< Releases
The Branched release is the first one in the Fedora Release Life Cycle - pre-Alpha, and freshly forked from Rawhide.
The Branch Freeze Policy describes the process of building packages during this phase. Essentially there are non-rawhide repositories with the version number of the release-to-be (currently 41). New builds go to the "updates-testing" repository; after approval in Bodhi, they are promoted directly to the "stable" repository for that release. (There is no "updates" repository until the final general availability release.)
How to avoid disturbing an existing system
There are a few methods to test the Branched release on a machine without disturbing an existing installation:
- Test a Live version from USB or DVD drive.
- Use a virtual machine. See Testing/qemu.
- Install to a separate partition.
Getting a nightly Live build
Nightly builds of Live spins are now available. All approved Live spins are posted, but "desktop" is the one that is used and distributed most widely.
The basic steps are:
- Download a daily Live image (.iso) from http://alt.fedoraproject.org/pub/alt/nightly-composes/
- Make a boot disk (see "How do I make a bootable disk from an ISO?" below) and boot from it.
- Log in and double click on the "Install to Hard Drive" icon on the desktop.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
The maximum ISO size is now 1GB, which is larger than can fit on a CD. It is expected that most users will have USB or DVD media available. USB media in particular is advantageous compared to CDs, because it is cheap and highly reusable.
Builds include only package versions from the "stable" repository, so they should in general be usable; please file a bug if you encounter any problems. If there is a bug in the generation toolchain, the images may not be built on a given night; in this case, the last built image will remain available.
Using these nightly builds is an ideal way to test the Branched release if you have no spare machine or partition available, or simply do not have the time to maintain a Branched installation. It's a very safe way to test, since it will make no changes to your installed system. You can also later install the Branched release to your hard drive from the Live desktop if the Live image is working well for you.
If you use a LiveUSB with data persistence, you can run "yum update" to get the latest RPMs (except for the kernel). However, downloading a fresh daily ISOs is recommended instead of this method.
How do I make a bootable disk from an ISO?
- To write to USB media, see How to create and use Live USB.
- To burn a DVD, see the burning ISOs readme.
Branched mirrors
The current Branched release is found under "development/41" on the mirrors. You can find a local mirror from: http://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/publiclist/Fedora/41/
(Continue reading for specific instructions on how to install mirrored content.)