GloriousEggroll

Changelog:
– Downgraded Nvidia drivers to production 535.146.02. Unfortunately 545 drivers were not stable for all users and had various issues.
– Added ‘nobara-nvidia-new-feature’ repo, disabled by default. For users who want to try the 545 drivers you can do it this way:

sudo dnf update nobara-repos --refresh
sudo dnf4 config-manager --set-enabled nobara-nvidia-new-feature-39
sudo dnf update --refresh
akmods

then run the Update System app and reboot. It should sync you to the 545.29.06 drivers.

If you want to downgrade back to 535.146.02, disable the repo:

sudo dnf4 config-manager --set-disabled nobara-nvidia-new-feature-39
sudo dnf remove kmod-nvidia*
sudo dnf distro-sync --refresh
akmods

then run the Update System app again and reboot.

– Added ‘update-grub’ alias for grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg. This should help users coming from ubuntu based distros
– Added gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free-extras package to the ISOs and to the media codec package fixups. This allows av1 playback in mpv
– Updated explicit sync patches for xorg-x11-server-Xwayland — this fixes the freezing happening in a VM with llvmpipe and chrome or zenity, and fixes xwaylandvideobridge freezing with llvmpipe as well.
– Updated xwaylandvideobridge so it runs on llvmpipe again (we previously patched it not to due to the Xwayland explicit sync patch bug)
– Updated to kernel 6.6.8. KERNEL CHANGES:
added all TKG patches except the iommu grouping patch (this patch is no longer needed and causes more problems than it fixes):

# tkg
ApplyOptionalPatch tkg-more-uarches-for-kernel-5.17p.patch
ApplyOptionalPatch tkg-0001-add-sysctl-to-disallow-unprivileged-CLONE_NEWUSER-by.patch
ApplyOptionalPatch tkg-0002-clear-patches.patch
ApplyOptionalPatch tkg-0003-glitched-base.patch
ApplyOptionalPatch tkg-0003-glitched-eevdf-additions.patch
ApplyOptionalPatch tkg-0007-v6.6-fsync1_via_futex_waitv.patch
ApplyOptionalPatch tkg-0007-v6.6-winesync.patch
ApplyOptionalPatch tkg-0008-6.6-bcachefs.patch
ApplyOptionalPatch tkg-0012-misc-additions.patch
ApplyOptionalPatch tkg-0013-optimize_harder_O3.patch
ApplyOptionalPatch tkg-BBRv2.patch
ApplyOptionalPatch tkg-0014-OpenRGB.patch
ApplyOptionalPatch tkg-cjktty-6.6.patch
ApplyOptionalPatch tkg-cjktty-add-cjk32x32-font-data.patch
ApplyOptionalPatch tkg-0099-fix-confdata.patch

disabled Red Hat hardening options to improve performance:

# See https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/redhat-rpm-config//blob/rawhide/f/buildflags.md
%undefine _package_note_file
%undefine _auto_set_build_flags
%undefine _include_frame_pointers
%define _build_id_flags -Wl,--build-id=none
%undefine _annotated_build
%undefine _fortify_level
%undefine _hardened_build
%global _lto_cflags %{nil}
%global _configure_gnuconfig_hack 0
%global _configure_libtool_hardening_hack 0
# See https://github.com/rpm-software-management/rpm/blob/master/macros.in#L471
%define _build_id_links none

Nobara 39 Officially Released, Happy Holidays!

Changelog:
Gamscope-session rebase + improvements:
– moved DM service restarts/reloads to /usr/bin/gamescope-session-plus so that the session can cleanly close before restarting. this is required for gdm
– added polkit policy for /usr/bin/gamescope-session-plus to reexec itself as root in order to restart DMs
– added full GDM integration to os-session-select
– added full SDDM integration to os-session-select
– os-session-select relocated to /usr/libexec/
– steamos-session-select modified to run os-session-select AND shutdown steam afterwards instead of OR. This is part of making the sessions close cleanly
– Added desktop Return shortcut which points to steamos-desktop-return script
– Added steamos-desktop-return script which cleanly shuts down steam, calls os-session-select to set the default session, then cleanly shuts down the gnome or kde session
– Removed symlink of gamescope-session to gamescope-session-steam — this symlink causes duplicate sessions to be listed in DM session lists.

Steam package improvements:
– added libextest library override for using steamdeck and/or steam controller with wayland (needed for trackpad to work)
– the following steam download improvement is now added on installation: https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/16e1l4h/slow_steam_downloads_try_this/

Nobara Welcome app changes:
– Under ‘Optional Steps’ We’ve added an ‘Install Steam Game Fixups’ entry which adds overrides for allowing broken Source games to work on LLVM 16+ (https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/165lk3r/llvm_16_breaks_valve_games_do_not_update/). This also adds a workaround which uses zink for payday 2 native, although these days most people just use proton for payday 2.
– Under ‘Optional Steps’ We’ve added an ‘Install Davinci Resolve Fixups’ entry which adds a small set of libraries ported from Fedora 37 as a runtime specifically to allow Davinci Resolve to work.
– The ability to install AMD Pro/Proprietary drivers have been completely removed. If we’re being blunt here it just isn’t needed anymore. Davinci Resolve doesn’t need it. AMDVLK also is not needed, and it just confuses people. Originally, it was only in place for AMF encoder, however that is no longer needed either. The FFmpeg vaapi plugin has matured greatly, and is now able to handle h264, h265, and AV1 encoding without any major issues as previously faced in the past (such as encoder overload or bad quality). Furthermore, the creator of the AMD AMF patch has explicitly stated they will no longer be maintaining the patch, and the same creator is actively working on the FFmpeg vaapi implementations instead. That same creator is ALSO actively committing to the encoder portions of the mesa driver stack. (Huge thank you to nowrep — you’ve done a ton of excellent work here!). To further add to that, using the firmware from the pro drivers often causes users more problems in the long run, especially when new hardware and kernels come out.
– We’ve removed the codec installer and instead integrated it as part of the ‘Update System’ app. The goal here was to streamline package updates into one place and give less popups for the user on clean installation. Now, when a user performs a new installation they will receive (1) one popup informing them they should update the system. Upon updating they will then be asked a few questions, including updating media codec packages, updating flatpaks, and updating snaps. There is still a popup for nvidia drivers if the user decides to change GPUs and/or did not install using an Nvidia ISO and has an Nvidia GPU.
– The layout picker has been removed as it was based around GNOME, and we are no longer focusing on GNOME as our primary desktop.

OBS Studio changes:
– The AMD AMF encoder patch has also been removed from OBS. As mentioned above the ffmpeg encoder in OBS has been updated greatly over the span of the last year and now performs on par and/or better than the AMF encoder, and is capable of H264, H265, and AV1 encoding, as well as 4k encoding.
– The gstreamer VAAPI encoder has been removed from OBS. Since the ffmpeg encoder is now working properly there is no need for a second encoder that does the exact same thing. We want to make things simple for people, not confuse them.

‘Update System’ app changes:
– The ‘Update System’ app has undergone a big rework. It now provides a cleaner viewable GUI while running update scripts, and creates a log at ~/.nobara-sync for the user when it finishes.

Nvidia Driver changes:
– Normally we follow Nvidia’s Production branch for driver releases, however we’ve added Nvidia’s 545.29.06 drivers from the New Feature branch for compatibility on wayland
– We’ve also added the required explicit sync patches for xwayland in order for this to work:
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/wayland/wayland-protocols/-/merge_requests/90
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/xserver/-/merge_requests/967
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/proto/xorgproto/-/merge_requests/59
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mutter/-/merge_requests/3300
As of now the full driver set has been tested and working on wayland in both KDE and GNOME on at least a 2060 super, gt 1030, and gtx 960m with no major problems.
– There was a problem with a typo in the previous N38 ISOs which was setting nvidia-drm.modeset=0 instead of =1, that has been corrected in the 39 ISOs and is now working correctly.

Nobara Official has now be rebased on KDE instead of GNOME for several reasons:
———–
(1) VRR (Variable Refresh Rate/Freesync) functionality. Gnome currently still requires patched-in VRR functionality. The pending MR has been waiting 3 years, and even doing so still breaks the system tray.

See:
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mutter/-/merge_requests/1154
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-shell/-/issues/6955

(2) DRM Leasing functionality. This is a requirement for VR (Virtual Reality) in wayland. This is another pain point that has had constant back and forth on the gnome side, but is implemented already in KDE.

See:
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mutter/-/merge_requests/3205
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mutter/-/issues/1743

(3) Fractional scaling functionality. This is what allows the desktop to be rescaled in fractions rather than whole percentages. This is still marked as experimental in GNOME even though it was merged in 2019, 5 years ago, while being implemented already in KDE.

(4) Drag and drop from Archive manager functionality. As stupid as this is, GNOME file-roller STILL cannot drag+drop files into nautilus folders, while KDE’s Ark can. Again, another bug opened 5 years ago.

See:
https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/file-roller/-/issues/4

(5) Better integration with Steam. By default the Steam Deck uses KDE as the desktop mode. This inherently means it receives updates from Valve in terms of desktop related fixes, and they are actively working with KDE developers to bring updates to KDE (https://www.reddit.com/r/kde/comments/t2184m/is_there_any_cooperation_with_valve_and_kde/)

If you wish to switch from the previous GNOME based Nobara Official to KDE based, you can do so in N38 before upgrading. We have backported the KDE theming to N38 to facilitate this:

How do I switch from GNOME to KDE

Due to the shift from GNOME to KDE for Nobara official, the following Nobara-modified gnome shell extension packages have been either removed and/or reverted to their fedora-shipped versions:

gnome-shell-extension-dash-to-panel
gnome-shell-extension-desktop-icons
gnome-shell-extension-gamemode
gnome-shell-extension-custom-accent-colors
gnome-shell-extension-arc-menu
gnome-shell-extension-pop-shell
gnome-shell-extension-quick-settings-tweaker
gnome-shell-extension-blur-my-shell
gnome-shell-extension-gesture-improvements
gnome-shell-extension-wireless-hid
gnome-shell-extension-clipboard-history

Moving forward if you wish to use these on GNOME you will need to reinstall them yourself via the standard GNOME extension addon method:
https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/quick-docs/gnome-shell-extensions/

What we are keeping in GNOME:

-Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) patches
-adw-gtk3
-gtk4 font metrics override (https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gtk/-/issues/3787)
-Nautilus patched with a toggle to turn breadcrumb navigator into typable search bar
-Nautilus patched to restore old typeahead functionality
-Nautilus patched to add ‘open as admin’ option to nautilus right click menu
———–

Additional misc changes:

-plasma-lookandfeel-nobara package has been added, includes wallpapers, sddm wallpaper, lockscreen, splash loading screen, extra gtk theming, app color palette, papirus icons, tinted panel with windows-like hide desktop bar on right side, rounded window corners (added via plasma-rounded-corners package: https://github.com/matinlotfali/KDE-Rounded-Corners).

-Additional bonus ‘mecha penguins’ wallpapers added via plasma-lookandfeel-nobara-extras-wallpapers package. This was an extra set of fun wallpapers we messed around with when working with AI generated wallpapers.

-plasma-lookandfeel-nobara-steamdeck-additions package has been added. Allows using nobara as ‘nested desktop’ inside steam gamescope-session, add ‘Add to Steam’ to right click menu.

-kernel patches have been added to allow full steamdeck OLED support. Please keep in mind this is still new and there are still bugs. Currently we know the frame limiter is not working properly on SD OLED in gamescope-session.

-kernel has been patched to set amdgpu.ppfeaturemask=0xffffffff as the default for users who want more control via applications such as corectrl or ryzenadj without having to mess with grub.

-we have upgraded our package manager to DNF5. There are still a handfull of subcommands that still do not work for DNF5, but most basic functionality is there, and it is much faster. If there is a command that does not work properly (such as ‘list installed’) you can use dnf4 as a fallback:

Ex:
dnf list installed
fallback:
dnf4 list installed

-we have added a second set of mirrors to our snapshot repositories for F39 onward which are hosted on Digital Ocean and use the Digital Ocean CDN. This is in addition to our already existing CloudFlare hosting and CDN. Between this and the upgrade to DNF5, updates should work significantly faster.

-we have switched from firefox to chromium for the default browser for the time being. this may change in the future, however currently the reasoning for this is because firefox’s ‘kiosk’ mode is broken — which is needed for EmuDeck compatiblity. Specifically in order to smoothly embed web pages as a full screen application. This is for things such as streaming services like netflix or jellyfin or crunchyroll, where EmuDeck creates a full screen kiosk version of the webpage when running in a gamescope session.

-OBS_VKCAPTURE=1 is enabled globally by default in /etc/profile. This prevents users from manually having to set it. Just open obs-browser, add game capture, and boom, done.

-we have patched glfw for native wayland support — this allows minecraft to run in native wayland rather than xwayland (and fixes the input lag that occurs on xwayland). In launchers such as prismlauncher just enable ‘Use system installation of GLFW’. You do not need to provide a path.

-prismlauncher for minecraft is now included in the nobara repos

New ISO for Steam Deck Edition released:
– Fixed wake from suspend being broken on Steam Deck after kernel 6.4+
– Updated HDR patches
– Added all necessary ROG Ally kernel patches, should work well ootb now
– Added Screen orientation fixups for Lenovo Legion Go
– Added udev rule to treat Lenovo Legion Go controls as xbox controller (works for now until we have real patches)

Lenovo Legion Go known issues:
– Power button short press does not put it in suspend, and 3 second hold does not bring up power menu, however manually navigating the power menu and putting it in suspend does suspend properly, and pressing the power button does wake from suspend as expected.
– “Guide” button or Legion button, whatever you want to call it, does not register — and since there’s currently no way to remap Steam’s ‘guide’ button — we have no way to bring up the in-game overlays (ie quick settings or to access steam while in-game)
– Color slider in gamescope session does not appear to do anything
– Currently no TDP controls have been added

– All standard ISOs other than Steam Deck edition updated with recent repository fixes. This means no more excludes are being used and no more uninstallable packages listed as “upgrades” in various package/software managers. GNOME Software and KDE Discover should be usable now. There may be a few packages that get downgraded after a fresh installation (such as llvm), but that will be fixed in another update.

Why wasn’t the Steam Deck ISO updated?
> I’m currently working on updating the kernel with new HDR patches, as well as updating gamescope. I wanted those to be done before refreshing the Steam Deck ISOs.

What about the repositories from previous installations?
> Nothing needs to be done on previous installations other than updating as you normally would (using ‘Update System’. The repository fixes have already been applied via package updates. Current Nobara users have already received the updates, the ISO refresh was simply to reflect the updates within the latest ISOs.

*NOTE: In Nobara Package Manager under ‘Updates’, if there is a package listed that you cannot install, please let me know. This means the package is coming from fedora or fedora-updates when it should not be.

– Fixed issue with Nvidia ISOs where Calamares GRUB options would not get written to /etc/default/grub during installation.

– Fixed GPG key error noted here on ISOs:

GPG key problems when updating

– Fixed systemd-userdbd.service failure:
https://github.com/systemd/systemd/issues/27028
– Mesa updated to 23.1.4
– Nvidia drivers updated to 535.86.05

Changelog:
– Fixed brightness control not working on Steam Deck Edition
– Fixed SD cards not mounting on injection in GPD devices and similar
– Bonus: USB storage devices formatted as ext4 will automount the same way as sd cards now.
– Fixed power button not working properly on Steam Deck Edition
NOTE: On standard Steam Deck the power button’s press and hold registers properly (event 1 on press, event 0 on release), so with Steam Deck short press is sleep, long press is power menu. On some other devices the button is not designed as a press and hold, (such as the GPD Win 4). Instead that device registers both event 1 and 0 on release. For these types of buttons the power script has been modified to just go into sleep mode upon release because there is no registration of the press action.

Changelog:
– Added new ISOs with embedded Nvidia drivers + out of the box driver installation. These ISO should allow Nvidia users to have an easier installation experience, as nvidia drivers are working on both the ISOs as well as fresh installation post-reboot. Nvidia users no longer need to worry about using nomodeset to boot.
– Reverted the nvidia driver wizard to use akmods instead of dkms, as dkms was having repeated leftover header issues after updates which would break for some people.
– Added a line to the nvidia installer to make sure kmods service was enabled at boot
– Updated GPG key for nobara-appstream. Added line in system updater to refresh keys before performing any updates
– Updated mutter to 44.3
– Added fix for mutter not giving mouse proper window focus (https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mutter/-/issues/2690)
– Added fix for mutter framebuffer test failures (https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mutter/-/issues/2848)
– Fixed bug in calamares installer where it would create useless initramfs-freebsd.img file in /boot

Changelog:
SteamDeck Edition:
– Fixed an issue where in deck/game mode it would switch to desktop when a shutdown or reboot was issued
– Fixed an issue where in desktop mode it would switch to deck/game mode when a shutdown or reboot was issued
– Fixed scaling/DPI issue on GPD Win 4 after new install

All Editions:
– Fixed an issue where calamares would generate grub to /boot/efi/EFI/fedora/grub.cfg instead of the proper location /boot/grub2/grub.cfg.
———-
Hotfix for pre-existing new installs:
Remove the following files:

# rm /boot/efi/EFI/fedora/grub.cfg
# rm /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

Reinstall the following packages:

# dnf reinstall shim-* grub2-efi-* grub2-common
———-

– Fixed corectrl not being available
– Fixed a kernel 6.3.10 regression that would cause games to be layered on top of mangohod within a gamescope session instead of mangohud on top of the game (https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/amd/-/issues/2685).
– Fixed mangohud package not including mangoapp (it now includes it, required for gamescope session overlay)
– Fixed mangohud not working on nvidia gpus
– Fixed ROG Ally Wifi+Bluetooth mediatek chip not working (patch added to 6.3.12 kernel)

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!
– Nobara SteamDeck edition is now available! This version of Nobara is designed like that of SteamOS, using KDE as the desktop environment. It will auto-start in “Deck Mode”, and you can swap to desktop and/or back to “deck mode” at any time. It should be compatible with Steam Deck and other similar devices. Personally I have only tested on Steam Deck, GPD Win 4, GPD Win Max 2. I do not own an ROG Ally so I was not able to test on it.

Fixed:
– swapping between deck mode and desktop mode would crash after a few times
– steam deck and steam controller trackpad would no longer move mouse cursor when steam was opened under wayland
– Audio now properly swaps between headphone jack and speakers when plugged in or removed
– panel rotates horizontally and properly scales on steam deck now
– for non-steam deck displays scaling on the default display panel is set to 1.5 for better visibility (for example the GPD Win 4 has a tiny screen but it’s full 1080p and hard to read at 1x)
– sd card reader works as expected on steam deck
– TDP adjustment works