This guide will help you to install the proprietary NVIDIA drivers replacing the open source Nouveau drivers for both Fedora Workstation (Gnome, KDE and Cosmic spins) and Atomic desktops (Silverblue, Kinoite and Sway).
The hardest part is getting the drivers to load with Secure Boot. Secure Boot blocks the driver's modules from loading unless we sign them.
Run the following command in the terminal to check Secure Boot status:
mokutil --sb-stateIf enabled, you will need to follow some extra (but simple) steps. Don't disable Secure Boot if it was already enabled to improve your security. However, if you followed the steps and the driver modules failed to load, disable secure boot to fix the problem.
All you need to do is follow the guide and hopefully everything works smoothly!
Please check if your Desktop Environment is compatible with the Nvidia drivers since there are more steps needed for some that may not be listed here. This is not a problem for KDE, Gnome, Sway and Cosmic but may be a problem for some of the spins. If you find any, please create an issue with the details.
You will mostly need to just copy and paste commands into the terminal. But, make sure to read everything carefully!
If you find any mistake or want to add some missing information, create a pull request with the changes or just create an issue. All help is appreciated!
At the end you will find a quick survey, taking it will help me maintain this guide especially if you faced a failure in the installation process. Thanks!
Consult the official documentation (Sources listed below) if more information is needed.
This guide is made STRICTLY for Fedora Workstation and all it's spins (KDE and Cosmic) and Fedora Atomic (Silverblue, Kinoite and Sway).
Note
For users with encrypted drives using LUKS, you will follow some extra steps after installation to avoid issues after rebooting (steps listed below appropriately). Please note that there are reports that these steps get overridden after kernel updates. Please read issue: #5 for potential solution and report in survey how it went. Otherwise for a better experience you can disable LUKS.
Note
Sway Users: For users of Sway and Sway Atomic (Sericea), you will need to open /etc/sway/environment and uncomment or add the following two lines:
SWAY_EXTRA_ARGS="$SWAY_EXTRA_ARGS --unsupported-gpu"
WLR_NO_HARDWARE_CURSORS=1Please scroll down to the relevant section related to your Fedora installation or choose from table of contents:
If you have Secure Boot disabled, Skip step 2. Otherwise, it's still easy to get the drivers with Secure Boot.
Note
If your drive is encrypted with LUKS. You will need to follow some extra steps before final reboot to avoid a black screen on startup.
Note
If you have an older 600/700 series GPU (Kepler, Quadro), you will need to use the X11 session alongside the older 470 Nvidia driver (Setup covered in steps). Meaning Gnome 49 or later will NOT be an option and you must use KDE or any other Window Manager supporting X11. Please verify that
- Update your system: Ensure your installation is up-to-date:
sudo dnf update- Enable RPM Fusion: This provides access to the NVIDIA drivers.
sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpmTip
If you have Secure Boot disabled, Skip this step. Proceed directly to Step 3.
- Install these packages:
sudo dnf install kmodtool akmods mokutil openssl- Generate a default key:
Note
If you get the message: "WARNING: EXISTING KEY PAIR.", add --force to the end of the command and run it again.
sudo kmodgenca -a- Enroll the key in MOK:
After running the command, you will be asked for a password. Create a short password (ex: 0000) and remember it for a later step!
sudo mokutil --import /etc/pki/akmods/certs/public_key.der- Reboot to enroll
Warning
The keyboard is mapped to QWERTY in the MOK screen, regardless of your system layout. Use a simple password like 0000.
On the next boot MOK Management is launched, press enter then you have to choose "Enroll MOK" (MOK management is a blue screen on startup)
Choose "Continue" to enroll the key.
Enroll by selecting "Yes".
You will need to enter the password you created earlier.
systemctl rebootYou will need to identify your GPU to choose which drivers to install. Run this command to find your GPU if you need to confirm:
lspci | grep -iE 'VGA|3D|nvidia'Accordingly, choose which driver to download below:
sudo dnf install akmod-nvidia
sudo dnf install xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-cuda # Required for nvidia-smi and CUDA supportNote
Some GTX 700 series like GTX 750Ti, GTX 750 and GTX 745 use newer Maxwell architecture, and hence uses the current driver. Any NVIDIA GPU starting from the GTX 900, GTX 10, RTX 20, GTX 16, RTX 30, RTX 40 uses this driver. You can use this driver in Quadro GPUs like RTX A6000, RTX 8000, RTX 4000, P4000, M2000. and Tesla GPUs like H100, A100, T4, V100, P100, M60.
sudo dnf install xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-470xx akmod-nvidia-470xx
sudo dnf install xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-470xx-cuda #cuda supportNote
Any GPUs starting with 'K' are Kepler GPUs and require this legacy driver. Some GTX 700 Series GPUs like GTX 780 Ti, 780, 770, 760 are based on the Older Kepler architecture, therefore require this legacy driver All GTX 600 series GPU require this legacy driver
Additionally, for this driver (DRIVER v470 ONLY) you need to install X11 session on KDE:
KDE:
sudo dnf install plasma-workspace-x11 xorg-x11-drivers xorg-x11-xinitImportant
After the final reboot, make sure to use the X11 session when logging into KDE (Legacy driver only!) (found bottom left of the login screen).
Warning
It should be noted that v390 is increasingly difficult to run with Fedora 40/41, NVIDIA has abandoned this driver in 2022, and RPM Fusion Maintainers are the ones maintaining it. Which makes it experimental and end-of-line. The Driver also has no support for Wayland, therefore an X11 compatible desktop is required.
sudo dnf install xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-390xx akmod-nvidia-390xx
sudo dnf install xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-390xx-cuda #cuda support[!INFO] All 400/500 series are based on the Fermi Architecture and use driver v390. Some Non-Standard GPUs from 600/700 series also use the Fermi Architecture. Please make sure to know about your GPU architecture, and if it uses Fermi.
Now that we installed the driver, confirm that it's built by running:
modinfo -F version nvidiaIn the output you should see the driver version number (e.g., 570.xx.xx).
Caution
Do NOT reboot if you see an error. If the command returns "modinfo: ERROR: Module nvidia not found", the kernel module is still building. This takes 5-10 minutes depending on your system. Wait and retry the command until it succeeds before rebooting.
To monitor the build progress, run: journalctl --follow --grep=akmod
Important
LUKS Encrypted Drives: If your drive is encrypted, you MUST complete the steps in LUKS Encrypted Drives BEFORE rebooting, or you may get a black screen on startup.
- Reboot
Finally, reboot your system.
If you see "Nvidia modules failed to load" on startup, then the secure boot step was unsuccessful. You can try and disable secure boot to solve this problem.
After booting, run the following in the terminal to check your GPU's status:
nvidia-smiNOTE: If this command fails with "command not found", you need to install the CUDA package: sudo dnf install xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-cuda
Please take this quick survey to help me know if the guide worked or didn't work for you: https://forms.gle/J44beNvnPh5x9fHs5
If you have any problems, check the Common Problems section or create an issue in this repository and I will try to help.
Due to Fedora Atomic's immutable nature, we will need to use a "trick" to get the drivers correctly working with Secure Boot. Thanks to CheariX for providing the fix to everyone: https://github.com/CheariX/silverblue-akmods-keys
Tip
With Atomic, you can revert easily if anything gets messed up! See the official Fedora documentation to learn how.
Note
Sway users need to perform two extra steps, one is listed in "Identify your system" above and the other is below when adding the kernel arguments. [Notes provided by shdwpunk].
Note
If your drive is encrypted with LUKS. You will need to follow some extra steps before final reboot to avoid a black screen on startup.
- Update your system: Ensure your Silverblue installation is up-to-date:
sudo rpm-ostree update- Install necessary packages:
sudo rpm-ostree install rpmdevtools akmods- Enable RPM Fusion: This provides access to the NVIDIA drivers.
sudo rpm-ostree install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm- Reboot: Reboot to apply the RPM Fusion changes.
systemctl reboot- Generate a Machine Owner Key (MOK):
Note
If you get the message: "WARNING: EXISTING KEY PAIR.", add --force to the end of the command and run it again.
sudo kmodgenca -a- Import the key:
After running the command, you will be asked for a password. Create a short password (ex: 0000) and remember it for a later step!
sudo mokutil --import /etc/pki/akmods/certs/public_key.der- Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/CheariX/silverblue-akmods-keys
cd silverblue-akmods-keys- Build and install:
sudo bash setup.sh
sudo rpm-ostree install akmods-keys-*.rpmInstall the driver and Cuda. Last command will blacklist the Nouveau driver and nova_core. For Sway users, You will need to also add an additional kernel arg listed below:
- Install the Nvidia driver with Cuda for Kinoite and Silverblue
sudo rpm-ostree install akmod-nvidia xorg-x11-drv-nvidia xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-cuda
sudo rpm-ostree kargs --append=rd.driver.blacklist=nouveau,nova_core --append=modprobe.blacklist=nouveau,nova_core --append=nvidia-drm.modeset=1 - Install the Nvidia driver with Cuda for Sway Atomic
sudo rpm-ostree install akmod-nvidia xorg-x11-drv-nvidia xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-cuda
sudo rpm-ostree kargs --append=rd.driver.blacklist=nouveau,nova_core --append=modprobe.blacklist=nouveau,nova_core --append=nvidia-drm.modeset=1 --append=initcall_blacklist=simpledrm_platform_driver_initImportant
LUKS Encrypted Drives: If your drive is encrypted, you MUST complete the steps in LUKS Encrypted Drives BEFORE rebooting, or you may get a black screen on startup.
Warning
The keyboard is mapped to QWERTY in the MOK screen, regardless of your system layout.
- 🔄 Reboot:
For Secure Boot enabled systems, on the next boot MOK Management is launched press Enter then:
- Choose "Enroll MOK"
- Choose "Continue" to enroll the key
- Confirm enrollment by selecting "Yes"
- Enter the password you created earlier
For Secure Boot disabled: You will not see a MOK enrollment screen - simply restart.
systemctl rebootNow that we installed the driver, confirm that it's built by running:
modinfo -F version nvidiaIn the output you should see the driver version number.
Note
If you see "Nvidia modules failed to load" on startup, then the secure boot step was unsuccessful. You can try and disable secure boot to solve this problem.
After booting, run the following in the terminal to check your GPU's status:
nvidia-smiNote
If it failed then you didn't install Nvidia Cuda from the steps above.
If you have any problems, check the Common Problems section or create an issue in this repository and I will try to help.
Please take this quick survey to help me know if the guide worked or didn't work for you: https://forms.gle/J44beNvnPh5x9fHs5
Tip
RPM Fusion Unlock: Enabling the RPM Fusion repo alone will enable it in a "fixed" state. After a major Fedora update (42 → 43), the repos won't be updated! Run the command below to "unlock" them (recommended).
sudo rpm-ostree update \
--uninstall rpmfusion-free-release \
--uninstall rpmfusion-nonfree-release \
--install rpmfusion-free-release \
--install rpmfusion-nonfree-releaseAfter that, reboot!
rebootFor more information, see the official documentation.
If your drive is encrypted with LUKS, you must perform the following steps before rebooting after driver installation.
Warning
There are reports that these steps get overridden after kernel updates. Please read issue #5 for a potential solution and report in the survey how it went. Otherwise, for a smoother experience you can disable LUKS.
Note
The directory /etc/dracut.conf.d/ should already exist. The command below will create the nvidia.conf file if it doesn't exist.
In your terminal, run:
sudo nano /etc/dracut.conf.d/nvidia.confAdd the following line:
add_drivers+=" nvidia nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm "
Press CTRL + X then Y then ENTER to save the changes.
Run the following in terminal:
sudo dracut --forceRun the following in terminal:
sudo rpm-ostree initramfs --enableAfter completing the steps above, return to the reboot step in your installation section. If you have Secure Boot enabled, MOK key enrollment will occur on reboot for Atomic.
If you faced issues, please create an issue and I will try to help.
Please take this quick survey: https://forms.gle/J44beNvnPh5x9fHs5
See also: Issue #5 - LUKS steps after kernel updates
If you got this message after installation, the Secure Boot enrollment was not done properly. Please retry the Secure Boot steps mentioned for your Fedora installation.
Tip
No need to reinstall the drivers themselves!
This means the installed drivers were the incorrect version for your GPU (was Kepler but installed GeForce instead, or vice versa).
Caution
If this happens, boot into TTY by rebooting and pressing CTRL+ALT+F2 repeatedly, then remove the NVIDIA packages manually:
For workstation and it's spins:
sudo dnf remove "*nvidia*" "*akmod-nvidia*" "*xorg-x11-drv-nvidia*"
sudo dracut -f --regenerate-allFor Atomic desktops:
rpm-ostree override reset "*nvidia*"Caution
LUKS users: This can also happen if your drive was encrypted. To recover, follow these steps:
- Reboot the computer.
- When the GRUB menu appears, press
eto edit. - Find the line that starts with
linux. - Remove
rhgbandquietif present, go to the very end of that line, add a space, then add3. - Press
Ctrl+Xto boot. This gets you to a text-based login where you can enter the LUKS password, then your Fedora username and password.
After that, follow the steps in LUKS Encrypted Drives.
Warning
If you installed the drivers and updated to kernel 6.15, you need to add nova_core to the blacklist alongside nouveau. Ignore this if it's working properly—this is only for those who followed the steps before nova_core was added to the commands.
If you ran the older command, run:
sudo rpm-ostree kargs --append=rd.driver.blacklist=nouveau,nova_core --append=modprobe.blacklist=nouveau,nova_coreThis should fix the issue with the drivers.
- shdwpunk [Provided additional Sway setup commands]
- Poid-bit [Provided additional steps for encrypted drives]
Configuring RPMFusion:
RPMFusion Nvidia Documentation:
RPMFusion Secureboot Documentation:
Nvidia drivers for Sway Atomic
