How to Upgrade from Fedora 41 to Fedora 42 (Beta) In-Place
If you’re already running Fedora 41 and want to upgrade to Fedora 42 Beta without doing a fresh install, this guide will walk you through every step of the process.
Whether you’re eager to try GNOME 48, Plasma 6.3, or the new COSMIC spin, Fedora makes it easy to stay on the cutting edge with an in-place upgrade.
🛠️ Step 1: Make Sure Your System Is Fully Updated
Open a terminal and run:
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh
This ensures your Fedora 41 system is completely up to date before starting the upgrade. It also reduces the chance of conflicts during the transition.
⬇️ Step 2: Download Fedora 42 Upgrade Packages
Next, download the packages for Fedora 42 using the DNF system upgrade plugin:
sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=42
You’ll be asked to confirm—type Y to continue. This step may take some time, especially if you have many installed packages. Feel free to grab coffee or chili while it downloads. 😉
🔁 Step 3: Reboot and Apply the Upgrade
Once everything is downloaded, initiate the upgrade process:
sudo dnf system-upgrade reboot
Your system will reboot and begin installing Fedora 42. Think of it like how Windows installs updates before login—Fedora now does something similar for upgrades.
🖥️ Step 4: Log In and Verify the Upgrade
After installation finishes, Fedora will reboot again and land you back on your desktop.
To confirm you’re now on Fedora 42:
cat /etc/fedora-release
Or check your system info using:
kinfocenter
For KDE Plasma users, you might see something like:
- Plasma: 6.3.1
- Frameworks: 6.11
- Qt Version: 6.4.0
- Kernel: 6.8 RC3 (depending on when you upgrade)
GNOME users should see version 48, while XFCE and LXQt users will also benefit from Wayland support in Fedora 42.
🌐 What’s New in Fedora 42?
Fedora 42 Beta ships with:
- GNOME 48
- KDE Plasma 6.3
- KDE Plasma promoted from Spin to Edition
- Wayland support for XFCE and LXQt
- COSMIC desktop environment (System76’s Rust-based GNOME alternative)
- New Anaconda Web UI Installer (workstation only)
👉 Check out our Fedora 42 COSMIC walkthrough
👉 See the new Web Installer in action
🚧 Reminder
This guide uses the Beta release of Fedora 42. Expect some bugs or rough edges. If you prefer to wait, the stable release is expected later this month.
💬 Final Thoughts
If you’re already running Fedora 41, this is a fast, efficient way to move up to Fedora 42 and explore its latest features—without reinstalling from scratch.
Got questions? Leave a comment. Tried the upgrade yourself? Let me know how it went. Fedora’s in-place upgrade process is one of the cleanest around, and once you’ve done it once, future transitions are a breeze.