Download Fedora ISO Images: Current Release, Old Versions Like Fedora 29, Checksum Check and USB

Updated: 8 October 2026 · Applies to: Fedora 44 ISO images (Workstation, Server, Everything); verification tested on Fedora 44, Debian 13, Ubuntu 24.04 and 26.04; Fedora 29 archive

Fedora 29 reached end of life in November 2019 and has had no security updates since, so do not install it on anything new. Download the current release from fedoraproject.org instead (Fedora 44 at the time of writing), check it against Fedora's signed CHECKSUM file, then write it to a USB stick. For the Server DVD image the whole job in a Linux terminal is:

curl -LO https://download.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/releases/44/Server/x86_64/iso/Fedora-Server-dvd-x86_64-44-1.7.iso
curl -LO https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/releases/44/Server/x86_64/iso/Fedora-Server-44-1.7-x86_64-CHECKSUM
curl -O https://fedoraproject.org/fedora.gpg
gpgv --keyring ./fedora.gpg --output - Fedora-Server-44-1.7-x86_64-CHECKSUM | sha256sum -c --ignore-missing

For a newer release, replace 44 and 1.7 with the numbers on the download page.

Which Fedora image do you need?

• Workstation Live ISO (about 2.7 GB): the GNOME desktop. It starts a live session you can try first, then install from. Get it from the Workstation download page.
• Server DVD ISO (about 3.6 GB): the full offline installer for servers and the closest match to the old "DVD ISO". Get it from the Server download page.
• Server Network Install ISO (about 1.1 GB): a smaller Server installer that downloads packages during the installation.
• Everything Network Install ISO (about 1.1 GB): Fedora calls this its online installer. You choose the software at installation time, so you need a working internet connection or a local mirror. It is listed on the miscellaneous downloads page.

Each page has x86_64 (Intel and AMD) and aarch64 (ARM) images. Fedora recommends 40 GB of disk and 4 GB of RAM for most variants.

Step 1: download the ISO, its CHECKSUM file and the keys

Download the ISO in your browser or with curl -LO as above (download.fedoraproject.org redirects to a nearby mirror, hence -L). Save the matching -CHECKSUM file, linked from the Verify button next to each download, and fedora.gpg into the same folder as the ISO.

Step 2: verify the signature and the checksum

Run the gpgv command from the top. gpgv checks that Fedora signed the CHECKSUM file, then sha256sum compares your ISO with the checksum inside it. A good signature looks like this (Fedora 44 Server, tested):

gpgv: Signature made Fri Apr 24 15:33:31 2026 UTC
gpgv:                using RSA key 36F612DCF27F7D1A48A835E4DBFCF71C6D9F90A6
gpgv: Good signature from "Fedora (44) <fedora-44-primary@fedoraproject.org>"

If the ISO matches, sha256sum prints its file name followed by OK. A broken or incomplete download looks like this instead:

Fedora-Server-netinst-x86_64-44-1.7.iso: FAILED
sha256sum: WARNING: 1 computed checksum did NOT match

To check the keys themselves, run gpg --with-fingerprint --show-keys --keyid-format long fedora.gpg and compare the fingerprints with the list on Fedora's security page. The Fedora 44 key is 36F6 12DC F27F 7D1A 48A8 35E4 DBFC F71C 6D9F 90A6.

• Debian 13: gpgv is not installed by default there (APT uses sqv). Install it with sudo apt install gpgv. Ubuntu 24.04 and 26.04 already have it.
• Windows: in PowerShell, Get-FileHash .\Fedora-Workstation-Live-44-1.7.x86_64.iso prints the SHA256 hash (its default algorithm, according to Microsoft). Compare it with the SHA256 line in the CHECKSUM file. This catches corruption but does not check the signature.

Step 3: write the ISO to a USB stick

Fedora says a 4 GB stick is enough for Workstation; use 8 GB or more for the Server DVD ISO. Writing the image erases the stick.

1. Fedora Media Writer is the tool Fedora recommends, for Windows, macOS and Linux (sudo dnf install mediawriter on Fedora, the Flathub Flatpak elsewhere). It can download the image itself or write the ISO you just verified.
2. dd on Linux: find the stick with lsblk, then write to the whole device (for example /dev/sdb, not a partition such as /dev/sdb1):

   sudo dd if=Fedora-Workstation-Live-44-1.7.x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync

   Double-check of=: dd overwrites whatever device you name. For a safer scripted version, see a Bash script to create a bootable USB from an ISO.

Fedora's documentation warns that tools which unpack the ISO onto the stick (such as Unetbootin) give inconsistent results, especially on UEFI systems. For several ISOs on one stick, see Ventoy. On a Ucartz dedicated server, mount the ISO through IPMI instead (see Dedicated server with Custom ISO).

Fedora 29 and other old releases

Old releases stay in the Fedora archive at archives.fedoraproject.org/pub/archive/fedora/linux/releases/. The Fedora 29 folder still has the Server DVD (Fedora-Server-dvd-x86_64-29-1.2.iso, 2.9 GB) and the Workstation Live ISO (1.8 GB). Use them only to test old software in an isolated virtual machine, never on a server that faces the internet.

The current fedora.gpg does not contain the Fedora 29 key, so verification fails with gpgv: Can't check signature: No public key. On a Fedora machine the fedora-gpg-keys package has the old keys:

gpg --dearmor < /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-fedora-29-primary > f29.gpg
gpgv --keyring ./f29.gpg --output - Fedora-Server-29-1.2-x86_64-CHECKSUM | sha256sum -c --ignore-missing

In our test this printed Good signature from "Fedora 29 (29) <fedora-29@fedoraproject.org>". Fedora's security page lists the Fedora 29 fingerprint under obsolete keys: 5A03 B4DD 8254 ECA0 2FDA 1637 A20A A56B 4294 76B4.

Common problems

• FAILED: the download is incomplete or damaged. Download it again.
• no file was verified: the ISO is not in the same folder as the CHECKSUM file, or it was renamed.
• BAD signature: the CHECKSUM file was changed after Fedora signed it. Do not use it or the ISO.
• Can't check signature: No public key: you used gpg --verify without importing the keys, or the keyring is for a different release. Use the gpgv --keyring command above, or see gpg No public key: how to import a signing key.

Each Fedora release is supported for about 13 months, with a new one about every six months, so a Fedora server needs a major upgrade roughly once a year (patch it in between as in update Fedora Linux using the terminal). For a server that should run for years, a long-term-support distribution such as AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu LTS or Debian fits better.

Official documentation: Fedora: verify your download, Fedora: preparing boot media, Fedora: end of life releases.