So I am attempting to make a distribution based on Fedora with more of a focus on the desktop with non-Gnome desktops. I plan on calling it “Top Hat Linux” if anyone wants to know. However, I have a few questions about branding and other upstream Fedora things.
So this distro will have Flathub, RPM Fusion Free, and Nonfree repos enabled out of the box with both Dnfdragora and GNOME Software installed. I have a few questions about this setup:
Will having both Dnfdragora and GNOME Software installed cause any problems for an end user? I assume I’ll have to disable Dnfdragora’s update service because most users will want to use GNOME Software, but is there anything else I’m missing?
How can I have Flathub enabled by default in a kickstart file? I’m not exactly sure whether or not I should just run something in a %post script or something because I want the user to be able to install this distro without an internet connection.
I am aware that Anaconda has some hardware detection built in. How could I possibly include the Nvidia drivers from RPM Fusion in this process?
The next thing I need to ask is about branding. For now, I have fedora-workstation-backgrounds installed and I am using Flat Remix theming by default. I also want to have a Plymouth theme similar to the default for Fedora only lacking the Fedora logo for encryption and a professional looking boot screen.
Will I get into any trouble for having these backgrounds or themes installed by default?
Are there any Plymouth themes that would satisfy my requirements?
The final question I have is about setting up defaults. I plan on using an RPM package with my changes in /etc/skel to set defaults for theming and such. Also, I would like to have a separate repo for these things however I have absolutely no means of hosting things myself. I am not very familiar with COPR as my only experience is with the AUR in Manjaro/Arch and PPAs in Ubuntu but it seems simple enough.
Is using an RPM package for my configurations a good idea? If so, is there a package for the Fedora defaults or must I make that myself? I don’t want the user to be forced into my configurations and I also want to allow the user to be able to “revert” to Fedora just in case.
Is this what I can use a COPR repo for? If not, is there any other “free-as-in-freedom” and “free-as-in-beer” solution for this? If so, would this create any major problems for an end user?
Thank you so much for reading this! I know this was long but I really want myself and others to be able to use Fedora with a better out-of-the-box experience.
There was a similar distro about 1 year ago. It was aimed also for Russian localization, but now:"All was merged upstream, project is retired".
Btw, before releasing that you may first concentrate on improvements, then remove or replace things in step-by-step fashion. I bet, nobody will be offended.
Should not be an issue, they use different caches etc.
Not sure, possibly by downloading the flathub repo file, including it in your image. You’ll need to look up how to do this, though. Not entirely sure if it can be done etc.
Uh, not a clue. I was not aware that anaconda had detection to the level of graphics hardware. Best to ask on the anaconda channels—this is a very specific question.
I plan on removing Fedora’s branding completely. If I’m interpreting what you mean correctly, I guess I’ll need to just use the default XFCE mouse one for now.
On the topic of forking vs not forking, I would say that the devs wouldn’t like any of my ideas. Don’t get me wrong, if I can do anything that can help with the upstream release I will certainly do it but fedora seems very strict about certain things. For example, I plan on having the whisker menu in XFCE enabled by default because of its application search. Because fedora is upstream focussed, I doubt the XFCE spin developers would want to change the desktop defaults. And, of course, the devs can’t have RPM Fusion enabled by default. Also, something tells me that they have a reason for only allowing the user to install the Nvidia drives and steam through a GUI.
Thank you for replying. I’ll take what you said into account!