Fedora Linux 44: Key Updates for Atomic Desktop Editions
Overview
Fedora Linux 44 has arrived, bringing a host of improvements and changes for the Atomic Desktop family: Silverblue, Kinoite, Sway Atomic, Budgie Atomic, and the new COSMIC Atomic. Whether you’re a daily driver or an enthusiast, this release refines the immutability experience with updates to tooling, documentation, and core libraries. Here’s what you need to know.
Unified Changes Across All Variants
Several improvements affect every Atomic Desktop edition, streamlining development and reducing duplication. Let’s explore each change in detail.
Issue Tracker Moves to the Fedora Forge
The cross-variant issue tracker has been migrated to the new Fedora Forge. This central hub is now the best place to report problems that affect multiple editions or to coordinate work across the Atomic Desktop community. For issues specific to a single desktop environment—like a bug unique to Budgie Atomic—prefer the respective SIG trackers. You can find links to those in the atomic-desktops README.
Unified Documentation Now Live
After much anticipation, the unified documentation for all Atomic Desktops is finally available! Hosted on the new Forge, it replaces the fragmented per-variant guides. One important note: translations from the previous docs have not been carried over. Community help will be needed to re‑translate the content once the translation infrastructure is ready on the new platform. The good news is that most of the work is copy/paste from the old docs—and this time we only need to translate once, not for each variant. See the tracking issue for details.
Removal of FUSE Version 2 Libraries
FUSE 2 has been deprecated and unmaintained for some time, so Fedora 44 removes it from all Atomic Desktop images. This change has two practical consequences:
- Some AppImages that rely on the old FUSE 2 runtime may stop working.
- Users of Plasma Vault on Kinoite who employ legacy backends (EncFS or CryFS) must migrate their data.
Refer to the Fedora Change page and the tracking issue for deeper background.
What This Means for AppImages
AppImages using an older runtime that depends on FUSE 2 (e.g., libfuse2) will no longer launch on Fedora 44 Atomic Desktops. To check your AppImage’s runtime, please refer to the discussion thread for step-by-step instructions. If you encounter issues, we recommend:
- Seeking a Flatpak version of the application—many popular apps are already available. Consider helping upstream publish their software as a Flatpak.
- Reporting the issue to the AppImage maintainer so they know they need to upgrade to a newer runtime. Offering assistance with the migration can also move things along faster.
Plasma Vault Backends Removed
KDE upstream no longer advises using EncFS or CryFS backends for Plasma Vaults, primarily because they rely on the removed FUSE 2 libraries. If you’re using one of these backends, migrate your data before upgrading to Fedora 44. The only maintained backend is gocryptfs. If you’ve already updated and need access to your old vault, you can temporarily layer the required packages (cryfs or fuse-encfs) with rpm-ostree install, migrate your data, then reset the layers with rpm-ostree reset.
Legacy pkla Polkit Rules Dropped
Fedora 44 removes support for the old pkla Polkit rules format. This change is unlikely to affect most users, as the more modern JavaScript-based rules have been the standard for years. If you have custom pkla files, you’ll need to convert them before upgrading. The Fedora Change page provides guidance on migration.
Getting the Most Out of Fedora 44 Atomic Desktops
With these changes, Fedora 44 Atomic Desktops are more consistent and maintainable than ever. The unified documentation and central issue tracker reduce friction for both users and developers. While the removal of FUSE 2 and pkla may require a few adjustments, the long-term benefits of a leaner, more secure base are well worth it.
Ready to upgrade? Check the official release notes and join the community on the Atomic Desktops discussion forum.