How-tos and other short-form documentation. https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/
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Rowan Puttergill 6aa69121ca Software-Management (#969)
This PR significantly overhauls the "Adding and managing software" section of Fedora Quick Docs,  bringing it up to date for currently supported releases (Fedora 41 and newer, using DNF5) and restructuring the navigation for clarity.

  *Navigation restructure*

The section is reorganised into three clear areas: core package management topics, a third-party software subsection, and a new "Installing popular applications" group. Topics covering specific applications (VLC, Spotify, Zoom, Chromium, Java, fonts, desktop environments) are grouped separately from package management mechanics. openh264.adoc is retired and its content is merged into  the multimedia plugins page.  Also, I separated out legal content and put that under the FAQ section and did away with the remaining content in packagekit-not-found.adoc because this was consolidated into some newer topics described below.

 *New topics*

I added several new topics:

  - Third-party software: overview of the distinction between Fedora release software and third-party sources, why software may be absent (patents, licensing, unpackaged), and safe usage practices
  - Flatpak / Flathub: installing and managing Flatpak applications, covering both GNOME Software and KDE Discover
  - Snap Store: installing and managing Snap applications
  - AppImage: running portable AppImage applications
  - Language package managers: pip, npm, Cargo, gem, and go install, with emphasis on isolation (virtual environments) and the preference for Fedora-packaged versions
  - ~~Managing software on immutable Fedora editions: rpm-ostree layering, Flatpak as the preferred app  delivery method, and Toolbox for development environments~~
  - Creating a DNF repository mirror: using dnf reposync to set up a local mirror, serving it with Apache, configuring clients, and keeping it current with a systemd timer
  - Fedora and software patents: split out from the retired packagekit-not-found.adoc into its own FAQ topic

 *Updated topics*

  - autoupdates.adoc: restructured (decision first, setup second), dnf-automatic.timer updated for DNF5 (single timer replaces the old per-mode timers), machine → system throughout, auter section retained and updated
  - package-management.adoc: rewritten to be a concise intro rather than a stub with broken links
  - securing-the-system-by-keeping-it-up-to-date.adoc: recommends dnf offline-upgrade over updating a  live system; redundant automatic updates section replaced with an xref to autoupdates.adoc
  - installing-java.adoc: Java version updated (LTS: 21, 25; latest: 26); JDK components list pruned of tools removed in JDK 9–14; modern tools added (jshell, jlink, jpackage, jdeps, jhsdb); dead links fixed (Freenode → Libera.Chat, Mailman → Fedora Discussion, openjdk.java.net → openjdk.org)
  - installing-plugins-for-playing-movies-and-music.adoc: updated for F41+; OpenH264 content merged in; RPM Fusion noted for extended codec support; immutable editions section added; Fedora Workstation multimedia group updated
  - installing-chromium-or-google-chrome-browsers.adoc: DNF4 old-syntax block removed;   chromium-freeworld from RPM Fusion noted for users needing full codec support; screenshots updated  for current GNOME Software and Plasma Discover UI
  - fonts.adoc: rewritten for current Fedora; GNOME Font Viewer bug note removed; KDE section updated for Plasma 6; RPM Fusion font source note corrected; code block formatting fixed
  - finding-and-installing-linux-applications.adoc: repository overview section removed (now links to dedicated topics); GNOME and KDE GUI walkthroughs updated with fresh screenshots on Fedora 42 with GNOME 50 and Plasma 6; category descriptions corrected to match actual UI
  - switching-desktop-environments.adoc : renamed "Installing and Switching Desktop Environments";  updated for Fedora 41+ (single dnf environment list command) --- worth noting that although I could install switchdesk it didn't really work properly in my test lab.
  - fedora-and-software-patents.adoc: dead links removed (Fluendo, 2007–2010 Red Hat press releases,  old mailing list); MP3 no longer referenced as patent-encumbered (patents expired 2017)

 *Style and consistency pass*

  All topics in the section were run through the Red Hat Vale linter. Changes include: contractions  expanded, passive voice reduced, heading capitalisation normalised (sentence  case for H2+), code blocks annotated with [source,bash,console] and $/$ sudo prompts, e.g./i.e. replaced with for example/that is, and Fedora-specific vocabulary added to the Vale exceptions file.

 *Screenshots*

  All screenshots in finding-and-installing-linux-applications.adoc are retaken on Fedora 42 (GNOME 50 and Plasma 6), replacing images from the older Fedora releases.

Reviewed-on: #969
2026-05-26 10:24:12 +00:00
modules/ROOT Software-Management (#969) 2026-05-26 10:24:12 +00:00
.gitignore chore: update gitignore 2023-11-21 06:37:52 +00:00
antora.yml *.yaml: Minor styling fixes 2022-02-08 18:36:49 +01:00
docsbuilder.sh Update docsbuilder script 2026-05-13 16:08:44 +02:00
LICENSE Add LICENSE 2019-09-17 14:29:46 +02:00
nginx.conf Updated tools to docsbuilder, fixed some typos. 2023-08-09 12:52:15 +02:00
README.md Update README with definition on Quick Docs 2024-07-24 18:31:17 +00:00
site.yml Update includes of Bugzilla status/resolution tables in Bugs 2026-04-16 16:48:03 +02:00

Fedora Quick Docs

This is the content repository for the Fedora Quick Docs.

Quick docs is a collection of short HOW-TO, tutorials and FAQ-style documentation for Fedora users on the official Fedora documentation site that cover commonly used workflows/tools.

Please report Issues and submit Pull Requests for Content Fixes here. Never done a pull request (or "PR")? Here's the Pagure documentation for Pull Requests.

General appearance issues and publishing issues should be reported against the Fedora Docs Website.

Reviewers needed!

Whether it is broken link, outdated screenshots of graphical user interface, technical and grammatical error in Quick Docs, every little contribution helps Fedora Linux users.

Technical review

Some pages in this repository are in need of a technical review. Pages which need one are marked by a disclaimer on the top of the file, right below the top level heading. Any reviews are greatly appreciated. If you want to help, pick one of the pages, check it for accuracy, and then:

  • If you find that all information on the page is correct, either open a pull request which states that you found no problems and which removes the disclaimer from the top (the include::) statement at the top, or open an issue against this repository stating which page you reviewed and found no errors in so we can remove it
  • If you find errors, then either open a pull request fixing them and removing the disclaimer from the top, or open an issue and describe the errors you found, and how to fix them if you know a fix

New content creation and curation

Please refer to the guide from the links below.

How to edit these documents

Documentation in Quick Docs is written in AsciiDoc. It's a simple mostly-plain-text markup language. You may want to look at:

Local preview

This repo includes a script to build, watch and preview the contents of this repository.

NOTE: Please note that if you reference pages from other repositories, such links will be broken in this local preview as it only builds this repository. If you want to rebuild the whole Fedora Docs site, please see the Fedora Docs build repository for instructions.

The script uses podman. Please make sure you have podman installed on your system (you can also use Docker, but on Fedora podman is recommended).

Installing dependencies on Fedora

$ sudo dnf install podman inotify-tools

To build, watch and preview the site, run:

$ ./docsbuilder.sh

The result will be available at http://localhost:8080 and automatically regenerated when the repo contents change.