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Fedora, and Free/Open source software

We, at the Fedora community would really like all our users to use Free/Open source resources.

TODO: include a video that explains Free/Open source software (must have a transcript with translations) - question: should Fedora make this or should we use one off the www?

Free/Open source resources give us users the freedom to use them, copy them, inspect and study how they work by viewing the sources that they were built from, modify and remix them by changing these available sources, and share both the resources and their modified versions. So, the complete source code of all packages that make up Fedora releases (the source rpms can be downloaded here), and all the infrastructure that is used by the Fedora community is Free/Open source software---one can get it, use it, modify it, and share it.

In keeping in line with the Free/Open source software philosophy, we do not include software that is not Free/Open source (restricted) in Fedora. In some cases, however, Free/Open source alternatives are unavailable or do not have certain features that users require, as is the case of Binary Firmware that is needed to boot systems for example, and so, we must include these to improve the usability of Fedora.

To further improve usability, the Fedora Workstation now makes it easier for users to install a some software that is not in the Fedora repositories. Even though this list, and the sources where this software comes from have been vetted by the Workstation working group, these are not supplied by Fedora. Fedora only adds the sources to a Workstation install to make it easier for users to install them (users can find and use these sources themselves also).

Some of the items on this list are not Free/Open source (restricted) without Free/Open source alternatives. Wherever available, we list Free/Open source alternatives and hope that that users will prefer these to their restricted counterparts.

Third party source inclusions

Some software is now included in Fedora 28 using the fedora-workstation-repositories package. This package installs the repository files to the standard /etc/yum.repos.d/ directory. This section lists the software that is included, and how the repositories can be managed.

Free/Open source inclusions

These applications are Free/Open source but are not yet in the Fedora repositories. They may appear there in the future.

Name Description Repository file
PyCharm Python Integrated development environment _copr_phracek-PyCharm.repo

Non Free/Open source (restricted) inclusions

The Free/Open source alternatives listed here are supplied by Fedora and can be installed using GNOME software, and the command line.

Name Description Repository file Free/Open source alternatives available in Fedora
Google Chrome Web browser developed by Google google-chrome.repo
nVidia graphics drivers Graphics drivers for nVidia graphical hardware rpmfusion-nonfree-nvidia-driver.repo Nouveau: Accelerated Open Source driver for nVidia cards - (installed by default)
Steam client Client for Valve Corporation's Steam gaming platform rpmfusion-nonfree-steam.repo None

Managing third party repositories in GNOME Software

These repositories can be managed in GNOME Software in the "Software Repositories" setting.

Managing third party repositories using DNF

These extra sources can also be managed using a terminal/command line and DNF (administrator privileges are required). The following command can be used to install the sources:

dnf install fedora-workstation-repositories

To remove these repositories, the following command can be used:

dnf remove fedora-workstation-repositories

Talk to us!

Any questions, comments, feedback, and suggestions are most welcome. The Fedora community can be contacted via various communication channels which are listed here.