Fedora 45 is officially released on November 3, 2026. This first look covers the top new features in Fedora Linux 45: the GNOME 51 desktop, KDE Plasma 6.7, Linux kernel 7.2, a web-based installer for Atomic Desktops, stricter security defaults and the new KMSCON console.
Fedora 45 arrived two weeks after its original October 20 target, after two delays to fix blocker bugs. Like every Fedora release, it is supported for about 13 months, with security updates ending on November 24, 2027. Let’s explore what’s new in Fedora 45.
Fedora 45 at a glance
| Item | Fedora 45 |
|---|---|
| Release date | November 3, 2026 |
| Workstation desktop | GNOME 51 |
| KDE edition | KDE Plasma 6.7 |
| Linux kernel | 7.2 |
| Atomic Desktops installer | Anaconda WebUI, with remote install from a browser |
| Text console | KMSCON (replaces fbcon) |
| Support ends | November 24, 2027 |
GNOME 51: what’s new in Fedora Workstation 45
FEDORA Workstation 45 ships with GNOME 51, released upstream on September 16, 2026. Most of the work makes the desktop feel smoother and more polished rather than adding flashy new apps.
Smoother animations with new Mutter frame scheduling
Mutter, GNOME’s compositor, now schedules frames differently. That means fewer dropped frames during animations and scrolling, even when your system is busy. Screen recording and remote desktop sessions also do less background work.
Monitor brightness that survives a reboot
GNOME 51 saves brightness for each monitor and restores it at boot. Set your screen to 20% and reboot, and it stays at 20% until you change it. Colour mode settings such as HDR are remembered too.
Disable the touchpad when a mouse is connected
Settings now has an option to turn off your laptop touchpad automatically whenever an external mouse is plugged in. No more accidental cursor jumps while typing.
More ways to log in
The GDM login screen can now offer several authentication methods, including FIDO2 passkeys and web login with QR codes. GNOME Shell also respects the Reduced Motion setting in more places.
Nautilus (Files) improvements
Nautilus, Fedora’s default file manager, gets several small but useful upgrades in GNOME 51:
- New empty document from the right-click menu. Even when your Templates folder is empty, right-clicking inside a folder now offers an option to create a blank document. Users have requested this since 2012.
- File count badge while dragging. Drag several files at once and a badge shows how many you are moving.
- Selections stay put. Clicking empty space no longer clears your selection.
- Faster with big folders. Large directories load more quickly, and the window stays responsive during slow operations.
GNOME Maps finally gets offline maps
Offline map support is one of the most interesting additions in GNOME 51. You can select a region, large or small, and download it. Once it’s saved, Maps works with no internet connection, which is ideal for travel, expensive data roaming or areas with patchy coverage.
Downloaded regions appear in a simple list, so you can delete the ones you no longer need. Maps also adds live public transit departures and real-time delay information where local data is available.
KDE Plasma 6.7 in Fedora 45
The Fedora KDE Plasma Desktop 45 edition ships with KDE Plasma 6.7. Highlights include:
- Per-screen virtual desktops, a feature KDE users have requested for over 20 years.
- Microphone volume test, so you can check your input level before a call.
- Quick light/dark toggle for switching Global Themes instantly.
- Better printing, with a job-count badge in the System Tray and a new print queue manager.
- ICC colour profiles and HDR at the same time, instead of choosing one.
- Performance gains and lower power use, especially on integrated Intel GPUs.
If you prefer KDE over GNOME, Fedora KDE Plasma Desktop 45 gives you one of the most up-to-date Plasma experiences available on any distribution.
Linux kernel 7.2
Fedora 45 is powered by Linux kernel 7.2, bringing better hardware compatibility, graphics support, memory management and overall performance. Notable kernel 7.2 changes include cache-aware CPU scheduling, a fairer GPU scheduler, memory reclaim fixes and Btrfs large folios by default.
Users with brand-new hardware benefit most. Fedora 45 improves support for Qualcomm Snapdragon X laptops, and Fedora Asahi Remix 45 adds initial support for Apple M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max Macs.
New Anaconda WebUI installer for Fedora Atomic Desktops
Fedora 45 brings a major change to its Atomic Desktop editions. Fedora Silverblue, Kinoite and the other Atomic variants now use the modern Anaconda WebUI installer instead of the traditional GTK-based one. Their ISO images are now built with image-builder.
Even better, you can install Fedora Atomic remotely from a web browser on another computer. Boot the installer with the inst.webui.remote option, then finish the installation from a second machine, secured with a PIN. This makes setting up several computers much more convenient.
The installer also adds support for Stratis storage, through manual setup in the web interface or automated Kickstart installs.
Improved security in Fedora 45
Fedora 45 tightens several security defaults:
- RPM package signature verification is enforced by default. Installing an unsigned package, or one signed with a key you haven’t imported, now fails instead of just showing a warning. This helps block unverified or tampered packages.
- ptrace debugging is restricted by default. A regular process can now only trace its own child processes. That makes it harder for a malicious app to inspect or interfere with other running programs. Installing strace (or the
yama-ptrace-enablepackage for gdb) restores the old behaviour for developers. - oo7 replaces GNOME Keyring as the provider that stores your passwords and keys on GNOME, with existing keyrings migrated automatically.
KMSCON replaces the traditional Linux console
Fedora 45 replaces the old in-kernel framebuffer console (fbcon) on tty1 to tty6 with KMSCON, a modern userspace console. It brings:
- Better Unicode and font support, for languages beyond basic Latin text
- Smoother rendering and more colours
- Zooming text in and out with Ctrl and +
- Keyboard layouts that follow your system settings, with options in
/etc/kmscon/kmscon.conf
It’s mostly an under-the-hood change, but it modernises an important part of the operating system. One note for power users: setfont and loadkeys no longer change the console.
Conclusion: is Fedora 45 worth it?
Overall, Fedora 45 is a substantial upgrade, especially for GNOME Workstation and KDE Plasma users. GNOME 51 brings smoother animations, offline maps and handy Nautilus tweaks. KDE users finally get per-screen virtual desktops. Under the hood, Linux 7.2, KMSCON and stricter security defaults make the whole system more modern and safer.
Have you tried Fedora 45 yet? Tell us your favourite new feature in the comments below.
