FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is RPM Fusion?

RPM Fusion is a repository of add-on packages for Fedora maintained by a group of volunteers. RPM Fusion is not a standalone repository, but an extension of Fedora. RPM Fusion distributes packages that have been deemed unacceptable to Fedora due to licensing or patent issues.

How do I use RPM Fusion?

See Configuration.

Can I use RPM Fusion packages during the installation of Fedora?

Yes, as of Fedora Core 6 Anaconda (the Fedora installer) supports using external repositories during installation. See Using RPM Fusion in Anaconda for more information.

What are the licensing or patent issues that make some packages unacceptable to Fedora?

As Fedora is officially affiliated with Red Hat, Inc. in the Fedora Project, Fedora is effectively bound by the same legal restrictions as Red Hat, as a US company, is bound by. This means in particular that software encumbered with US patents cannot be included. Also excluded is software covered by licenses which are incompatible with Red Hat's licensing policy, e.g. licenses which only permit non-commercial use. See Fedoras own list of forbidden items.

Does RPM Fusion distribute illegal software?

No. RPM Fusion only distributes packages which can be legally re-distributed.

How can I trust that RPM Fusion will work with the Fedora project?

Most RPM Fusion developers are also actively involved in Fedora development and make sure that RPM Fusion tracks Fedora development, and also that the packages are of the same quality as official Fedora packages.

What about Red Hat Linux and early Fedora Core distributions?

RPM Fusion distribution versions follow the end-of-life policy of the respective "upstream" distributions. In practice this means that shortly after the upstream distribution goes EOL, shortly afterwards the corresponding RPM Fusion repository will go EOL too. Usually the repositories will stay available for quite a long time, but no new packages or package updates will be added to them and users are strongly encouraged to update to a non-EOL distro version.

How can I contribute?

You can submit your own packages, do QA on existing submissions or help fix bugs. Please see the contributors page for details.

Why should I use the video drivers provided by RPM Fusion for my ATI and Nvidia cards?

This is described in the RPM Fusion Switcher page.

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