Fedora 42, released on April 15, 2025, is a major release that brings GNOME 48, Linux kernel 6.14, GCC 15, and a redesigned Anaconda installer. This release also promotes KDE Plasma to full Edition status alongside the traditional GNOME Workstation, and introduces the COSMIC desktop as a new official spin.
This guide covers all the important changes in Fedora 42 – from desktop and kernel updates to developer tools, security improvements, and container changes. We also cover how to upgrade to Fedora 42 from Fedora 41 and where to download fresh installation media. For full details, check the official Fedora 42 release notes.
Desktop Environment Updates in Fedora 42
Fedora 42 Workstation ships with GNOME 48, codenamed “Bengaluru.” This release focuses on performance, visual polish, and practical daily-use features.
GNOME 48 Highlights
- Notification stacking – Messages from the same application are now grouped, keeping the notification list clean
- Dynamic triple buffering – Reduces frame drops and improves desktop smoothness, especially on lower-end hardware
- Files app performance – Folder loading and scrolling are 5-10x faster
- New Adwaita fonts – Adwaita Sans and Adwaita Mono typefaces with better rendering and wider character coverage
- HDR display support – Initial High Dynamic Range support for compatible monitors
- Image viewer improvements – Now supports cropping, rotating, and flipping images
- Digital Wellbeing – Screen time tracking and break reminders built into the desktop
- Battery health – Option to limit charging to 80% to preserve battery longevity on laptops
- New Audio Player app – Simple, dedicated audio file playback application
KDE Plasma Promoted to Edition
KDE Plasma Desktop has been elevated from a “variant” to a full Fedora Edition. This puts it on equal footing with GNOME Workstation, meaning it receives the same level of QA testing, release blocking status, and community support. Fedora 42 ships KDE Plasma 6.3. If you prefer KDE, check our guide to install KDE Plasma Desktop on Fedora.
COSMIC Desktop Spin
Fedora 42 introduces an official COSMIC desktop spin. COSMIC is a Rust-based desktop environment developed by System76. It features hybrid per-workspace tiling management and deep customization options. This is the first time COSMIC has been available as an official Fedora spin.
Other Desktop Updates
- Xfce 4.20 – Adds experimental Wayland capabilities
- LXQt 2.1 – Now defaults to Wayland through miriway
- IBus 1.5.32 – Improved Wayland protocol v2 support and new voice dictation via ibus-speech-to-text using offline VOSK recognition
Linux Kernel 6.14
Fedora 42 ships with Linux kernel 6.14. Key improvements in this kernel release include:
- AMD SEV-SNP confidential virtualization support enabled by default
- Intel SGX software stack introduced for trusted execution environments
- DRM Panic screen integration for better crash diagnostics on graphical systems
- Plymouth defaults to simpledrm for faster boot splash display
Package Manager – DNF5 Improvements
DNF5, which replaced the classic DNF in Fedora 41, receives important updates in Fedora 42:
- Expired PGP key management – DNF5 now automatically detects and handles outdated repository signing keys, reducing manual intervention during system updates
- Copy-on-Write support – An opt-in feature for faster package installation by avoiding unnecessary file copies during transactions
- Git binary split – The
gitbinary is now provided through thegit-corepackage, reducing dependency bloat for systems that only need basic git functionality
Developer Tools in Fedora 42
Fedora 42 brings significant updates to its developer toolchain. Here is a summary of the key version bumps:
| Tool / Language | Version in Fedora 42 |
|---|---|
| GCC | 15 |
| LLVM / Clang | 20 |
| GNU Binutils | 2.44 |
| glibc | 2.41 |
| GDB | 15+ |
| Go | 1.24 |
| Ruby | 3.4 |
| PHP | 8.4 |
| Tcl/Tk | 9.0 |
| NumPy | 2.2.4 |
| Django | 5.1 |
| Ansible | 11 |
Notable changes:
- GCC 15 – The GNU Compiler Collection gets a major version bump with improved C23 support and better optimization passes
- Go 1.24 – Adds tool directive tracking in go.mod and JSON-formatted build output
- Ruby 3.4 – Ships with the Prism parser and enhanced YJIT compiler performance
- PHP 8.4 – Includes property hooks and new array functions
- Python 3.8 retired – Python 3.8 is removed from the repositories. Applications must use Python 3.9 or newer
- Legacy JDKs retired – JDK 1.8, 11, and 17 are no longer in the repositories. Use Adoptium Temurin for older JDK versions
- Setuptools 74 – Updated Python packaging tools
Security Improvements
Fedora 42 includes several security-related changes:
- FIPS mode changes – The
fips-mode-setupcommand has been removed from crypto-policies. FIPS mode is now enabled exclusively through a kernel boot argument, which is the recommended method going forward - AMD SEV-SNP – Confidential virtual machine support is enabled, allowing encrypted VM memory that the hypervisor cannot read
- Intel SGX – Software Guard Extensions stack is now included, enabling trusted execution environments for sensitive workloads
- DNF5 PGP key handling – Automatic detection and management of expired repository signing keys improves the security of package verification
Container and Cloud Changes
Fedora 42 makes notable changes to its container and cloud infrastructure:
- Fedora CoreOS moves to OCI – Update delivery switches from OSTree to OCI container registries. This aligns CoreOS with standard container workflows and makes it easier to customize and distribute images
- ComposeFS enabled by default – Atomic Desktops (Silverblue, Kinoite) now use ComposeFS by default for filesystem composition, improving integrity verification and deduplication
- Kickstart as OCI artifacts – Kickstart files can now be distributed as OCI artifacts, simplifying automated installation workflows
- Fedora WSL images – Official Fedora images for Windows Subsystem for Linux are now produced as part of the release process
- Stratis 3.8 – Introduces support for multiple encryption bindings per volume
System-Level Changes
Several low-level system changes ship with Fedora 42:
- /usr/sbin merged into /usr/bin – The
/usr/sbindirectory is now a symlink to/usr/bin, completing the long-running UsrMerge effort. All system binaries live in a single directory - GPT by default – The Anaconda installer now uses GPT partition tables across all supported architectures, replacing MBR as the default
- EROFS for live media – Live installation media switches from SquashFS to EROFS compression, providing better performance during live sessions
- Anaconda Wayland-native – The installer now runs as a native Wayland application. The WebUI-based installer also becomes the default for Fedora Workstation
- systemd sysusers.d – System user creation now uses systemd’s sysusers.d instead of custom RPM scriptlets, making user management more predictable
- SDL3 transition – SDL 2 is replaced with sdl2-compat backed by SDL 3, bringing modern graphics API support to games and multimedia apps
- PostgreSQL 15 retired – PostgreSQL 15 is removed from repositories. Versions 16 and 17 are available
How to Upgrade to Fedora 42
If you are running Fedora 41, you can upgrade to Fedora 42 using the DNF system upgrade plugin. Start by updating your current system:
sudo dnf upgrade --refreshAfter the update completes and you have rebooted, download the Fedora 42 packages:
sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=42Once the download finishes, trigger the upgrade. Your system will reboot and apply the upgrade offline:
sudo dnf system-upgrade rebootAfter the system comes back up, verify you are running Fedora 42:
cat /etc/fedora-releaseThe output should confirm Fedora release 42:
Fedora release 42 (Forty Two)For a detailed walkthrough of the upgrade process, see our guide on upgrading to Fedora 42 from Fedora 41.
How to Download Fedora 42
Fresh installation media for Fedora 42 is available from the official download page. You can choose from several editions:
- Fedora Workstation – GNOME 48 desktop, the default desktop experience
- Fedora KDE Plasma Desktop – KDE Plasma 6.3, now a full Edition
- Fedora Server – Headless server with Cockpit web console
- Fedora CoreOS – Minimal, container-focused OS with automatic updates
- Fedora IoT – For Internet of Things and edge devices
- Fedora Atomic Desktops – Immutable variants including Silverblue (GNOME) and Kinoite (KDE)
- Spins – Xfce, Cinnamon, COSMIC, and other desktop options
Download Fedora 42 from fedoraproject.org. After downloading, verify the ISO checksum before writing it to a USB drive for installation.
Conclusion
Fedora 42 is a solid release with meaningful changes across the entire stack. GNOME 48 brings real performance gains and practical features like notification stacking and HDR support. The promotion of KDE Plasma to Edition status gives users a first-class alternative desktop. Under the hood, kernel 6.14, GCC 15, and the UsrMerge completion keep Fedora at the leading edge of the Linux distribution ecosystem.
