Fedora Linux 45 Beta
The Fedora 45 Beta previews the October release with GNOME 51, KDE Plasma 6.7, Linux 7.2, kmscon replacing the kernel virtual console, Python 3.15, GCC 16.2, Podman 6, and stricter RPM signature checks.
Download ISO Project website ↗Download Mirrors
The Fedora Linux 45 Beta was released on September 15, 2026, ahead of the final release planned for October. We covered it when it landed.
Highlights
| Component | Version |
|---|---|
| Kernel | 7.2 |
| GNOME | 51 |
| KDE Plasma | 6.7 |
| Python | 3.15 |
| GCC | 16.2 |
| glibc | 2.44 |
| LLVM | 23 |
| Go | 1.27 |
| Podman | 6 |
kmscon replaces the kernel virtual console. The text consoles you reach with Ctrl+Alt+F3 are now drawn by a userspace program, which brings proper Unicode fonts, better keyboard layout handling, and HiDPI support to the console. It is a bigger change than it sounds, since the console is what you fall back to when everything else is broken.
Stricter RPM signature verification and extra DNF5 protections tighten package security. Standardised desktop secret storage and substantial installer improvements round out the release.
Editions
The beta is available for Workstation (GNOME), KDE Plasma Desktop, Server, Cloud, IoT, the Atomic Desktops such as Silverblue, and the Spins and Labs. The mirror links above point to the test release tree, where each edition has its own directory.
Should you install it?
Betas are for testing. Try it in a VM or on a spare disk, and report bugs, which is most useful now, before the final release. If you want to upgrade an existing Fedora 44 system to the beta, read our guide to updating Linux safely first and make sure you have a backup. For daily use, stay on Fedora 44 until 45 is final.
Verify Your Download
Every Fedora image ships with a CHECKSUM file signed by the Fedora release key. Download both from the same directory as the image and verify with gpg --verify and sha256sum -c.