F45 Change Proposal: Web Based Remote Installation Support for Atomic Desktops (self-contained)

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Web Based Remote Installation Support for Atomic Desktops

This is a proposed Change for Fedora Linux.
This document represents a proposed Change. As part of the Changes process, proposals are publicly announced in order to receive community feedback. This proposal will only be implemented if approved by the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee.

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:link: Summary

Enable secure remote installation via the Anaconda WebUI on Fedora Atomic Desktop images. Users can boot a target machine with inst.webui.remote and complete the installation from a web browser on another machine over HTTPS with pin-based authentication. This change is scoped to Atomic Desktop images (Silverblue, Kinoite, etc.).

:link: Owner

:link: Detailed Description

This change introduces remote installation as a tech preview for Fedora Atomic Desktop images. Users can boot with inst.webui.remote and complete the installation from a web browser on another machine — no VNC/RDP client needed.

The Anaconda WebUI already supports remote access for development via inst.webui.remote, but without authentication, TLS, or configuration isolation. This change adds the production controls needed to ship it as an opt-in feature:

  • Pin-based authentication following the inst.rdp pattern, with an opt-out (inst.webui.remote.noauth) for development and trusted networks
  • HTTPS with self-signed certificates — cockpit generates these automatically
  • Port 443 by default so users connect with just https://<ip>
  • Isolated cockpit configuration under /etc/anaconda/cockpit/ to prevent installer settings from leaking to the installed system

Remote access is not enabled by default — it must be explicitly activated by the user via the inst.webui.remote boot option. Without it, behavior is completely unchanged. This change is scoped to Atomic Desktop images (see Changes/BuildAtomicDesktopsWithImageBuilder).

:link: Feedback

The feature was announced on Fedora Magazine in June 2026 with a developer preview and proof-of-concept. Community feedback included:

  • mDNS discovery: Suggestion to advertise the installer via mDNS (e.g., fedora-installer.local) so users can find headless machines without knowing their DHCP-assigned IP. Not in scope for this initial MVP but noted as a valuable future improvement.
  • Tablet/phone support: Cockpit’s PatternFly widgets are responsive — storage configuration may be challenging on small screens but tablets should work well.
  • Lightweight boot ISO: Interest in a minimal boot ISO without a local browser that defaults to remote installation — a headless/network-only variant. Not in scope for this change, but aligns with the broader Changes/ModernizeBootISO effort.

:link: Benefit to Fedora

  • New installation method: Users can install Fedora Atomic Desktops from any device with a web browser — no VNC/RDP client software needed. This works from phones, tablets, Chromebooks, or any machine on the same network.

  • Better user experience than VNC/RDP: The WebUI provides copy-paste support, a responsive layout, and runs in a standard web browser. No special client software to install or configure.

  • Secure by default: Unlike VNC (historically unencrypted, 8-character password limit), remote installation uses HTTPS with TLS and user-set passwords. Authentication is required by default.

  • Practical graphical installation on lightweight ARM SBCs: Devices like the Raspberry Pi have limited CPU and memory. Running a local browser consumes resources better used by the installer itself. With remote installation, the browser runs on the user’s workstation and the target device only serves the lightweight cockpit-ws process.

  • Benefits any future boot.iso/netinst image that adopts the WebUI: This change lives in anaconda and anaconda-webui, not in image-specific configuration. Any new boot.iso or network install image that migrates from the GTK interface to the WebUI — such as Fedora Server, which currently still uses GTK — will automatically gain remote installation support with no additional work. (Note: remote access on Live images is not supported.)

  • Community testing opportunity: Landing in Fedora 45 Atomic images gives the community a full release cycle to test, report issues, and provide feedback before the feature is extended to other image types.

:link: Scope

  • Proposal owners:

    • Modify anaconda to handle new boot options (inst.webui.remote.password, inst.webui.remote.noauth) in argument_parsing.py
    • Update CockpitUserInterface and the cockpit startup flow to enable TLS, set port 443, and configure authentication based on boot options
    • Modify anaconda-webui’s cockpit-coproc-wrapper.sh to conditionally remove --no-tls and change port when remote is active
    • Generate cockpit configuration under /etc/anaconda/cockpit/ at startup
    • Implement password prompt on local console when password is missing (following inst.rdp pattern)
    • All changes are within the anaconda and anaconda-webui packages

  • Other developers: N/A

  • Release engineering: N/A (no changes to image generation pipeline — images already include cockpit and anaconda-webui)

  • Policies and guidelines: N/A (not needed for this Change)

  • Trademark approval: N/A (not needed for this Change)

  • Alignment with the Fedora Strategy: This change aligns with the Fedora strategy of making Fedora easier to install and use, particularly for Atomic Desktops which are a focus area for Fedora’s future.

:link: Upgrade/compatibility impact

None. This change only affects the installation environment. No configuration or data is carried to the installed system. Users who do not use inst.webui.remote see no change whatsoever.

:link: How To Test

  1. Boot a Fedora 45 Atomic Desktop ISO (Silverblue, Kinoite, or similar)
  2. At the boot menu, add kernel options: inst.webui.remote inst.webui.remote.password=testpin
  3. The installer will display the machine’s IP address on the local console
  4. From another machine on the same network, open a browser and navigate to https://<ip>
  5. Accept the self-signed certificate warning in the browser
  6. Enter testpin at the login prompt
  7. The Anaconda WebUI should load and allow you to proceed with the installation
  8. Test tab close (should reconnect without re-login) and browser close (should require re-login)

Additional test cases:

  • Boot with inst.webui.remote only (no password) — installer should prompt for a password
  • Boot with inst.webui.remote inst.webui.remote.noauth — remote access should work without authentication
  • Boot without inst.webui.remote — remote access should NOT be available (current default behavior preserved)

:link: User Experience

See the Fedora Magazine article for a detailed overview of the remote installation experience and the How To Test section above for step-by-step instructions.

Users who do not use inst.webui.remote will see no change in their experience.

:link: Dependencies

The anaconda-webui package is maintained by the installer team and has a dependency on Cockpit. There are no unfinished work items blocking this initiative.

:link: Contingency Plan

  • Contingency mechanism: No action needed. The feature is opt-in and in tech preview — it is only activated when the user explicitly passes inst.webui.remote on the kernel command line. Without this boot option, the installer behaves identically to previous releases. An incomplete or buggy implementation does not affect normal installation workflows. N/A (not a System Wide Change)
  • Contingency deadline: N/A (not a System Wide Change)
  • Blocks release? No. The feature is opt-in. If incomplete, remote installation remains in its current development-only state. Local installation and all other installation methods are completely unaffected.

:link: Documentation

:link: Release Notes

Fedora 45 introduces secure remote installation support for Atomic Desktop images (Silverblue, Kinoite, and others). You can now install Fedora from a web browser on another device by adding inst.webui.remote inst.webui.remote.password=YOURPIN to the kernel boot options. The installer uses HTTPS with a self-signed certificate and listens on port 443, so you can connect by navigating to https://<ip> from any web browser. This feature is opt-in and in tech preview — installations without inst.webui.remote are unaffected.

Last edited by @amoloney 2026-07-22T15:23:32Z

Last edited by @amoloney 2026-07-22T15:23:32Z

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