Upgrading Fedora Silverblue to Fedora Linux 44: A Step-by-Step Rebase Guide

Introduction

Fedora Silverblue is a robust, immutable desktop operating system built on Fedora Linux. It’s ideal for daily use, development, and container-based workflows, offering advantages like rollback capabilities in case of issues. This guide walks you through rebasing your Silverblue installation to Fedora Linux 44, covering both GUI and terminal methods, and how to revert if something goes wrong. By the end, you’ll have a smooth upgrade process and the confidence to handle unexpected problems.

Upgrading Fedora Silverblue to Fedora Linux 44: A Step-by-Step Rebase Guide — Source: fedoramagazine.org

What You Need

A Fedora Silverblue system (any recent version)
Sudo or administrator access
An active internet connection
GNOME Software (for GUI method) or a terminal emulator (for CLI method)
Basic familiarity with terminal commands (optional but helpful)
Time for downloading and rebooting (the download may take a while)

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Update Your Existing System

Before rebasing, ensure your current Silverblue installation is fully up-to-date. Apply all pending updates to avoid conflicts during the upgrade. Open a terminal and run:

$ rpm-ostree update

Alternatively, you can update via GNOME Software by opening it and clicking “Install” for any updates, then reboot when prompted. After updating, your system is ready for the rebase.

Step 2: Choose Your Upgrade Method

Fedora Silverblue offers two ways to rebase: through GNOME Software (GUI) or the terminal (CLI). Both achieve the same result, so pick the one you’re most comfortable with. The steps below cover both paths.

Option A: Rebase Using GNOME Software

Open GNOME Software and navigate to the Updates screen. You’ll see a notification that a new version of Fedora Linux (44) is available.
Click the Download button next to the Fedora 44 entry. This downloads the new bootable image – it may take some time depending on your internet speed.
Once the download completes, the button changes to Restart & Upgrade. Click it. Your system will apply the upgrade and reboot automatically.
After restart, you’ll be booted into Fedora Linux 44. The entire process is seamless.

Option B: Rebase Using the Terminal

First, verify that the Fedora 44 branch is available in the remote repository. Run:
```
$ ostree remote refs fedora
```
Look for an output line like fedora:fedora/44/x86_64/silverblue. If you see it, the upgrade is supported for your architecture.
(Optional but recommended) Pin your current deployment to keep it as a fallback in the GRUB menu. Identify the deployment index (e.g., 0) from rpm-ostree status, then run:
```
$ sudo ostree admin pin 0
```
To later remove a pinned deployment, use:
```
$ sudo ostree admin pin –unpin 2
```
Replace the index number as needed.
Now rebase your system to Fedora 44. Execute:
```
$ rpm-ostree rebase fedora:fedora/44/x86_64/silverblue
```
This command downloads the new image and sets it as the next boot target.
Finally, restart your computer:
```
$ systemctl reboot
```
On boot, the new Fedora 44 deployment will be selected automatically (unless you pinned a previous one).

Step 3: Verify the Upgrade

After rebooting, confirm you’re on Fedora Linux 44 by opening a terminal and running:

$ cat /etc/fedora-release

It should output “Fedora release 44 (Forty Four)” (or similar). Check that all your applications and files are intact. If everything looks good, you’re done!

How to Roll Back (If Something Goes Wrong)

If you encounter issues (e.g., boot failure, app incompatibility), reverting to your previous Fedora version is simple. At boot time, access the GRUB menu by pressing ESC (or Shift) repeatedly during startup. You’ll see entries for both the new Fedora 44 deployment and the previous one. Select the older entry to boot into your prior system.

To make this rollback permanent and remove the new deployment, run:

$ rpm-ostree rollback

This command sets the previous deployment as the default. You can then safely remove the failed upgrade via rpm-ostree cleanup if desired.

Tips and Conclusion

Back up important data before rebasing, even though Silverblue’s atomic updates minimize risk.
Use the terminal method if you want more control or if GNOME Software fails to detect the upgrade.
Pinning a deployment is highly recommended – it gives you a guaranteed fallback without digging through GRUB.
After a successful rebase, you can remove old pinned deployments to free disk space using rpm-ostree cleanup -pm.
If you have third-party repositories (e.g., RPM Fusion), ensure they are compatible with Fedora 44; otherwise, disable them before upgrading.
The same instructions apply to other Atomic Desktops (like Kinoite) with appropriate desktop-specific image names (e.g., kinoite instead of silverblue).

That’s it! You’ve now successfully rebased Fedora Silverblue to Fedora Linux 44. Enjoy the new features and improvements while having the safety net of easy rollbacks. Happy upgrading!