{"slug": "fedora-atomic-desktops", "name": "Fedora Atomic Desktops", "category": "os", "category_name": "Operating systems and desktop", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 6, "warners": 1, "score": 2.196, "rising": -0.98, "first": "2025-11-30", "latest": "2026-03-22", "why": "there is some value in a stable core system (like these immutable distros from Fedora Atomic)", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 3, "compare": 0, "warn": 1}, "spark": [1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "there is some value in a stable core system (like these immutable distros from Fedora Atomic)", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": "fedoraproject.org", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://fedoraproject.org/atomic-desktops/", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Fedora Atomic", "Fedora Atomic Desktops"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 759698017, "item_id": 47481126, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47481126", "by": "ocimbote", "date": "2026-03-22", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "apparently incomparably easier to setup", "excerpt": "I tried NixOS and failed miserably. I've pointed at to the Fedora Atomic distros, which are also immutable, and apparently incomparably easier to setup. I'm tempted to give it a shot, with the extra bonus that I've never dabbed with a fedora-based distro.", "context": "", "use_case": "immutable OS", "switched_from": "NixOS", "story": "Why I love NixOS"}, {"id": 750359698, "item_id": 46897481, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46897481", "by": "paffdragon", "date": "2026-02-05", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "there is some value in a stable core system (like these immutable distros from Fedora Atomic)", "excerpt": "You can run a container on Synology and install your custom services, tools there. At least that is what I do. For custom kernel modules you still need a Synology package for something like Wireguard. If you have OPNSense, it has an ACME plugin with Synology action. I use that to automatically renew and push a cert to the NAS. That said, since I like to tinker, Synology feels a bit restricted, indeed. Although there ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "When internal hostnames are leaked to the clown"}, {"id": 737622193, "item_id": 46101387, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46101387", "by": "Ciantic", "date": "2025-11-30", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "maybe Atomic version of the distro is better", "excerpt": "Given that I've been using actively this just month, my opinion is bit biased.I run myself basically Fedora 43 KDE version: https://www.fedoraproject.org/kde/ However, for folks who don't want to install some random packages, maybe Atomic version of the distro is better: https://fedoraproject.org/atomic-desktops/kinoite/ Atomic Linux desktops has the neat feature for ability to \"rollback\" if installation fails. A lot", "context": "", "use_case": "immutable desktop Linux", "switched_from": "", "story": "People keep flocking to Linux, not just to escape Windows"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 745100337, "item_id": 46568771, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46568771", "by": "Lvl999Noob", "date": "2026-01-10", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "I could not get it to work with my dock + external monitors at all.", "excerpt": "I recently switched to linux from windows. The only reason I was sticking with windows was because hoyoverse refuses to support linux. I finally decided I need some break from them anyways and took the plunge. First, I tried to install fedora atomic cosmic. It kind of worked but I could not get it to work with my dock + external monitors at all. Now that I am used to that setup, I can't go back. Not wanting to spend ", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great"}]}], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["immutable os", "operating system", "desktop os", "immutable desktop linux"], "compared": [{"slug": "nixos", "name": "NixOS", "co": 1, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47479751", "title": "Why I love NixOS", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47068147", "title": "Self-hosting my websites using bootable containers", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46961261", "title": "Bazzite Post-Mortem", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46895972", "title": "When internal hostnames are leaked to the clown", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46524390", "title": "I Cannot SSH into My Server Anymore (and That's Fine)", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46566465", "title": "I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"recommend": 1}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {"neutral": 2, "warn": 1}, "2026-02": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-03": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 759698017, "item_id": 47481126, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47481126", "by": "ocimbote", "date": "2026-03-22", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "apparently incomparably easier to setup", "excerpt": "I tried NixOS and failed miserably. I've pointed at to the Fedora Atomic distros, which are also immutable, and apparently incomparably easier to setup. I'm tempted to give it a shot, with the extra bonus that I've never dabbed with a fedora-based distro.", "context": "", "use_case": "immutable OS", "switched_from": "NixOS", "story": "Why I love NixOS"}, {"id": 753110993, "item_id": 47069437, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47069437", "by": "plagiarist", "date": "2026-02-18", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I have been installing Fedora atomic on everything I own.", "excerpt": "I thought struggling with their documentation was just me. What a shambles. Thank you for writing this, I wish I had seen it months ago. I love ostree. I have been installing Fedora atomic on everything I own. I have used it so much I have grown to hate it. They definitely do need a better solution for user management in there. Adding a user to a group on a live system is a pain (because it is poorly documented). I w", "context": "", "use_case": "operating system", "switched_from": "", "story": "Self-hosting my websites using bootable containers"}, {"id": 751421681, "item_id": 46963855, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46963855", "by": "plagiarist", "date": "2026-02-10", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Fedora atomic is a podman container image", "excerpt": "Bazzite is sortof in that category, though. Fedora atomic is a podman container image, and Bazzite is using that as FROM in their Containerfile. It's niche and specialized only to the extent that they're providing gaming specific setup (like Nvidia drivers). It's mostly a Fedora system. https://github.com/ublue-os/bazzite/blob/main/Containerfile", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Bazzite Post-Mortem"}, {"id": 750359698, "item_id": 46897481, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46897481", "by": "paffdragon", "date": "2026-02-05", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "there is some value in a stable core system (like these immutable distros from Fedora Atomic)", "excerpt": "You can run a container on Synology and install your custom services, tools there. At least that is what I do. For custom kernel modules you still need a Synology package for something like Wireguard. If you have OPNSense, it has an ACME plugin with Synology action. I use that to automatically renew and push a cert to the NAS. That said, since I like to tinker, Synology feels a bit restricted, indeed. Although there ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "When internal hostnames are leaked to the clown"}, {"id": 745308977, "item_id": 46581811, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46581811", "by": "gucci-on-fleek", "date": "2026-01-11", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "essentially just the Fedora Atomic Desktops (Silverblue/Kinoite)", "excerpt": "Fedora IoT [0] is a nice intermediate solution. Despite its name, it's really good for servers, since it's essentially just the Fedora Atomic Desktops (Silverblue/Kinoite) without any of the desktop stuff. It gets you atomic updates, a container-centric workflow, and easy rollbacks; but it's otherwise a regular server, so you can install RPMs, ssh into it, create user accounts, and similar. This is what I do for my p", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "I Cannot SSH into My Server Anymore (and That's Fine)"}, {"id": 745100337, "item_id": 46568771, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46568771", "by": "Lvl999Noob", "date": "2026-01-10", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "I could not get it to work with my dock + external monitors at all.", "excerpt": "I recently switched to linux from windows. The only reason I was sticking with windows was because hoyoverse refuses to support linux. I finally decided I need some break from them anyways and took the plunge. First, I tried to install fedora atomic cosmic. It kind of worked but I could not get it to work with my dock + external monitors at all. Now that I am used to that setup, I can't go back. Not wanting to spend ", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great"}, {"id": 743333936, "item_id": 46458371, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46458371", "by": "plagiarist", "date": "2026-01-01", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "In Fedora Atomic it should be foolishly easy to set up a system account", "excerpt": "I love the layered thing except for the rough edges. Unfortunately the rough edges for me are that Linux containerization and permissions are completely idiotic. In Fedora Atomic it should be foolishly easy to set up a system account, with access to specific USB devices via group, and attach a volume that can easily be written to by a non-root user inside of the container.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Linux is good now; to feel like you actually own your PC, put Linux on it"}, {"id": 737622193, "item_id": 46101387, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46101387", "by": "Ciantic", "date": "2025-11-30", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "maybe Atomic version of the distro is better", "excerpt": "Given that I've been using actively this just month, my opinion is bit biased.I run myself basically Fedora 43 KDE version: https://www.fedoraproject.org/kde/ However, for folks who don't want to install some random packages, maybe Atomic version of the distro is better: https://fedoraproject.org/atomic-desktops/kinoite/ Atomic Linux desktops has the neat feature for ability to \"rollback\" if installation fails. A lot", "context": "", "use_case": "immutable desktop Linux", "switched_from": "", "story": "People keep flocking to Linux, not just to escape Windows"}]}