Navigating Fedora Atomic Desktops 44: An Upgrade Guide

Introduction

Welcome to Fedora Linux 44! If you're using one of the Atomic Desktop variants—Silverblue, Kinoite, Sway Atomic, Budgie Atomic, or COSMIC Atomic—this update brings several important changes. This guide will walk you through what's new and how to smoothly transition your system. We'll cover the move to a new issue tracker, unified documentation, the removal of legacy components like FUSE 2 and pkla Polkit rules, and what steps you need to take for your AppImages and Plasma Vaults. Follow along to ensure your Atomic Desktop stays stable and up-to-date.

Navigating Fedora Atomic Desktops 44: An Upgrade Guide — Source: fedoramagazine.org

What You Need

A system running Fedora Atomic Desktop 44 (or upgrading to it)
Basic familiarity with the terminal and rpm-ostree commands
For Plasma Vault users: access to your vault data and a backup if possible
Optional: an AppImage that may need checking
Administrative privileges (sudo)

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Report Issues Using the New Fedora Forge

The cross-variant issue tracker has moved to the new Fedora forge. To help improve Atomic Desktops, please use the new forge for issues that affect all variants. If your problem is specific to a desktop environment (e.g., KDE, Sway), refer to each SIG's tracker linked in the README of the atomic-desktops organization.

Go to the new Fedora Forge and search for the atomic-desktops project.
Create an issue using the appropriate template. Include details about your variant and what you were doing when the issue occurred.
For variant-specific bugs, check the SIG's own tracker (list available in the README).

Step 2: Access the Unified Documentation

The long-awaited unified documentation for all Atomic Desktops is now live on the new forge. Currently, translations have not been migrated, so help is needed to re-translate content. To use the docs:

Visit the unified documentation page.
Browse the guides for Silverblue, Kinoite, Sway Atomic, Budgie Atomic, and COSMIC Atomic in one place.
If you wish to contribute translations, follow the translation setup once it's ready (tracking issue: atomic-desktops#10). The previous docs content can be mostly copy-pasted.

Step 3: Check AppImage Compatibility (FUSE 2 Removal)

Fedora 44 has removed FUSE version 2 libraries. Some older AppImages rely on FUSE 2 and may stop working. To check and resolve:

Identify which AppImages fail to launch after the update. Note the error message.
Determine the runtime version of the AppImage: run ./AppImageName --appimage-extract 2>/dev/null || echo "Uses old runtime". If extraction fails, it likely uses the old FUSE 2 runtime.
Fix options:
- Search for a Flatpak version of the application (Flathub) and install it instead. Flatpaks are preferred and fully supported on Atomic Desktops.
- If that fails, check if the upstream has a newer AppImage runtime. Report the issue to the developer, encouraging them to update their AppImage to use a current runtime (e.g., appimagetool v13+).
- As a last resort, you can temporarily layer FUSE 2 using rpm-ostree install fuse2, but note this is not recommended for long-term use as the package may be removed in future releases.

Step 4: Migrate Plasma Vault Backends (EncFS/CryFS to gocryptfs)

KDE has deprecated EncFS and CryFS backends for Plasma Vaults because they depend on FUSE 2. If you use those backends, you must migrate your data to the gocryptfs backend. Do this before upgrading to Fedora 44 to avoid losing access. Here's how:

If you have not yet upgraded: Open Plasma Vault, unlock your existing vault, then create a new vault using the gocryptfs backend (the default). Move all data from the old vault to the new one.
If you already upgraded and cannot access your data: Temporarily install the legacy packages with rpm-ostree install cryfs fuse-encfs, then reboot.
Unlock the old vault, move data to a new gocryptfs vault, then remove the layered packages: rpm-ostree reset and reboot again.
After migration, you can safely delete the old vault. Ensure gocryptfs works correctly.

Step 5: Check for Old Polkit Rules (pkla Format)

Support for the legacy pkla Polkit rules format has been dropped. It is unlikely you were using it, but if you have custom polkit rules in pkla format (files ending in .pkla), they will no longer be processed. To adapt:

Convert pkla rules to the current JavaScript-based format (.rules files placed in /etc/polkit-1/rules.d/).
For example, a pkla rule like [Allow sudo] Identity=unix-user:admin Action=org.freedesktop.policykit.exec ResultAny=yes becomes a JavaScript rule.
Test your policies after conversion. If unsure, check the documentation in man polkit(8).

Tips and Best Practices

Before upgrading to Fedora 44, review the official changelog to understand all changes.
For AppImages, always prefer Flatpaks. They are sandboxed and automatically updated.
Back up your data before any major migration, especially Plasma Vault contents.
If you encounter issues, the best place to get help is the Atomic Desktops discussion category.
Contribute to translations of the unified documentation—every bit helps the whole community.
Stay informed about future deprecations by following the Fedora Wiki Changes pages and the atomic-desktops issue tracker.

By following these steps, your Fedora Atomic Desktop will be ready for Fedora 44 with minimal disruption. Enjoy the new release!