Fedora Project
| Company type | Autonomous project |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software development |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | Red Hat |
| Headquarters | International |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Fedora Council (governance body) |
| Products | Fedora Linux, Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL) |
| Owner | Red Hat (primary sponsor) |
Number of employees | 2000+ contributors (majority independent community members) |
The Fedora Project operates as an autonomous initiative overseeing the creation of Fedora Linux, a Linux-based operating system aimed at delivering "a cutting-edge platform for hardware, cloud environments, and containers that empowers software developers and community participants to craft customized solutions for their users".
Additionally, the project administers Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL), a specialized interest group responsible for maintaining supplementary packages. Established in 2003 through the consolidation of the Red Hat Linux and Fedora Linux projects, Fedora receives primary sponsorship from Red Hat. Despite this, only roughly 35% of its contributors are employed by Red Hat; the vast majority of the more than 2,000 contributors are independent community members.
History
The inception of the Fedora Project occurred in November 2003 when Red Hat divided Red Hat Linux into Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and the community-driven Fedora distribution. Concurrently, Red Hat Professional Workstation was introduced.
Fedora operating system
Originally named "Fedora Core," Fedora Linux was launched in 2003 as a free, community-supported alternative following Red Hat’s transition to RHEL. Fedora versions serve as the upstream source for RHEL releases.
Starting with Fedora 21 in December 2014, the project began offering three editions: personal computer, server, and cloud computing. By the release of Fedora 37 in November 2022, this lineup expanded to five editions, incorporating containerization and Internet of Things (IoT) variants. Fedora Linux follows a biannual release cycle.
The latest release is Fedora 42, which became available on 15 April 2025.
Security intrusion
In August 2008, multiple Fedora servers were breached, including one responsible for signing Fedora update packages. The Fedora Project confirmed that attackers did not gain access to the package signing key, thereby preventing the distribution of harmful software through updates. Administrators found no signs of Trojan horses within the software but adopted new package signing keys as a precautionary measure. A comprehensive report was published in March 2009.
Governance
The Fedora Project does not exist as an independent legal entity; Red Hat maintains legal responsibility. Governance is overseen by the Fedora Council, which includes representatives from different project sectors, positions appointed by Red Hat, and seats linked to specific project objectives. Previously, the Fedora Board consisted of five Red Hat appointees and five members elected by the community, with the project leader holding veto authority; currently, all voting members possess veto rights when justified. Plans to establish a distinct Fedora Foundation were abandoned in favor of this governance structure.
Community participation extends into leadership groups such as the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee (FESCo) and Mindshare Committee. Both bodies are elected by community members and handle technical direction and community engagement respectively.
The project fosters collaboration through public mailing lists and wiki resources and hosts significant events: the Fedora Users and Developers Conference (FUDCon), held across Latin America and Asia/Pacific regions featuring conferences and hackathons; Flock, which replaced FUDCon in North America and Europe/Middle East; and regional contributor gatherings known as Fedora Activity Days focused on specific tasks.
Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL)
EPEL represents a collection of supplementary packages provided by the Fedora initiative, specifically tailored for compatibility with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and its related distributions. Overseen by a Fedora Special Interest Group, the EPEL repository offers packages derived from Fedora versions, carefully designed to avoid interference with or replacement of essential Enterprise Linux components. This project utilizes Fedora's established infrastructure, including its build systems, bug tracking tools, update processes, and mirror networks.