Fedora KDE First Steps After Installation

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 17:58:34 +0200

Useful links
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https://github.com/devangshekhawat/Fedora-42-Post-Install-Guide

First steps after the Fedora KDE installation
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This guide takes you through the most important steps to equip your new Fedora KDE system with additional repositories, codecs and tools. Because after the installation some things are not installed or not activated, which can lead to problems.

Setting up RPM Fusion
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RPM Fusion supplements the official Fedora repository with freely licensed and proprietary packages that you need for multimedia, gaming and special hardware.

Fedora follows a very radical open source approach and does not allow proprietary software by default. Exceptions are flatpaks, as these are isolated from the system.

I can understand that, but with things like Nvidia, Steam and drivers it can be really annoying. That’s why the RPM repository exists.

sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

Install media codecs
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These group installations provide support for common audio and video formats such as MP3, H.264 and HEVC.

As already mentioned, Fedora consistently uses open source. This includes codecs such as the Open H.264 codec from Cisco.

This also works well until you edit a video or audio file and the editor hangs and you cannot render to the formats.

The codecs that are installed with the bash command are simply missing.

sudo dnf group install multimedia

sudo dnf group install sound-and-video

Install Steam
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In KDE Discover, you must activate the “Nonfree Steam” option under “Settings”. You can then install Steam with the command

sudo dnf install steam

Install NVIDIA
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In this section, you install the proprietary NVIDIA drivers to achieve optimum graphics performance and compatibility.

Unlike AMD, the Nvidia driver is not embedded in the kernel. This means that it is installed and configured automatically.

This is the AMD Mesa driver, which is open source and works perfectly.

Nvidia is different, because the open source driver Nouvou is incredibly bad, so you need the proprietary driver.

1. check GPU model
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Run this command to determine your exact NVIDIA model and make sure you are installing the correct driver:

lspci | grep -Ei 'VGA|3D'

2. update system
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An up-to-date system ensures driver compatibility:

sudo dnf update --refresh

Then reboot so that all updates take effect:

reboot

3. check Secure Boot
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Secure Boot can prevent the loading of unsigned modules. Check the status. If you do not want to sign the NVIDIA modules yourself, you can also deactivate Secure Boot in the BIOS/UEFI:

mokutil --sb-state

4. install dependencies
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Kernel headers and build tools are required for the driver to be installed correctly:

sudo dnf install kernel-devel-matched kernel-headers

sudo dnf install gcc make dkms acpid libglvnd-glx libglvnd-opengl libglvnd-devel pkgconfig

5. install drivers
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Install the akmod package for automatic module build and the CUDA variants for GPU computing:

sudo dnf install akmod-nvidia

sudo dnf install xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-cuda

After installation, wait at least 5 minutes before rebooting to allow the kernel module to finish building.

6. check installation
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Verify that the NVIDIA module is loaded correctly:

modinfo -F version nvidia

7. reboot
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A reboot loads the new driver into the kernel:

reboot

8. post-installation
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Enable power management services to make suspend and resume stable:

sudo systemctl enable nvidia-suspend.service

sudo systemctl enable nvidia-hibernate.service

sudo systemctl enable nvidia-resume.service

Flathub instead of Fedora flatpak
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Flathub offers up-to-date flatpaks directly from the developer, while the Fedora repo is sometimes outdated. Especially with applications like OBS there can be problems with the Fedora version, therefore Flathub should preferably be used and the Fedora flatpaks should be switched off.

flatpak remote-delete --force fedora

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Replace browser
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Replace Firefox with privacy-focused flatpaks like LibreWolf or Brave.

Firefox is not really secure out of the box and should be replaced by Brave or LibreWolf. You can also read about this in my browser guide.

https://xenoelectronics.com/posts/2025/the-best-starter-guide-for-browser-security/

sudo dnf remove firefox

flatpak install flathub io.gitlab.librewolf-community

flatpak install flathub com.brave.Browser

Practical Flatpak tools
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I would like to introduce a few more Flatpak tools that I find very good for managing a Linux desktop. These are all graphical, so anyone can use them.

Mission Center
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The dashboard provides system diagnostics on CPU and RAM usage and more. It’s like the task manager in Windows.

flatpak install flathub io.missioncenter.MissionCenter

BleachBit
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Cleans cache and temporary files. A kind of CCleaner.

flatpak install flathub xfceorg.bleachbit

BoxBuddy
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GUI for Distrobox containers. This is handy if you need several distros at the same time. Sometimes there are programs that are only available for Debian or Arch, for example.

flatpak install flathub com.github.donadigo.boxbuddy

Flatseal
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Manage flatpak permissions via the graphical user interface. Flatpaks can be limited like on iOS, Android and macOS. Management is easier with the GUI.

flatpak install flathub com.github.tchx84.Flatseal

Warehouse
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A simple file manager for flatpak runtimes. Flatpaks can be annoying if you want to edit or delete them. With Warehouse this is easy.

flatpak install flathub io.github.johnfactotum.Warehouse

Gear Lever
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Gear Lever is used to manage AppImages. Since AppImages cannot update themselves, Gear Lever comes into play.

flatpak install flathub org.gnome.GearLever

KeePassXC
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Local password manager. More about this in the password manager guide:

https://xenoelectronics.com/posts/2025/password-managers-which-should-be-used/

flatpak install flathub org.keepassxc.KeePassXC

Haruna
#

Lightweight video player with Qt interface and hardware acceleration.

flatpak install flathub org.kde.haruna

Enable LVFS updates
#

Normally DNF updates the firmware of the hardware automatically, but after the installation it is not wrong to force this update once.

sudo fwupdmgr refresh

sudo fwupdmgr get-updates

Install VA-API
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Hardware acceleration for video decoding.

sudo dnf install ffmpeg-libs

sudo dnf install libva libva-utils

Set hostname
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For some reason, Fedora does not ask you for the name of your device during installation. You can set it yourself.

hostnamectl set-hostname YOUR_HOSTNAME

Create update file
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I recommend creating a bash file that automatically performs all updates on the system.

The file should then be stored in the “/usr/bin” directory. However, it must first be marked as executable with chmod +x.

This should be the content of the file:

#!/bin/bash
sudo dnf upgrade -y
flatpak update -y
distrobox-upgrade --all

Make the update file executable:

(Here the name of the file is update)

sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/update

Services from XenoElectronics
#

If you need help with your projects or with open source software. Take a look at our contact page and let us know what you need. We will help you to realize your projects.

https://xenoelectronics.com/contact/

Open source support & coffee fund
#

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Fedora KDE First Steps After Installation

Useful links #

First steps after the Fedora KDE installation #

Setting up RPM Fusion #

Install media codecs #

Install Steam #

Install NVIDIA #

1. check GPU model #

2. update system #

3. check Secure Boot #

4. install dependencies #

5. install drivers #

6. check installation #

7. reboot #

8. post-installation #

Flathub instead of Fedora flatpak #

Replace browser #

Practical Flatpak tools #

Mission Center #

BleachBit #

BoxBuddy #

Flatseal #

Warehouse #

Gear Lever #

KeePassXC #

Haruna #

Enable LVFS updates #

Install VA-API #

Set hostname #

Create update file #

Services from XenoElectronics #

Open source support & coffee fund #