quick-docs/modules/ROOT/pages/upgrading-fedora-new-release.adoc

= Upgrading Fedora to a New Release
 Jun Aruga; Kamil Páral; Ben Cotton
:revnumber: F37, F38
:revdate: 2022-09-14
:category: Administration
:tags: How-to  Upgrade 
:page-aliases: upgrading.adoc 



[IMPORTANT]
====
. Make your system *fully up-to-date* before attempting system upgrade to a new Fedora release.
. Be sure to *back-up your data* before upgrading your Fedora system in the event something breaks and leaves your system unusable.
. Read the xref:fedora:release-notes:index.adoc[Release Notes] carefully before attempting an upgrade.
====


== Upgrading to the next Fedora Workstation release

[NOTE]
====
This is the recommended upgrade method for the Fedora Workstation.
====


In _Fedora Workstation_, when the next stable release is available, a graphical notification will appear similar to the update notifications.
Clicking this, or running the **Software** application and going to the **Updates** pane, will display a simple graphical interface for upgrading the system.

**Important:** Before you start upgrading, your system needs to be fully up-to-date, to ensure
that the system upgrade will be smooth.

image:upgrade-gnome-software.png[upgrade-gnome-software.png,title="Release Upgrade Gnome Software"]

First, please click the _Refresh_ button in top left to make sure that **Software** is aware of the
latest updates. If there are any unapplied updates shown, please click the _Download_ button next
to them (and then _Restart & Update_ button, when it appears), to fully update your existing
system. This is really important, please do not skip this step. Once that is done, you can click
_Download_ in the _"Fedora Linux <number> Available"_ section to begin upgrading your system to
the new release.


== Upgrading using the DNF System Upgrade plugin

[NOTE]
====
This is the recommended upgrade method for all other Fedora installations.
====

This method is used to a upgrade Fedora installation using the command-line.
It is also used to troubleshoot issues with packages preventing the graphical method from upgrading.

For instructions on upgrading with the DNF system upgrade plugin, refer to the xref:upgrading-fedora-offline.adoc[DNF System Upgrade Plugin] page.

== Upgrading between major versions in Fedora Silverblue

[NOTE]
====
Upgrading between major versions (such as from Fedora 36 to Fedora 37) can be completed using the Software application. Alternatively, Silverblue can be upgraded between major versions using the `ostree` command..
====

For instructions on upgrading Fedora Silverblue Host, refer to the link:++https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora-silverblue/updates-upgrades-rollbacks/#upgrading++[dedicated page].

== Can I upgrade between Fedora releases using only DNF?

[WARNING]
====
This is not a supported upgrade method.
====

Upgrading between Fedora releases without the xref:upgrading-fedora-offline.adoc[DNF System Upgrade plugin] or xref:#_upgrading_to_the_next_fedora_workstation_release.adoc[GNOME Software] are not tested by the Fedora QA team, and are therefore not supported by the community. You can follow xref:upgrading-fedora-online.adoc[Upgrading Fedora using package manager], but you're doing that *at your own risk*.

== Upgrading from pre-release (beta) to final public release (stable)

If you are using a pre-release of Fedora, you shouldn't need to do anything to get the final public release, other than updating packages as they become available. You can use `sudo dnf upgrade` or wait for desktop notification. When the pre-release is released as final, the `fedora-repos` packages will be updated and your `updates-testing` repository will be disabled. Once this happens (on the release day), it is highly recommended to run `sudo dnf distro-sync` in order to align package versions with the current release.

== How do I upgrade to Rawhide and Branched?

link:++https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/Rawhide++[Rawhide] and link:++https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/Branched++[Branched] are the development releases of Fedora.
They are suitable for users developing or testing Fedora before public release.
They are *NOT SUITABLE* for regular day-to-day use unless you are a fairly experienced user, and certainly not suitable for mission-critical use.
You should read through those pages carefully before deciding to run Branched or Rawhide.
See the link:++https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Fedora_Release_Life_Cycle++[Fedora Life Cycle] for more information on how the whole Fedora cycle works from Rawhide, to Branched, to the milestone releases (Beta), to the 'Final' release.

Upgrading to a Branched release or to Rawhide can be done using xref:upgrading-fedora-offline.adoc[DNF System Upgrade].

== Can I upgrade from an End Of Life (EOL) release?

Fedora strongly discourages running an end-of-life release on any production system, or any system connected to the public internet.
You should never allow a production Fedora deployment to reach end-of-life in the first place.

With that in mind, if you do have an end-of-life release installed on a system you cannot just discard or re-deploy, you upgrade using xref:upgrading-fedora-offline.adoc[DNF System Upgrade]. Note that upgrades are only tested from the two previous releases.

=== Upgrading using the Fedora installer (anaconda)?

Fedora releases up to Fedora 17 included upgrade functionality in the Fedora installer, anaconda.
This can be a better choice than a package manager upgrade for some End Of Life (EOL) upgrades.
If you are attempting to upgrade from Fedora 16 or older, it is highly recommended to upgrade to Fedora 16 and perform an installer upgrade from Fedora 16 to Fedora 17 before upgrading any further.

To upgrade using the installer, boot the system from a network install or DVD image for the target release, and run through the initial steps of the install process.
After you select storage devices the installer should offer you the option to upgrade the installed system.

[IMPORTANT]
====
If your installation is located on a 'specialized' storage device, be sure to configure and select it.
====