository snapshot defines the package versions available for a distribution upgrade. A Snapper snapshot records the state of selected filesystem paths on one machine. Updating packages and restoring a filesystem therefore require separate commands and separate expectations.
The rolling update command is zypper dup
The documented full update uses sudo zypper dup. It moves the installed packages to the current repository state and can remove packages when that transition requires removal. Running an ordinary package-update command does not replace the documented distribution-upgrade path.
Repositories without automatic refresh may hold stale metadata. zypper lr inspects the configured repositories, while zypper mr -f enables refresh for a selected entry. A deliberate zypper ref before the upgrade can refresh repositories that do not do so automatically.
Third-party repositories sit outside the tested base snapshot. openSUSE Tumbleweed supports those sources and other delivery formats, but the user should verify an RPM signing key instead of accepting an unknown key without checking it.
Package removal can be part of a correct upgrade
zypper dup can propose removing an installed package when the new snapshot no longer satisfies its dependencies. The removal line is not automatically proof of a broken updater.
A kernel-only problem may need a narrower response. Booting an older kernel can test that one change without rolling back the complete snapshotted system. An openSUSE Tumbleweed filesystem rollback changes more than the kernel and addresses a broader filesystem state.
Default root snapshots do not include every user path
Default installations use Btrfs for the root filesystem and configure root snapshots for the documented root layout. The default root snapshot excludes /home and /opt. It also excludes /usr/local.
Rolling back the root therefore does not restore personal files or locally managed content in those paths. The root rollback leaves those excluded paths outside its restored state.
Booting a snapshot is an inspection step
The openSUSE Tumbleweed boot menu can start a read-only snapshot so the user can inspect an earlier system state. The booted snapshot remains read-only during that inspection. Working successfully in that state does not make it the writable default. snapper rollback creates the replacement state for the next boot, and another restart completes that transition.
Snapshots consume storage as the current data diverges from them. Snapper can list and delete snapshots, but removing them also removes those rollback points. Rollback can fail after filesystem layout or snapshot configuration diverges from the expected model.
