What to Do After Installing Fedora 44

Optimize your fresh Fedora 44 install. DNF is DNF5 now — tune the settings that still matter.

1 Optimize DNF Performance

The first thing you should do on a fresh Fedora 44 install is tune DNF5, Fedora's package manager. On Fedora 44, dnf is DNF5 (a C++ rewrite). It is already much faster than old DNF4 — you only need a couple of config changes, not a full rewrite of dnf.conf.

Fedora 44 ships DNF5

/usr/bin/dnf is a symlink to dnf5. Stock /etc/dnf/dnf.conf is basically empty; real distro defaults live in /usr/share/dnf5/libdnf.conf.d/20-fedora-defaults.conf (pkg_gpgcheck=True, skip_if_unavailable=True, best=False). Leave those alone.

Edit Your DNF Configuration

Terminal Command 
sudo nano /etc/dnf/dnf.conf

The Optimal Configuration

Add these two lines under [main]. Everything else below is already the Fedora 44 / DNF5 default.

/etc/dnf/dnf.conf 
[main]
# Speed tweaks (Fedora 44 / DNF5 defaults are 3 and False)
max_parallel_downloads=10
fastestmirror=True

Add These (they change Fedora 44 defaults)

  • max_parallel_downloads=10 - DNF5 default is 3 (max 20). Ten concurrent downloads is the useful speed win on a typical home connection.
  • fastestmirror=True - Default is False. Uses TCP latency to pick a nearby mirror instead of metalink order. Optional, but the usual second tweak.

Already Default on Fedora 44 — don't fight them

  • pkg_gpgcheck=True - Fedora's drop-in already enables package signature checks. DNF5 still accepts gpgcheck=1 as a compatibility alias. Never disable this.
  • installonly_limit=3 - Already default. Keeps three kernels so /boot doesn't fill up.
  • clean_requirements_on_remove=True - Already default. Unused dependencies go away on dnf remove.
  • keepcache=False - Already default. Downloaded RPMs are not kept forever.
  • install_weak_deps=True - Already default. Recommends/Supplements still get pulled in.
  • best=False - Fedora explicitly sets this. Do not force best=True; it makes upgrades fail when the newest version can't be installed.
  • skip_if_unavailable=True - Fedora explicitly sets this so a dead third-party repo doesn't block updates. Don't set it back to False.
  • deltarpm - Gone. DNF5 has no deltarpm option. Don't add it.
⚡ Performance Impact: DNF5 is already faster than DNF4. Parallel downloads (10 vs 3) plus fastestmirror is the remaining win — often a large cut in wall-clock time on multi-package installs.

2 Critical Security Settings

🔒 GPG Check (gpgcheck=1)

This is your protection against compromised packages. It verifies cryptographic signatures on every package before installation. This prevents:

  • Installing packages from compromised repositories
  • Man-in-the-middle attacks during downloads
  • Installation of modified or malicious packages

Keep this at 1 always. Only disable for testing custom repositories you personally control.

3 Automatic System Cleanup

Why These Settings Matter

Two settings work together to keep your Fedora installation lean:

🧹 clean_requirements_on_remove=True

When you uninstall a package like GIMP (which might pull in 50+ image processing libraries), this setting automatically removes those 50 libraries if nothing else needs them. Without this, you'd accumulate hundreds of orphaned packages over time.

💾 keepcache=False

After DNF installs packages, it can either keep the downloaded .rpm files (taking up disk space) or delete them. Since you can always re-download them if needed, keeping them is wasteful. This automatically cleans the cache after installation.

💡 Pro Tip: These settings are especially valuable if you like to experiment with different software. Uninstalling will actually free up the disk space properly instead of leaving behind dozens of unused libraries.

4 Keep Your System Updated

Now that DNF is optimized, run your first system update:

Update System 
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

This will:

  • Refresh repository metadata
  • Download updates using your new parallel download settings
  • Install the latest versions of all packages
  • Automatically clean up the cache when done

📅 Regular Updates

Make it a habit to run sudo dnf upgrade weekly. Fedora releases updates frequently, and staying current keeps your system secure and stable.

5 What's Next?

With DNF5 tuned, your Fedora 44 system is ready for efficient package management. Consider these next steps:

  • Install RPM Fusion - Access additional software not in default repositories (media codecs, graphics drivers)
  • Enable Flatpak - Already included in Fedora, great for sandboxed applications
  • Install Essential Tools - Development tools, multimedia codecs, your preferred applications
  • Desktop - Workstation ships GNOME 50; KDE Plasma Desktop Edition ships Plasma 6.6. Customize the one you installed.
🚀 Performance Note: Every package installation from now on will benefit from your optimized DNF configuration. You'll notice the difference immediately on your first multi-package installation.