quick-docs/en-US/repositories.adoc

= Repositories

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This page explains the various Fedora repositories that exist for
different Fedora Releases, the relationship between them, and what
packages they contain.

[[the-fedora-repository]]
The _fedora_ repository
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The _fedora_ repository exists for all Fedora releases after they have
link:Releases/Branched[Branched] from link:Releases/Rawhide[Rawhide]. It
is represented for Yum or http://dnf.baseurl.org/[DNF] in the file in
the repository path. For any Fedora installation, this repository will
be enabled by default, and should usually remain so.

[[the-fedora-repository-in-stable-releases]]
The _fedora_ repository in stable releases
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For stable releases, _fedora_ represents the frozen release state. It is
a part of the frozen tree that is created by
link:ReleaseEngineering[Release Engineering] when a release is approved
at a Go_No_Go_Meeting. The package set it contains never changes after
that time. It represents the _stable_ state of a stable release in
conjunction with link:#updates[the _updates_ repository].

The stable release _fedora_ repositories for the various primary
link:Architectures[architectures] can be found in the directory on the
mirrors (where XX is the release), and can also be queried from
MirrorManager. For instance,
https://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/mirrorlist?repo=fedora-%7B%7BFedoraVersionNumber%7D}&arch=x86_64
will return mirrors for the x86_64 _fedora_ repository for .

[[the-fedora-repository-in-branched-releases]]
The _fedora_ repository in link:Releases/Branched[Branched] releases
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In Branched releases - the state a release is in between branching from
link:Releases/Rawhide[Rawhide] and stable release, see
link:Releases/Branched[Branched] for more details - the _fedora_
repository alone represents the release's _stable_ state. The
link:#updates[_updates_ repository] for Branched releases is not used
until they become stable. Before the
link:Updates_Policy#Bodhi_enabling[Bodhi enabling point], package builds
for the Branched release are sent directly to this repository. After the
_Bodhi enabling point_, package builds that pass the
link:Updates_Policy[Updates Policy] move from link:#updates-testing[the
_updates-testing_ repository] to this repository.

The Branched _fedora_ repositories for the various primary
link:Architectures[architectures] can be found in the directory on the
mirrors (where XX is the release), and can also be queried from
MirrorManager. For instance,
https://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/mirrorlist?repo=fedora-%7B%7BFedoraVersionNumber%7Cnext%7D}&arch=x86_64
will return mirrors for the x86_64 _fedora_ repository for .

[[the-updates-repository]]
The _updates_ repository
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The _updates_ repository exists for Branched and stable releases, but is
only populated and used for stable releases. It is represented for Yum
or http://dnf.baseurl.org/[DNF] in the file in the repository path. It
exists in Branched releases solely to prevent various tools that expect
its existence from breaking. For any Fedora installation, this
repository will be enabled by default, and should usually remain so.

For stable releases, _updates_ together with link:#fedora[_fedora_]
represents the current _stable_ state of the release. Package builds
that pass the link:Updates_Policy[Updates Policy] move from
link:#updates-testing[the _updates-testing_ repository] to this
repository. This difference from Branched is a result of the need to
maintain a precise representation of the initial, 'frozen' state of a
stable release.

The stable release _updates_ repositories for the various primary
link:Architectures[architectures] can be found in the directory on the
mirrors (where XX is the release), and can also be queried from
MirrorManager. For instance,
https://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/mirrorlist?repo=updates-released-f%7B%7BFedoraVersionNumber%7D}&arch=x86_64
will return mirrors for the x86_64 _updates_ repository for .

[[the-updates-testing-repository]]
The _updates-testing_ repository
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The _updates-testing_ repository exists for Branched releases after the
link:Updates_Policy#Bodhi_enabling[Bodhi enabling point], and for stable
releases. It is represented for Yum or http://dnf.baseurl.org/[DNF] in
the file in the repository path. For both, it is a 'staging' location
where new package builds are tested before being marked as 'stable' (and
hence moving to the link:#fedora[_fedora_] repository or the
link:#updates[_updates_] repository, respectively).

These builds are sometimes referred to as _update candidates_, and are
reviewed with the Bodhi update feedback tool, according to the
QA:Update_feedback_guidelines[update feedback guidelines].

The Updates_Policy defines the rules for marking update candidates as
_stable_. The QA:Updates_Testing[QA updates-testing page] provides some
information for testers on using this repository. The
link:Package_update_HOWTO[package update guidelines] provide information
for packagers on submitting builds to _updates-testing_ and to _stable_.

The _updates-testing_ repository is enabled by default for Branched
releases, but disabled by default for stable releases. The switchover is
made around the time of the link:Milestone_freezes[Final Freeze] for
each release. Testers moving from Branched to stable may encounter
errors running updates around this time, caused by dependency mismatches
between packages already installed from the now-disabled
_updates-testing_ repository. Running (or with yum command) or
re-enabling the _updates-testing_ repository will both usually alleviate
the issue; it is up to the individual user whether they wish to continue
using the _updates-testing_ repository after the stable release or not.

The _updates-testing_ repositories for both Branched and stable releases
can be found in the directory on the mirrors (where XX is the release),
and can also be queried from MirrorManager. For instance,
https://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/mirrorlist?repo=updates-testing-f%7B%7BFedoraVersionNumber%7D}&arch=x86_64
will return mirrors for the x86_64 _updates-testing_ repository for .

[[the-rawhide-repository]]
The _rawhide_ repository
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Rawhide - Fedora's rolling release repository, from which release are
link:Releases/Branched[Branched] before finally going stable - _rawhide_
is the only repository. All package builds are sent there. It is
represented for Yum or http://dnf.baseurl.org/[DNF] in the file in the
repository path. For any system running Rawhide, it should be enabled.
For any other system, it should not.

The _rawhide_ repositories for the various primary
link:Architectures[architectures] can be found in the directory on the
mirrors, and can also be queried from MirrorManager. For instance,
https://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/mirrorlist?repo=fedora-rawhide&arch=x86_64
will return mirrors for the x86_64 _fedora_ repository for Rawhide.

[[stable-is-not-a-repository]]
_stable_ is not a repository
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is not unusual to see references to the 'stable repository', but this
is something of a misnomer. _stable_ is more of a state that can be
considered to exist for both link:Releases/Branched[Branched] releases
post-link:Updates_Policy#Bodhi_enabling[Bodhi enabling] and for stable
releases. It consists of package builds that were part of
link:Releases/Rawhide[Rawhide] at the time they Branched, package builds
sent directly to the Branched link:#fedora[_fedora_] repository between
the branch point and the _Bodhi enabling point_, and package builds that
passed the link:Updates_Policy[Updates Policy] and moved from
link:#updates-testing[_updates-testing_] after the _Bodhi enabling
point_.

For Branched releases, the _stable_ state is represented solely by the
current contents of the link:#fedora[_fedora_] repository (and,
arguably, the link:#bleed[_bleed_] repository, but that is a small
case).

For stable releases, the _stable_ state is represented by the contents
of the link:#fedora[_fedora_] repository combined with the contents of
the link:#updates[_updates_] repository.

_stable_ is also a state a package can be considered to be in (or an
attribute it can be considered to have) when it has been _pushed stable_
or _tagged stable_ and exists in, or will soon exist in, a _stable_
repository for a release - whichever literal repository that is (see
above).

[[installation-and-product-repositories-trees]]
Installation and link:Fedora.next[Product] repositories / trees
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The repositories referred to above are neither associated with a
specific Fedora.next _Product_, nor part of an installable tree (a tree
containing the necessary files to be used as a base repository by
Anaconda, the Fedora installer). Specialized repositories exist for
these purposes.

For Fedora.next releases - and later - there is (as of September 2014)
no installable tree not associated with a specific Product. The
installable trees for various Products can be found under on the mirrors
for stable releases, and under for Branched pre-release milestones. They
can also be queried from MirrorManager. For instance,
https://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/mirrorlist?repo=fedora-server-%7B%7BFedoraVersionNumber%7Cnext%7D}&arch=x86_64
will return mirrors for the x86_64 current installation repository for
Server.

These repositories are frozen (new packages are not pushed to them) and
are created at various points in the
link:Fedora_Release_Life_Cycle[Fedora Release Life Cycle]. A new
installation tree (containing a repository) is built for several
Products for each QA:SOP_compose_request[test compose or release
candidate build], and the trees for the Alpha and Beta releases are made
available on the mirrors in the directory (see above). They contain a
subset of the full package set that is considered to define each Product
(see link:How_to_use_and_edit_comps.xml_for_package_groups[comps] for
the technical details of this).

The Product trees for the GA (Final) release are made available in the
tree on the mirrors.

At any given point in the release cycle, the MirrorManager request for a
Product repository may redirect to a test compose / release candidate
tree, a pre-release milestone tree, or the Final release tree.

These repositories are usually not used or enabled by default on
installed systems, as for that purpose they are redundant with one of
the three primary repositories described above. However, one could use a
Product repository in place of the link:#fedora[_fedora_] repository to
keep a system limited to the Product package set. They are represented
for Yum or http://dnf.baseurl.org/[DNF] in the file in the repository
path, which may well not be installed on many systems.

[[other-repositories]]
Other repositories
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are other repositories that fulfil various niche purposes, which
are documented here for the sake of providing a comprehensive reference.
They should not usually be significant to the vast majority of Fedora
users. None of these repositories is represented in a packaged
repository file, enabled by default, or should usually be used in a
Fedora installation.

[[the-bleed-repository]]
The _bleed_ repository
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The _bleed_ repository exists for a single purpose: during
link:Milestone_freezes[Milestone freezes], it contains packages that
have been granted 'freeze exceptions' via the QA:SOP_blocker_bug_process
or QA:SOP_freeze_exception_bug_process, and which are desired to be
included in the next test compose or release candidate build, but have
not yet reached _stable_ state and hence been moved to the
link:#fedora[_fedora_] repository. In other words, it contains packages
explicitly required in TC/RC QA:SOP_compose_request[compose requests].

The _bleed_ repository can be found
http://kojipkgs.fedoraproject.org/mash/bleed/[here], but again, is not
usually of interest to the vast majority of Fedora users. The packages
it contains are always also available from the build system, Koji, and
usually from the link:#updates-testing[_updates-testing_] repository.

[[the-latest-repositories]]
The _latest_ repositories
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The _latest_ http://kojipkgs.fedoraproject.org/repos/[repositories]
contain packages for various build 'tags' as they arrive in the Koji
build system. They are not
https://git.fedorahosted.org/cgit/mash/[mashed], a process which
principally handles multilib, and using them can cause various problems,
in addition to overloading Fedora's development servers. It is almost
always a better idea to cherry-pick new builds from Koji or Bodhi via
their web interfaces or command line tools.

[[repositories-faq]]
Repositories FAQ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[[why-is-updates-only-used-after-the-stable-release]]
Why is link:#updates[_updates_] only used after the stable release?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

As described above, updates for both link:Releases/Branched[Branched]
pre-releases and final, 'stable' releases go through the
link:#updates-testing[_updates-testing_] process before being moved to a
link:#stable[_stable_] repository. Before the final release, they are
placed in the link:#fedora[_fedora_] repository. After release, they are
placed in link:#updates[_updates_].

The reason for the difference is that we want to have a record of the
exact 'state' of a given Fedora stable release. That is, at the time a
Fedora release is declared to be done at a link:Go_No_Go_Meeting[Go No
Go Meeting], we consider the state of the release at that time to be the
canonical definition of that release, and we wish to preserve a record
of that state. For a stable release, the tree containing the _fedora_
repository *is* that record, and the _fedora_ repository it contains is
the canonical record of the precise _frozen_ package set that formed the
main part of that stable release.

Since we wish to maintain this _frozen_ state for the _fedora_
repository, we cannot place updates directly into it. The necessity for
the _updates_ repository therefore becomes obvious - we need a place to
put updates to stable releases that is outside the _frozen_ state of the
release.

Before a stable release occurs, this mechanism is not necessary. Before
the release is declared to be done, there is no _frozen_ state of the
release: effectively, the whole Branched development process is _working
towards_ what will become the _frozen_ state of the release, so of
course package builds for the Branched release land directly in the
_fedora_ repository.

[[why-is-updates-testing-enabled-by-default-in-pre-releases]]
Why is _updates-testing_ enabled by default in pre-releases?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

While link:Releases/Branched[Branched] development releases and stable
releases both use an link:#updates-testing[_updates-testing_] repository
together with the Bodhi update feedback system to stage packages before
they reach the release's link:#stable[_stable_] state, it is enabled by
default in Branched, but not in stable releases.

The reason is that the purpose of the _updates-testing_ system is
somewhat different in each case. For stable releases, the system's goal
is to prevent broken updates reaching the general Fedora user
population. In most cases, Fedora systems are expected to have the
_updates-testing_ repository disabled. Some QA testers then enable the
repository on testing systems to try out the updates and provide
feedback. The testers perform the job of making sure the updates are OK
before they reach the general user population.

When it comes to a Branched pre-release, the expectation is that anyone
who installs it wants to help test it: we effectively consider anyone
running a Branched release to be a tester. The function of
_updates-testing_ is different in this case. There is not a 'general
user population' of Branched users who run with _updates-testing_
disabled, and are protected from problematic updates by the group of
update testers. Instead, _updates-testing_ in Branched serves other
important functions.

The main purpose is to insulate _image builds_ from potentially
problematic changes. Branched images - nightly images, and the Alpha,
Beta and GA (Final) _milestone_ builds and their
QA:SOP_compose_request[test compose and release candidate builds] - are
built from the _stable_ packages, that is, only those in the _fedora_
repository, not those in _updates-testing_. In this sense,
_updates-testing_ protects not a set of users, but a set of _builds_,
from potentially destabilizing changes. Especially when we are building
an Alpha, Beta or GA release, we need to be able to reduce the amount of
change in the package set between composes in order to produce an image
of high quality. The _updates-testing_ mechanism allows for that: during
link:Milestone_freezes[Milestone freezes], new builds can be sent to
_updates-testing_, but cannot move from there to _stable_ (_fedora_)
without special circumstances (see the
QA:SOP_blocker_bug_process[blocker] and
QA:SOP_freeze_exception_bug_process[freeze exception] processes). In
this way, we can work on release images while not preventing packagers
from sending out builds.

For this and other less important functions, we need as much feedback as
possible, so it makes sense to have all pre-release testers have
_updates-testing_ enabled by default, and encourage them to provide
feedback through Bodhi.

Category:Release_Engineering[Category:Release Engineering]
Category:Packaging
'''

See a typo, something missing or out of date, or anything else which can be
improved? Edit this document at https://pagure.io/fedora-docs/fedora-howto.