DNF5 System-Upgrade Command: Upgrade Fedora Linux

Fedora does not need a reinstall every time a new stable release lands. The dnf5 system-upgrade command on Fedora stages the next release, checks dependency conflicts before reboot, and applies the upgrade in an offline environment instead of making you rebuild the system from scratch.

On Fedora 43, you still run this workflow with dnf, which already uses DNF5 under the hood. The same command sequence works on Workstation, Server, and minimal installs, while rpm-ostree editions such as Silverblue and CoreOS follow a different upgrade path.

Upgrade Fedora with the dnf5 system-upgrade command

Fedora recommends this as its command-line path for moving to a new major release. Back up important data before you start, keep the system on reliable power for the full upgrade, and check the offline upgrade documentation alongside the current Fedora release notes.

Confirm dnf5 system-upgrade is available on Fedora

Fedora 43 exposes the release-upgrade workflow directly through dnf, so verify the command first instead of looking for a separate plugin package name.

dnf system-upgrade --help

Usage:
  dnf5 [GLOBAL OPTIONS] system-upgrade <COMMAND> ...

Commands:
  clean                         Remove any stored offline transaction and delete cached package files.
  log                           Show logs from past offline transactions
  reboot                        Prepare the system to perform the offline transaction and reboot to start the transaction.
  status                        Show status of the current offline transaction
  download                      Download everything needed to upgrade to a new release

Update the current Fedora release before dnf5 system-upgrade

Bring the current system fully up to date before you stage the next release. Fedora treats this as a required step because newer signing keys and package fixes often arrive through the normal update stream first.

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

These commands use sudo for tasks that need root privileges. If your Fedora account does not have sudo access yet, either switch to the root account or follow the steps to add a user to sudoers on Fedora.

Reboot after the update so the current kernel and userspace are in sync before you stage the release change.

sudo reboot

Download Fedora 43 packages with dnf5 system-upgrade

If the machine is on Fedora 42, download the current stable release with --releasever=43. Fedora also supports skipping one release, so Fedora 41 can jump to 43, but anything older should move forward in smaller steps.

The --releasever option overrides the release value in enabled repository files and points DNF at the new package set for the target release.

sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=43

If the transaction stops on a third-party package conflict, rerun the download with --allowerasing. Review the removal list carefully before you accept it, because that option can remove packages you still rely on.

sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=43 --allowerasing

Start the Fedora 43 offline reboot after dnf5 system-upgrade

DNF5 stages the release with system-upgrade download, then hands the transaction to the shared offline updater at reboot time. On Fedora 43, dnf offline reboot is the clearest DNF5 form for that final step.

sudo dnf offline reboot

If you prefer to stay inside the same command family, Fedora 43 still accepts the wrapper below and points it at the same staged offline transaction.

sudo dnf system-upgrade reboot

The dnf command already uses DNF5 on Fedora 43, so dnf offline reboot and dnf5 offline reboot refer to the same underlying command set. Close open applications first, and keep laptops connected to external power until the second reboot finishes.

Verify Fedora 43 after dnf5 system-upgrade

Once the system comes back up, confirm that Fedora 43 is running before you spend time re-enabling third-party repositories or cleaning cached packages.

cat /etc/fedora-release

Fedora release 43 (Forty Three)

After the first successful boot, you can remove stale dependencies and cached RPMs that are no longer useful.

sudo dnf autoremove
sudo dnf clean packages

Once the new release is settled, you can install DNF Automatic on Fedora if you want unattended security updates between major release upgrades.

Understand how DNF5 handles Fedora release upgrades

Once the main workflow is clear, the remaining details come down to how DNF5 names the shared offline actions and how aggressively it syncs packages to the new release.

Compare dnf5 system-upgrade and offline commands on Fedora

The release jump starts with dnf system-upgrade download, but the reboot, status, clean, and log actions are shared with the offline transaction engine. That is why current Fedora docs and the local DNF5 man pages use both command families.

Historically, Fedora tested DNF5 ahead of the switch, but the default /usr/bin/dnf provider did not move over until Fedora 41. Before that change, Fedora still treated DNF4 as the standard package-manager front end, which is why older Fedora upgrade posts often show a separate dnf5 binary, older plugin names, or DNF4-era examples mixed into the same topic.

• sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=43: Stages Fedora 43 packages and validates dependencies before reboot.
• sudo dnf offline reboot: Starts the staged offline transaction on the next boot.
• sudo dnf offline status: Shows whether an offline transaction is still pending.
• sudo dnf offline clean: Removes a staged transaction if you decide not to reboot into it.
• sudo dnf system-upgrade log --number=-1: Opens the most recent offline upgrade log.

Understand Fedora’s supported dnf5 system-upgrade window

Fedora officially supports upgrades to the next release and skipping one release, so Fedora 42 to 43 and Fedora 41 to 43 are both valid paths. For anything older, take smaller steps until the system is back inside that supported window.

Choose dnf5 system-upgrade options carefully on Fedora

The default behavior is already right for most Fedora upgrades, so only add extra flags when you have a specific package-management problem to solve.

• --allowerasing lets DNF remove conflicting packages when a third-party repository has not caught up with Fedora 43 yet.
• --no-downgrade tells DNF to skip packages that would sync to older builds in the target release. By default, system-upgrade download behaves like distro-sync against the new release, which is the safer default for most Fedora upgrades.

Inside the current release, sudo dnf upgrade --refresh handles normal package updates. The Fedora release jump itself starts only when you add system-upgrade download --releasever=43, and broader day-to-day package tasks are covered in these DNF5 install examples on Fedora.

Troubleshoot dnf5 system-upgrade problems on Fedora

Most failed Fedora upgrades come down to repository lag, free space, or a staged transaction you no longer want. Handle those three cases first before you start chasing rarer boot or package bugs.

List Fedora repo IDs before rerunning dnf5 system-upgrade

If a third-party repository has not published Fedora 43 packages yet, the download step can stall on dependency conflicts. List repo IDs first so you disable the exact source that is blocking the solver.

dnf repo list --all

repo id                                        repo name                                                   status
copr:copr.fedorainfracloud.org:phracek:PyCharm Copr repo for PyCharm owned by phracek                    disabled
fedora                                         Fedora 43 - x86_64                                         enabled
fedora-cisco-openh264                          Fedora 43 openh264 (From Cisco) - x86_64                   enabled
fedora-cisco-openh264-debuginfo                Fedora 43 openh264 (From Cisco) - x86_64 - Debug          disabled
fedora-cisco-openh264-source                   Fedora 43 openh264 (From Cisco) - x86_64 - Source         disabled
fedora-debuginfo                               Fedora 43 - x86_64 - Debug                                disabled
fedora-source                                  Fedora 43 - Source                                        disabled
google-chrome                                  google-chrome                                             disabled
rpmfusion-nonfree-nvidia-driver                RPM Fusion for Fedora 43 - Nonfree - NVIDIA Driver        disabled

Your list will usually be longer than this excerpt. The left column is the repo ID that config-manager expects, so swap in the repository you want to disable, rerun the upgrade download, and re-enable that repository after Fedora 43 is working normally again.

sudo dnf config-manager setopt google-chrome.enabled=0

Check the repo again right away so you know the toggle applied to the ID you meant to change.

dnf repo list --all | grep ^google-chrome

google-chrome                                  google-chrome                                             disabled

If dnf config-manager returns a missing-command error, install or update the current dnf5-plugins package first.

sudo dnf install dnf5-plugins

If the lagging repository is RPM Fusion, re-enable it after the release upgrade with the same setopt syntax. The current setup steps for that repository are documented in install RPM Fusion on Fedora.

Free disk space before rerunning dnf5 system-upgrade

Large package downloads and cached RPMs can fill the same filesystem that stores the offline transaction. Check free space before you retry the download.

df -h / /var

Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda3       123G  5.3G  117G   5% /
/dev/sda3       123G  5.3G  117G   5% /

If either location is tight, clear cached RPMs and then use the du command to find large directories before you rerun system-upgrade download.

sudo dnf clean packages

Read the last dnf5 system-upgrade log on Fedora

If the machine reboots back into the old release or the offline phase stops partway through, read the latest stored upgrade log before you rerun anything. The negative index counts backward from the newest attempt, so -1 means the most recent transaction.

sudo dnf system-upgrade log --number=-1

Cannot find logs with this index.

That message only means the system has no stored offline upgrade log yet. After a failed or completed transaction, the same command shows the last recorded boot log for the upgrade.

Use dnf distro-sync after a partial Fedora upgrade

If the release jump leaves the system partly upgraded or dependency issues remain after reboot, run a manual sync against the currently enabled repositories. Fedora documents this as the follow-up fix because system-upgrade already uses distro-sync behavior by default during the release change.

sudo dnf distro-sync

If the command finishes cleanly, the installed package set is back in sync with Fedora 43 and any enabled third-party repositories that already publish compatible builds.

Cancel a staged dnf5 system-upgrade on Fedora

If you decide not to continue before rebooting, remove the staged transaction instead of leaving cached upgrade data behind.

sudo dnf offline clean

Then confirm that no offline transaction is still queued for the next boot.

sudo dnf offline status

No offline transaction is stored.

The same cleanup is also available through sudo dnf system-upgrade clean, but the offline form matches current DNF5 documentation more closely.

dnf5 system-upgrade command on Fedora FAQ

Conclusion

Fedora 43 can be upgraded cleanly with the dnf5 system-upgrade workflow, from the initial package download to the offline reboot and cleanup after the first boot. Keep third-party repositories in sync with the new release, and future Fedora upgrades stay much closer to a routine maintenance window than a rebuild.