Manual Intervention Required
A friendly reminder if you missed this announcement:
Important announcement regarding system updates [Action needed]
Preface
Bazzite is a custom image of Fedora Atomic Desktop 40 utilizing Universal Blue’s custom image framework designed to bring users the best in Linux gaming for their hardware. Bazzite’s newsletters highlight all of the work we have been doing to bring our users the best features ready to go for their PCs, home theater setups, and handheld gaming devices.
If you are new to the project, then here’s how this technology works. Bazzite and other Universal Blue images follow the continuous delivery methodology of development, which means we’re constantly adding new features and squashing bugs to the image through updates. These updates also include anything directly from upstream (Fedora and Universal Blue) and upgrades from the packages we include.
Today, we reflect on the relatively short history of Bazzite as we reach the 1 year anniversary of public ISOs and the new additions of Bazzite. The next Bazzite Buzz will be the last as we move to announcements for major changes in new Bazzite builds and also drop the meaningless numerical versions for major version updates and instead follow Fedora’s current version with the day it was built.
Example: Bazzite 41.YYYYMMDD.n and the last Github commit number that was built.
Bazzite 3.6.0 Released
This release brought initial support for the ASUS ROG Ally X and since then we have fixed the remaining stability issues with it and added TDP presets.
Read about the changes:
Bazzite 3.7.0 Released
This release made the installer user friendly for handheld PCs and smaller update sizes.
Read about the changes:
Dedicated to Documentation
Thanks to Zeglius for implementing proper offline documentation to Bazzite, and for also developing a workflow that allows it to stay up to date. The documentation itself is also moving away from our forums and will be hosted on its own page. Currently, its rough around the edges but there is still access to the old Discourse documentation until the remaining bugs are fixed.
Bazzite Mascot
By: Poulpi
Yes, Bazzite has an anime waifu now. That’s supposed to be a joke I think, but there’s a new Bazzite mascot that will be hanging around the Bazzite branding from now on. Similar to how KDE has Konqi for a mascot, the team decided it was a fun idea to include one for Bazzite too, and even has him attached to her backpack. Her backpack also contains handheld PCs and a Framework laptop with badges representing the desktop environments that Bazzite can use too.
Meet Ametrine!
EmuDeck Machine Powered by Bazzite
Disclaimer: We are not involved with this project other than the operating system it runs on, and none of the purchases will be going towards Bazzite and its developers and Universal Blue has given the developers behind this hardware permission to use our branding for it. Bazzite and Universal Blue are not financially affiliated with EmuDeck and this hardware that is being sold.
The EmuDeck project is releasing hardware intended for emulation and Steam games soon. It’s amazing to see Bazzite pre-installed on hardware like this and wish the team the best of luck with this product. If anyone on the EmuDeck team is reading this: We are available in our usual communication channels to advise on custom image tooling if needed.
EM1:
- Intel N97
- 16GB RAM
- 512GB SSD
EM2:
- Ryzen 8600G Overclocked
- 16GB RAM
- 512GB SSD
There’s also a bundle with the Nova Lite Controller.
-ally Image Supported Again (But not for the ROG Ally)
As mentioned in the previous Bazzite Buzz, the -ally image was going to go away, but that changed slightly recently and is now being repurposed. It is being used exclusively for ASUS laptops as a Handheld/HTPC image for those want to use Steam Gaming Mode on this hardware. Do not rebase to this image if you are on an ASUS ROG Ally, and if you are then rebase to the -deck Bazzite image.
See if you still use the -ally image on your ASUS ROG Ally with this command:
rpm-ostree status
Rebase to the -deck image with one of these commands depending on the desktop environment you have chosen previously.
Warning: Do not rebase between different desktop environments!
KDE Plasma Variant:
rpm-ostree rebase ostree-image-signed:docker://ghcr.io/ublue-os/bazzite-deck:stable
GNOME Variant:
rpm-ostree rebase ostree-image-signed:docker://ghcr.io/ublue-os/bazzite-deck-gnome
4,000+ Commits Later: The Different Birthdays of Bazzite
Celebrating 1 year since the Bazzite ISO released to the public!
Depending on what you determine to be the “birthdate of Bazzite” is up to your interpretation:
- December 12, 2022 (Prototype phase)
- Initial commit made to Kyle’s personal Bazzite repo
- February 9, 2023 (Alpha phase)
- Initial commit made to Universal Blue’s repository
- August 5, 2023 (First pre-release public ISO)
- August 17, 2023 (First public ISO to be “stable”)
- April 24, 2024 (Universal Blue images are now generally available)
The team consider Bazzite’s official birthday to be December 12, 2022. However, August 5th is when Bazzite became more than something you run in a virtual machine to test and a concept. Regardless, happy belated birthday to Bazzite!
The Original Vision for Bazzite
Bazzite started as a project with a limited scope than what it is today:
- Fedora Atomic Desktop image that is pre-configured for Linux gaming
- Steam Deck alternative operating system that can layer system-level packages and can print out of the box without turning off the read-only root filesystem.
Now the team is trying to support all kinds of hardware including other handheld PCs and eventually ARM architecture. Back when the project was starting to get off its feet, there wasn’t contributors outside of Kyle Gospodnetich and RJ Trujillo steering the ship while Universal Blue contributors and Fedora were doing all of the work to make custom images viable for the end-user upstream. Bazzite didn’t even have Steam as part of the image, but instead ran it inside of a customized Distrobox container that still has use for other Linux operating systems that are not Bazzite.
Universal Blue COSMIC ISOs Released
Note: This is not Bazzite, but a nearly vanilla Fedora Atomic Desktop image.
COSMIC is an upcoming desktop environment by System76 currently in an incomplete public alpha state. If you want to test this out, then we recommend running the ISOs in a virtual machine if you’re curious about what COSMIC is like currently.
Link to the Universal Blue COSMIC Images:
In the future, Bazzite will include both a COSMIC and Budgie variant as alternatives to GNOME and KDE Plasma to install as part of the roadmap.
Flock to Fedora: Universal Blue Presentation
Noel Miller presented the Universal Blue images and tooling to Fedora Flock showcasing our end-user images, like Bazzite, but also going over the tech behind it and some of the hurdles the team has had to face over the last year.
Fedora Podcast: Bootable Containers
Timothée Ravier, who is a Fedora Atomic Desktop maintainer, is the guest for this episode discussing the bootable containers. This episode of the podcast focuses on the future of Fedora Atomic Desktop specifically bootc. A great listen if you want to get deep dive on containerized operating system and the potential they have.
Attention: Beware of Github Spammers
Beware of phishing links in Universal Blue’s Github repository, forums, Discord, etc. We have been trying to secure the Bazzite repository for the time being, but proceed with immense caution clicking links from those who are not Bazzite and Universal Blue maintainers since we have been receiving targeted attacks recently.
Conclusion
The last Bazzite Buzz will be issue #19 next month and will contain a roadmap of the future plans in store for Bazzite. Once the Buzz is retired after September of 2024, announcements for new major changes will be replace the current Bazzite Buzz and “numbered” version announcements. Arbitrary numbers like “Bazzite 3.7.0” will no longer be used from this moment forward, and we are on our way to Bazzite 41 which is planned for October. Speaking of Fedora 41, Ptyxis is now the default terminal when Fedora 41 releases, and we already had it as the default for a long time now however its really exciting to see Fedora now include it pre-installed too.
Community Resources
Join the Bazzite community!
General Information
Social & Support
Contributing to Universal Blue & Bazzite
Changelog
(since the last Bazzite Buzz)
Desktop Images
bazzite,-nvidia, &-asusimages
Features
- New ISOs do not require a keyboard and come with a default user
- Recommended to change the user password or simply have a physical keyboard ready
- Added scx_lavd as an optional scheduler, but is the default on Steam Deck hardware
- Switched to scx-scheds package for additional sched_ext schedulers
- Use new Steam bootstrap file from Nobara (Thanks GloriousEggroll)
- Enable full preemption by default in the kernel, reduces latency in certain workloads
- Added
rechunkwhich makes updates smaller - Bazzite Portal changes
- Steam download fix removed and is now part of our Steam wrapper
- “Don’t hide GRUB menu” option is default unchecked
- Removed the EXT4 option since we do not recommend using this feature
- Added
umu-launcher - Lutris now sets the default runner to GE-Proton
- Lutris now has a default config to detect controllers in Steam Gaming Mode
- Lutris now uses the Ptyxis terminal by default
- Enabled HHD on all images
- Current system updates will now show the Github commit ID
- Added local offline documentation
- Added menu shortcut to the forums
- New logos for utilities like Documentation
- Improve LACT update
- Added Bazzite CLI bling
ujustcommand- Turn it on via
ujust bazzite-cli, matches the same CLI as Aurora/Bluefin - Added tealdeer as a pre-installed Brew package
tldr <command>for a quick overview of what a package does
- Turn it on via
- Added
stress-ngto benchmark hardwareujust benchmarkcommand to perform one
- Cleanup and chores for Bazzite
- Nvidia: Upgraded drivers to 560
- Nvidia: Added a fix for ALVR (Thanks Crunchn!)
- Nvdia: Added a script to check for legacy Nvidia hardware
- KDE: Added
fcitx5-hangulfor Korean input - KDE: Readded
krdp - GNOME: Added Tiling Shell extension
Bug Fixes
- Removed pip installed package to resolve Python errors when layering packages
- Allow more time for microSD cards to mount to fix some issues related to the timing
- Disable Waydroid in Topgrade to prevent issues
- Corrected EFI path issue with fwupd
- Disabled Pipewire camera handling temporarily
- Fixed certain issues with Waydroid
bazzite-rollback-helpernow works on older images
Handheld/HTPC Images
-deckand-allyimages
(Note:-allyimages are for users with ASUS laptops who want Steam Gaming Mode.)
Features
- All of the features from Desktop images that apply
- Support for the Asus ROG Ally X
- Added support for AMD Polaris hardware by adding a legacy Gamescope version which is used when that specific hardware is detected
- Audio improvements for the ASUS ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go (Thanks Aru!)
- Accurate color for Lenovo Legion Go
- Adaptative brightness is added to handhelds other than the Steam Deck
- Partial support to the MSI Claw (undocumented, need testers)
- Improved default CPU frequency behavior on Galileo & Jupiter
- HHD now opens the QAM faster
- New Steam Gaming Mode scheduler
- Add Decky pre-release option as a
ujustcommand - CPU Boost support for Ally hardware
- New RGB control features in HHD
- Added
ujustcommand to reset steam - Gamescope updated and improvements
Bug Fixes
- All of the bug fixes from Desktop images that apply
- Ctrl+1 and Ctrl+2 shortcuts for the Steam now work in Steam Gaming Mode again
- Fixed audio input and output priorities for Legion Go
- Fixed framerate pacing issues due to the
murapackage - Fixed issues with Steam first-time setup
- Prefer HDMI audio when docked
- Disabled MCU powersaver
- Fixed VRR stutter on the ASUS ROG Ally/X
- Fixed missing Bazzite boot animation
- Fixed issues with Gamescope that may have caused crashes when handheld hardware is docked
- Bug fixes in HHD