How can I perform an upgrade from Fedora 40 to Fedora 41 Workstation / Server Linux system?. If this is a question you have in mind, then you’re in the right place. If you’re a Fedora die-hard fan, you must be eager to upgrade from your Fedora Linux system. The process should work on both Server and Workstation editions.
For most users, it makes sense to perform an in-place upgrade of the OS and all packages installed as opposed to a clean installation. Retaining files and Documents on your system is key, to enjoy new features while being productive. We shall also highlight key features in Fedora 41 release.
Fedora 41 New Features
Some key features shipped in Fedora 41 release are as listed below.
- GNOME 47: Fedora 41 workstation comes with GNOME 47 with the latest features and benefit from an array of system enhancements!. You can get more details GNOME 47 release notes.
- Fedora Miracle spin: This release of Fedora comes with the Miracle Window Manager – A tiling window manager based on the Mir compositor library.
- DNF 5: This is the default command-line package manager provided in Fedora Linux 41. It is a major release of DNF.
- 64-bit only support for PHP: Fedora has dropped support for php in 32-bit, only 64-bit systems supported.
- Redis is replaced with Valkey: Fedora has adopted Valkey instead of Redis as its high performing key and data store.
- KDE Plasma Mobile spin: The KDE Plasma Mobile spin is now available to mobile-OS.
- New terminal App – Ptyxis: Ptyxis is the new terminal for GNOME. It has full support for containers, and works really well for Flatpaks as this is the intended distribution mechanism.
Upgrade to Fedora 41 from Fedora 40 Workstation or Server
Now that we’ve captured key highlights on what’s new, we can now put our attention on the actual upgrade your Fedora system.
1) Update Fedora 40 system
Confirm the Fedora release you are running on:
$ neofetch
.',;::::;,'. [email protected]
.';:cccccccccccc:;,. -------------------------------------
.;cccccccccccccccccccccc;. OS: Fedora Linux 40 (Cloud Edition) x86_64
.:cccccccccccccccccccccccccc:. Host: OpenStack Compute 29.0.2-1.el9s
.;ccccccccccccc;.:dddl:.;ccccccc;. Kernel: 6.8.5-301.fc40.x86_64
.:ccccccccccccc;OWMKOOXMWd;ccccccc:. Uptime: 20 mins
.:ccccccccccccc;KMMc;cc;xMMc:ccccccc:. Packages: 634 (rpm)
,cccccccccccccc;MMM.;cc;;WW::cccccccc, Shell: bash 5.2.26
:cccccccccccccc;MMM.;cccccccccccccccc: Resolution: 1280x800
:ccccccc;oxOOOo;MMM0OOk.;cccccccccccc: Terminal: /dev/pts/0
cccccc:0MMKxdd:;MMMkddc.;cccccccccccc; CPU: Intel (Haswell, no TSX, IBRS) (1) @ 3.491GHz
ccccc:XM0';cccc;MMM.;cccccccccccccccc' GPU: 00:02.0 Red Hat, Inc. Virtio 1.0 GPU
ccccc;MMo;ccccc;MMW.;ccccccccccccccc; Memory: 181MiB / 1963MiB
ccccc;0MNc.ccc.xMMd:ccccccccccccccc;
cccccc;dNMWXXXWM0::cccccccccccccc:,
cccccccc;.:odl:.;cccccccccccccc:,.
:cccccccccccccccccccccccccccc:'.
.:cccccccccccccccccccccc:;,..
'::cccccccccccccc::;,.Before we initiate upgrade, ensure all system packages are up-to-date
sudo dnf -y upgradeOnce it has been updated, reboot your machine.
sudo systemctl rebootValidate the system you’re working on is Fedora 🙂
$ cat /etc/redhat-release
Fedora release 40 (Forty)2) Backup System
It is highly recommended you perform a system backup of your Documents and files before a major upgrade. Backups can be done to an external drive or another system in your Network.
Refer to the official backup series on Fedora Magazine.
3) Upgrade from Fedora 40 to Fedora 41
Check if any new updates are available
sudo dnf upgrade --refreshApply any updates that maybe available then install DNF plugin.
sudo dnf -y install dnf-plugin-system-upgradeWith dnf-plugin-system-upgrade installed, begin an upgrade of your Fedora system. Execute commands below in your terminal as root or user with sudo privileges.
sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=41Change the --releasever= number if you want to upgrade to a different release of Fedora.
Press to y to accept upgrade of the system.
Before you continue ensure that your system is fully upgraded by running "dnf --refresh upgrade". Do you want to continue [y/N]: yThe command we just executed will download all of the upgrades for your machine locally as it prepares for the actual upgrade.
NB: If you have broken dependencies or retired packages blocking the upgrade, the use the command.
sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=41 --allowerasingA number of packages are downloaded, ensure you have a stable internet connection.
Transaction Summary
========================================================================================================================================================================================================
Install 6 Packages
Upgrade 405 Packages
Downgrade 7 Packages
Total download size: 249 M
DNF will only download packages, install gpg keys, and check the transaction.
Is this ok [y/N]: yAfter the packages are downloaded locally trigger the upgrade process with the following commands:
sudo dnf system-upgrade rebootThe system will be rebooted and upgrade process is finalized.
Once the upgrade process completes, the system is rebooted a second time into the new OS release of Fedora.
$ neofetch
.',;::::;,'. [email protected]
.';:cccccccccccc:;,. -------------------------------------
.;cccccccccccccccccccccc;. OS: Fedora Linux 41 (Cloud Edition) x86_64
.:cccccccccccccccccccccccccc:. Host: OpenStack Compute 29.0.2-1.el9s
.;ccccccccccccc;.:dddl:.;ccccccc;. Kernel: 6.11.11-300.fc41.x86_64
.:ccccccccccccc;OWMKOOXMWd;ccccccc:. Uptime: 6 mins
.:ccccccccccccc;KMMc;cc;xMMc:ccccccc:. Packages: 708 (rpm)
,cccccccccccccc;MMM.;cc;;WW::cccccccc, Shell: bash 5.2.32
:cccccccccccccc;MMM.;cccccccccccccccc: Resolution: 1280x800
:ccccccc;oxOOOo;MMM0OOk.;cccccccccccc: Terminal: /dev/pts/0
cccccc:0MMKxdd:;MMMkddc.;cccccccccccc; CPU: Intel (Haswell, no TSX, IBRS) (1) @ 3.491GHz
ccccc:XM0';cccc;MMM.;cccccccccccccccc' GPU: 00:02.0 Red Hat, Inc. Virtio 1.0 GPU
ccccc;MMo;ccccc;MMW.;ccccccccccccccc; Memory: 130MiB / 1959MiB
ccccc;0MNc.ccc.xMMd:ccccccccccccccc;
cccccc;dNMWXXXWM0::cccccccccccccc:,
cccccccc;.:odl:.;cccccccccccccc:,.
:cccccccccccccccccccccccccccc:'.
.:cccccccccccccccccccccc:;,..
'::cccccccccccccc::;,.4) Updating configuration files (optional)
The rpmconf command line tool can help you to search for .rpmnew, .rpmsave and .rpmorig files and asks you what to do with them. You can choose to;
- Keep the current version (new package maintainer’s version)
- Replace with the previous version (return original file), or
- Review the differences between the versions
Install rpmconf package by entering the commands;
sudo dnf -y install rpmconfThen use it to check changed configuration files
sudo rpmconf -aThe -a, --all command options allow you to check configuration files of all packages updated.
See example below:
Configuration file '/boot/efi/EFI/fedora/grub.cfg'
..
==> Package distributor has shipped an updated version.
==> Maintainer forced upgrade. Your old version has been backed up.
What would you like to do about it? Your options are:
Y or I : install (keep) the package maintainer's version
N or O : return back to your original file
D : show the differences between the versions
M : merge configuration files
Z : background this process to examine the situation
S : skip this file
The default action is to keep package maintainer's version.
*** aliases (Y/I/N/O/M/D/Z/S) [default=Y] ?
Your choice: Y5) Deleting retired packages (optional)
With any major release of Fedora, a few packages are retired for a number of reasons. It is highly recommend to remove these packages.
Install remove-retired-packages package
sudo dnf install remove-retired-packagesRun the command to remove retired packages
sudo remove-retired-packagesEnjoy your new Fedora 41 Workstation / Server release. We have more guides you can check on Fedora system.
- Run Fedora CoreOS (FCOS) on VMware Workstation
- Install and Use Mysql Workbench on Fedora
- Install and Use Android Studio on Fedora
