How to Install or Upgrade to Fedora Asahi Remix 44 on Apple Silicon Macs

What You Need

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

• An Apple Silicon Mac (M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra, M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra, or M3 series)
• A stable internet connection (broadband recommended for downloading the installer and packages)
• At least 50 GB of free disk space (more for large file storage)
• A backup of important data (installation or upgrade may modify partitions)
• For fresh installs: a USB-C to USB-A adapter (if using a traditional USB drive) or a spare USB-C drive
• For upgrades: an existing Fedora Asahi Remix 42 or 43 installation
• Patience – the process may take 30 minutes to an hour depending on your connection and system speed

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Back Up Your Data

Before making any system changes, create a full backup of your important files. Use Time Machine, a cloud service, or copy files to an external drive. This protects against data loss if something goes wrong during installation or upgrade.

Step 2: Check Hardware Compatibility

Fedora Asahi Remix 44 supports all Apple Silicon Macs (M1 through M3). Verify your model on the official Asahi Linux compatibility page. If you have an older Intel Mac, this guide does not apply – use standard Fedora instead.

Step 3: Download the Installer

Open a terminal on your Mac (or use the macOS recovery environment). Run the official Asahi Linux installer script:

curl -sL https://alx.sh | sh

This command downloads and runs the installer. Follow the on-screen prompts. The installer will ask you to choose between a fresh install or an upgrade.

Step 4: Choose Your Installation Type

If you are installing for the first time, select Fresh Install. The installer will create a new partition for Fedora Asahi Remix 44. If you are upgrading from version 42 or 43, select Upgrade – the script will handle the transition automatically.

Step 5: Select Your Desktop Environment

Fedora Asahi Remix 44 offers multiple variants:

• KDE Plasma Desktop (flagship, with Plasma 6.6 and KDE Plasma Desktop 44 features)
• GNOME Desktop (GNOME 50, matching Fedora Linux 44)
• Fedora Server (headless, for server workloads)
• Minimal (bare-bones, for building custom environments)

The installer will present these options. Use the arrow keys to select your desired variant. For most users, KDE Plasma is recommended for the best experience.

Step 6: Follow the Installer Prompts

The installer will guide you through:

• Partitioning – leave 40 GB or more for the Linux root and home partitions. The installer may propose a default layout; you can adjust it.
• User account creation – for fresh installs, you will set up a username and password. For upgrades, existing accounts carry over.
• Network configuration – connect to Wi-Fi if needed during installation (though you can do this later).

After confirmation, the installer downloads packages and writes them to disk. This takes 10–20 minutes on a fast connection.

Step 7: Complete First Boot and Initial Setup

Once installation finishes, reboot your Mac. Hold the power button to select the Fedora Asahi Remix volume as the startup disk (macOS should still be available as an alternative). For fresh KDE Plasma installs, you will see Plasma Setup – a new Plasma-native wizard that replaces the old Calamares setup. This handles user account creation, system preferences, and desktop configuration. For GNOME installs, the standard GNOME initial setup appears.

Important: On fresh KDE installs, the default login manager is now Plasma Login Manager (the KDE greeter), replacing SDDM. Upgrade users retain their previous configuration.

Step 8: Verify and Update

After logging in, open a terminal and run:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

This ensures you have the latest packages. Fedora Asahi Remix 44 retires the previously vendored Mesa and virglrenderer packages. Existing installations are automatically transitioned to the upstream versions from Fedora repositories. You do not need to do anything manually.

Step 9: For Upgrade Users Only – Additional Steps

If you upgraded from version 42 or 43 using the installer script, your system is already on 44. However, note that upgrades via GNOME Software are not supported. You must use either KDE’s Plasma Discover or the dnf system-upgrade command. The upgrade script handles this automatically, but if you prefer a manual method, refer to the official Fedora upgrade documentation.

Tips

• Back up regularly: Even though the installer is reliable, unexpected power loss or hardware issues can cause data loss.
• Use a wired connection if possible: The initial download of packages is large; Wi-Fi can be slower and less stable.
• Keep macOS as a fallback: The Asahi installer preserves your existing macOS installation. You can switch back by holding the power button at startup.
• Report issues promptly: If you encounter a Remix-specific bug, submit it to the bug tracker. For community help, visit the Discourse forum or the Matrix room.
• Explore desktop options: Try both KDE Plasma (flagship) and GNOME – each offers a distinct experience on Apple Silicon.
• Test hardware acceleration: With upstream Mesa, GPU support is improved. Run glxinfo | grep -i render in a terminal to confirm 3D acceleration works.