I use Fedora standard Workstation 37 on my desktop and have settled with a Fedora SilverBlue 37 Workstation on my laptop. I keep the desktop stable and test upon the laptop. The desktop allows X11 display server protocol vs Wayland display server protocol and I prefer the Wayland. The process is automatic when installed. Wayland is the more advanced system for Fedora right now. As far as basics when loaded? Nothing looks different between the SilverBlue and standard Workstation…
Fedora “Silverblue” and I have found my Linux!
Fedora Silverblue is a rapidly evolving version of Fedora Linux that hopefully will someday replace Fedora Workstation as the default version. At first glance, Fedora Silverblue looks just like Fedora Workstation; both provide the GNOME desktop and a similar set of applications…
Download a Silverblue image
Silverblue images for Fedora 37 are provided by the Fedora Project.
x86_64 2.6GB Silverblue image (Fedora 37)
aarch64 2.0GB Silverblue image (Fedora 37)
ppc64le 2.1GB Silverblue image (Fedora 37)
Fedora provides the Media Writer as a convenient way to create bootable USB drives >>>><<<<
Read more to get all info to install…
So what makes Fedora Silverblue different from Fedora Workstation and for that matter other Linux that you will find, and why is it such a controversial issue in the corners of the Linux community? The differences in simple language, is the engine under the hood and which is out of sight, and they represent a rethinking of how to build a Linux distribution for a new world…
One of the first things you’ll probably see about Silverblue is that it’s immutable(fixed). This means that your operating system mounts read-only system files. And that means that neither you nor anything you install can make changes to the files needed to make your computer work…
This greatly improves both system stability and security. Your computer is more stable because you can’t accidentally delete a file needed to boot your computer, at least without a hammer and chisel…
Your system is more secure because miscreant software cannot infiltrate or modify these components. Much-less you, yourself and I…
On a Fedora workstation, you will need administrator rights to manage system files. This is what “sudo” provides in many of the commands you find online…
While this is a strong line of defense, it does have some drawbacks. First, any set of updates you install, or any application you install, gets this access during installation. These programs can make any changes to your computer, so it’s important that you only install software from trusted sources and never run constantly in sudo…
In addition, it is not uncommon for many of us to grant administrative access without fully understanding what we are doing or what the program will do. Even the most experienced of us do this…
Fedora Silverblue protects you from this…
Fedora Workstation consists of software in RPM format. When you install new applications, you download them as RPM packages. When you uninstall software, you remove RPMs. And when you download updates – you guessed it – more RPMs…
Fedora Silverblue is a paradigm shift. It is an image-based operating system, which means that the main system is a single image that is identical on many computers. The version of Silverblue on your computer is identical to the version on your developer’s computer. When you download an update, you replace the system image with a new image containing the latest software…
This means that you cannot update or manage your system with the DNF package manager that most other versions of Fedora rely on. Instead, you use rpm-ostree to download updated images or make changes to your image. Later in the article I will explain…
DNF is available to Fedora Silverblue users. It’s just that instead of downloading the RPMs on your system, you put them in containers. This is where Toolbx comes in. These are in isolation so to say…
Toolbx is a terminal-based tool for creating container spaces for installing and managing packages. This gives certain advantages. If you are developing a website, you can download all the necessary packages in a separate container instead of adding hundreds of additional packages to the main system. The main system stays stable and untouched…
When you’re done, you can remove all the container and packages inside without worrying about the stability of your PC. You can provide multiple websites with their own container and the same is true for software development…
Let’s say you’re not a bonafide developer, like myself. Toolbx is still meant to install other terminal tools that you have come to rely on. If you want to use programs like rsync or exiftool, you can still do it in Fedora Silverblue using Toolbx…
Toolbx is also available for Fedora workstation if you so desire. The difference is that it comes pre-installed in Silverblue and “is” the only way to use DNF or install programs from the command line…
It is also called Flatpak and is a generic Linux desktop application format. With Flatpak, a developer can easily package their application in one format and be sure that it will work on most versions of Linux…
This is a far cry from the traditional functioning of any Linux…
Most Linux distributions, including Fedora Workstation, allow you to install Flatpak applications. What sets Fedora Silverblue apart is that Flatpak is the expected way to install apps by default. The App Store provides Flatpak both directly from Fedora and from Flathub…
Many a Linux distro have and has tried the container way and other such boxes. None of the big boys have embraced it until Fedora, with any gusto…
You are able to install traditional RPMs if desired. You can do this with Toolbx, although this method will not add an icon to your application drawer. Instead, you will need to run the application from the command line every time. Another option is to add the application to the system image using rpm-ostree, for example with the following command: rpm-ostree install package
Making changes to your system image takes longer and requires a restart every time for your new program to appear in your app drawer. Installing Flatpaks is a much easier process…
All operating system updates may contain bugs or introduce changes that you don’t like. On traditional Linux distributions such as Fedora Workstation, reverting a system upgrade is a complex process. You can try reverting packages to their previous version, but if an update installs a lot of new software, you’ll need to review the changes to manually undo everything and that is nigh impossible at times…
With Fedora Silverblue, you can temporarily revert to a previous version of your system with just a few clicks. Just select an older version during download. You may need to hold down a specific key to open a list of options. Or, to permanently rollback, you can use the rpm-ostree rollback command…
To restore your system, you don’t need to look at the changelogs or even know what has changed. This makes system rollback something that a less computer-savvy layman type person can understand…
Those of us (like me) who enjoy getting the latest software before it’s officially released know that it comes with some risk. You can run into bugs that make your computer less stable, and there is no easy way to get your system back to the way it was, other than by reinstalling the distribution from scratch. Yes, I have done that many times…
In contrast, you can upgrade to the next version of Fedora Silverblue with zero risk. That’s right, zero. You can even safely upgrade to the unstable development version of Fedora known as Rawhide. This is because even if you find that your system won’t boot, you can simply revert to your latest stable system image…
You can then tell your system to stick with the stable version going forward, as if you never dared to mess around with unfinished software…
Fedora Silverblue has reached the point where it has become a stable, mature alternative to Fedora Workstation. But it’s not for everyone. If you prefer an alternative desktop environment or like to make extensive tweaks to how your system functions, Fedora Silverblue can seem like a big limitation. And maybe you might stay with one of the million other distros?…
However, if you will stick with the default desktop and yes most of the software you need is available on Flatpak, then there is many benefits to installing Fedora Silverblue…
Last but not least, to be cutting edge and in groove with the future…
WtR
