Upgrading Fedora
(With DNF system upgrade)
When it comes to upgrading Fedora Linux, you're likely familiar with the fedup tool. However the new Fedora releases which uses dnf as package manager(Fedora 22 and later..), features a new release method. Now we can upgrade Fedora with DNF system upgrade plugin. Using this plugin will make your upgrading process simple and easy.
From the release of Fedora 23, you can even upgrade your system to next release easily using the GUI gnome-software (referred to as Software app in a fully updated Fedora 23).
1. Upgrade and back up your system
Before doing anything, It's good habit to back-up your system and ensure that you have the latest software running on your current system.. You can upgrade all packages to its latest version by running command shown below in your terminal..
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh
2. Read about common problems
Further down in this page there is a list of common problems specific to yum or dnf upgrades for specific versions. Some of them require attention before the upgrade.
General advice on upgrading Fedora can be found on the Upgrading page. You should also read the Installation Guide and Release Notes for the version you plan to upgrade to - they contain important information regarding upgrading issues. Finally, check the list of Common bugs.
3. Install the DNF plugin
Next, open a terminal and type the following command to install the plugin..
sudo dnf install dnf-plugin-system-upgrade
4. Now, You're Ready To Upgrade Your System..
Now that your system is up-to-date, backed up, and you have the DNF plugin installed, you can begin the upgrade by using the following command in a terminal
sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=release_number
Don't forget to replace "release_number"(highlighted in red color) with Release Number of Fedora which you want to upgrade to..
For example, if you're going to upgrade your Fedora 23 system to Fedora 24, the above command will looks like one shown below..
sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=24
You can also include the --allowerasing option which helps to remove all packages that may break the upgrade process as a result of certain packages not having updates, retired packages or even broken dependency issues.
5. Reboot and upgrade
Once the previous command finishes downloading all of the upgrades, your system will be ready for rebooting. To boot your system into the upgrade process, type the following command in a terminal
sudo dnf system-upgrade reboot
This will reboot your machine immediately. The system should boot again info Fedora using the same kernel, but this time, the upgrade process appears on the boot screen.
Further Information
For more detailed instructions on using dnf for upgrading, including a breakdown of other flags, check out the DNF system upgrade wiki article. This page also has frequently asked questions you may have during an upgrade and also don't forget to check known issues.
Happy Upgrades!
DNF system upgrade plugin develpment page Github. If you find any issue with this plugin open an issue on Github.
