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Nobara Linux Guide
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Before we get started you need to make sure you can disable secure boot in your bios, to get into your bios you will need to look up how to do it on your particular machine.
Nobara Linux FAQ states:
"Is Nobara compatible with SecureBoot?
– No. Nobara ships with a kernel that has been custom patched and is built and hosted on COPR. Packages hosted on COPR repositories have no simple way of signing the kernel after it’s been built. Additionally The boot shim has to be signed by Microsoft, whom have several stipulations that need to be met including the fee: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/hardware-dev-center/updated-uefi-signing-requirements/ba-p/1062916. We are a hobby distribution that uses a custom kernel. We have no plans what so ever to work towards meeting the shim signing requirements, let alone any additional custom kernel requirements."
The simplified version of that is; Nobara would need to pay Microsoft in order for secure boot to work for Nobara.
At this point I will not be covering how to duel boot Windows and Nobara but it is something you should consider if you are unsure that your hardware will work.
Installing Nobara
You can download the Nobara iso from Here, Make sure to choose the correct version for you. The official and KDE versions are essentially the same just the official has its own theme. If you have an Nvidia graphics card then make sure you get the Nvidia iso.
Run a checksum
When downloading the iso, you will have noticed a sha256sum file under it. This is used to preform a checksum. A checksum checks the iso is correct and did not get corrupted when downloading.
To preform the checksum open command propt and run the following (remember to change it to your own files):
(Get-FileHash C:\Users\YourName\Downloads\Nobara-40-Official-NV-2024-08-15.iso -A SHA256).hash -eq "YourHashCode"
If it passes then you are set to move on to the next step, if it fails then you will need to download it again and re run the test.
Flashing your iso
To install the operating system we need to write it to a usb drive, this is known as flashing the OS Image. To do this on Windows you will want a to install Balena Etcher and use it to flash your iso.
Booting your usb drive
In your bios you will need to change the boot load order to load your usb drive first. You will need to undo this change when the OS is installed.
Updating your system
Okay, this is very important as updating "incorrectly" can and will cause issues.
Only ever update via these methods:
- The "Update System" application
- The "Update System" button in the Nobara Package Manger
- In the terminal by typing "nobara-sync cli"
If for some reason the "Update System App" & "nobara-sync cli" are not working then run the following command exactly as you see it:
sudo dnf update rpmfusion-nonfree-release rpmfusion-free-release fedora-repos nobara-repos --refresh && sudo dnf distro-sync --refresh && sudo dnf update --refresh
Updating via the Nobara Welcome App is also fine but isn't very long term viable and also just opens the Update System App.
Never update via these methods:
- Running "dnf update" Unless its the above command
- With Discover
Installing Applications
Firstly there are two types of applications (there are really more but we are going to talk about the main two).
Native Apps
These are applications or programs that are running directly on your system, they will install dependencies if they need them.
Dependencies are other applications, libraries, etc. that the main application you are installing needs in order to run and function correctly.
Sometimes when installing Native apps they will require different versions of dependencies than you have installed and this can become messy to say the least. Also there is the issue of different distributions having different package management systems and there fore sometimes the application wont be able to be installed via this method.
There are ways around dependency hell and different package managers but that's a bit more advanced.
If you are looking online at applications then it should be noted that Nobara is based on Fedora and there fore Fedora version are the ones you want, the packages may also be referred to as .rpm and this is essentially a Fedora package (their form of a .exe).
Flatpaks
Flatpaks are a type of application that can run on any distribution and contain all of their dependencies inside of their "box". They by default have less permissions than native apps and their permissions can be fine-tuned in the "System Settings" or via a flatpak called "Flatseal"
My best advice is use Native apps when you can but Flatpaks when the developer recommends it or if it is the only option. Also If you don't trust an application then a Flatpak is also best as it has permissions you can tweak.
Installing
GUI
The best gui you can use is the "Nobara Package Manager", its interface is simple and very self explanatory.
If you wish to see and browse what flatpaks are available then visit: https://flathub.org
You can also search for available flatpaks in the flatpak tab in the "Nobara Package Manager" using the search button in the lower middle.
Native apps that are installed are displayed in green in the "Packages" tab, You can search by selecting the search button in the top left.
Native Applications
Flatpak Applications
CLI
To search for an application in the terminal, use one of the following:
dnf search appname
flatpak search appname
To install an application, use one of the following:
sudo dnf install appname
flatpak install appname
Uninstalling
GUI
Via the "Nobara Package Manager" search in the packages for the application, tick it and apply. Flatpaks are uninstalled in the flatpak tab by selecting the bin or trash icon,
CLI
To uninstall via the terminal use one of the following:
sudo dnf remove appname
flatpak uninstall appname
Gaming
Steam and Lutris come pre-installed. These two enable us to play any game from any store.
Proton & Wine
On Linux we need to use a compatibility layer in order to play games that are designed to run on windows. We do this by using Proton on steam and Wine on Lutris. Wine is The compatibility layer and has been around almost as long as linux, Proton is Steams own version of Wine with their own tweaks.
When using these layers they will create an isolated environment called a "wine prefix". You will have one per game, for info on how to install game dependencies into these continue reading.
Both regular versions of these layers can be installed on their respective programs, however there are better community made versions.
By default you can use the "ProtonPlus" application to install these custom versions. You should however install "protonUpQt" and use that instead as it has more layers and tools you can install.
To install it either follow the above guide to find and install it (making sure you install the flatpak version) or run the following command in your terminal:
flatpak install flathub net.davidotek.pupgui2 -y -u
When it is installed, open it and select about, from here tick "Enable advanced mode". This will allow you to install pre-releases and betas which you will need for the next tool we will be discussing.
SteamTinkerLaunch
SteamTinkerLaunch or STL is a tool that loads before a game and has tons of options to tweak your game. It is the best way to use mod loaders that require you to launch the game through them such as "Mod Organiser 2" and the "DOW Mod Manager".
For guides on how to run those last two check my UA - DoW Guide & Modding Skyrim SE on Linux guides.
SteamTinkerLaunch also has one dependency that you wont have already:
sudo dnf install yad -y
Protontricks & Winetricks
Winetricks is a program that allows you to install game dependencies such as fonts and libraries. Protontricks is a wrapper for Winetricks that points it towards your steam library.
Pro Tip
You do not need to install Protontricks to use Winetricks on your steam library if you are comfortable using the terminal.
This used to be a lengthy-ish process but I have written a complicated looking function that handles it very easily.
Add the following to your .bashrc then close and reopen your terminal (or source your bashrc).
function pt () {
grep -i -n "$@" ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/*.acf | head -1 | sed -e 's/^.*_//;s/\.acf:.:/ /;s/name//;s/"//g;s/\t//g;s/ /-/' | awk -F"-" '{printf "\n%-40s %s\n", $2, $1}' | sort ;
cd ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata
cd `grep -i -n "$@" ~/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/*.acf | head -1 | sed -e 's/^.*_//;s/\.acf:.:/ /;s/name//;s/"//g;s/\t//g;s/ /-/' | awk -F"-" '{printf "%s\n",$1}' | grep -o '[0-9]*'`;
cd pfx/;
WINEPREFIX=$PWD winetricks;
}
Change file path to match Your Steam Library.
Typing "pt sky" will open winetricks for skyrim, The command is not perfect however so if you have multiple games named similarly then you may need to be more exact.
Hardware Configuration
The cool thing about Linux is that all drivers are built into it and so unless your device needs some proprietary driver they should just work.
Multiple Drives
The gnome-disk-utility knows as Disks is the easiest and most straightforward way of permanently mounting your other drives to your system.
It can be installed by running the following command:
sudo dnf install gnome-disk-utility -y
Open Disks and select edit mount options as seen below.
Set your mount options should look similar to the image below.(Obviously you can call it what you want).
Mice
Piper is an application to configure gaming mice. It works on most popular mice and allows you to configure buttons, DPI (sensitivity) and LEDs
RGB
RGB can be controlled with an application called OpenRGB Which should come pre-installed. In the past I have seen others having issues with it running correctly and the fix has been trying a different version such as their appimage but if you have issues or questions on that just ask.