docs/modules/ROOT/pages/index.adoc

= Fedora Atomic Desktops User Guide

Welcome to the user guide for the Fedora Atomic Desktops!

This guide covers all the Fedora Atomic Desktops: Silverblue, Kinoite, Sway Atomic (was Sericea), Budgie Atomic (was Onyx), and COSMIC Atomic.

Fedora Atomic Desktops are image based desktop operating system.
They aim to be extremely stable and reliable.
They also aim to be an excellent platform for developers and for those using container-focused workflows.

[[introduction]]
== Introduction to Fedora Atomic Desktops

In general, Fedora Atomic Destkops are image based variants of their (package mode) Fedora versions:

[cols="2"]
|===
a|image::silverblue-logo.png[alt="Silverblue logo",width=200]
|Fedora Silverblue is a variant of Fedora Workstation

a|image::kinoite-logo.png[alt="Kinoite logo",width=200]
|Fedora Kinoite is a variant of Fedora KDE Plasma Desktop

a|image::sway-atomic-logo.png[alt="Sway Atomic logo"]
|Fedora Sway Atomic is a variant of Fedora Sway Spin

a|image::budgie-atomic-logo.png[alt="Budgie Atomic logo"]
|Fedora Budgie Atomic is a variant of Fedora Budgie Spin

a|image::cosmic-atomic-logo.png[alt="COSMIC Atomic logo"]
|Fedora COSMIC Atomic is a variant of Fedora COSMIC Spin
|===

They look, feel and behave like a regular desktop operating system, and the experience is similar to what you find with using a standard (package mode) Fedora system.

However, unlike other operating systems, Fedora Atomic Desktops are image based, using a read-only root filesystem (sometimes also called _immutable_).
This means that every installation is identical to every other installation of the same version.
The operating system root filesystem that is on disk is exactly the same from one machine to the next, and it never changes as it is used.

Fedora Atomic Desktops' image based design is intended to make it more stable, less prone to bugs, and easier to test and develop.
Finally, Fedora Atomic Desktops' design also makes it an excellent platform for containerized applications as well as container-based software development.
In each case, applications (apps) and containers are kept separate from the host system, improving stability and reliability.

Fedora Atomic Desktops' core technologies have some other helpful features.
Operating system updates are fast and there's no waiting around for them to install: just reboot as normal to start using the next version.
With Fedora Atomic Desktops, it is also possible to roll back to the previous version of the operating system if something goes wrong.

[[this-guide]]
== About this guide

In most cases, Fedora Atomic Desktops behave like a standard (package mode) Fedora installation, and the https://docs.fedoraproject.org/[general Fedora documentation] can be used.
This guide covers the areas where Fedora Atomic Desktops differ from a standard (package mode) Fedora system, including:

* xref:installation.adoc[OS installation]
* xref:getting-started.adoc[Installing apps and software]
* xref:updates-upgrades-rollbacks.adoc[OS upgrades and rollbacks]

The primary audience for these docs are new users, who aren't expected to have specialist knowledge or technical knowledge about Fedora Atomic Desktops' internals.
However, some background xref:technical-information.adoc[technical information] is provided, for those who are interested and want to learn more.