Install fwupd with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, Nix, pacman, zypper, winget

Project links

• Homepage
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• dbxtool
• fwupdtool

Project history

The GitHub repository was created in February 2015, and the LVFS website carries a 2015 copyright notice. Early tags used names such as `fwupd_0_1_0`; later releases moved to numeric version tags and by 2026 the project had 2.x releases.

The upstream README describes fwupd as a daemon for session software to update firmware and advises most end users to use the version packaged and tested by their Linux distribution instead of compiling it manually.

Over time, fwupd grew from a daemon and CLI into a plugin-based firmware update framework with support for LVFS remotes, graphical frontends, enterprise approval workflows, report-history feedback, device emulation, Host Security ID documentation, and security tooling such as fuzzing and static analysis.

Adoption history

fwupd's adoption is inseparable from LVFS. The LVFS homepage says the service is used by all major Linux distributions to provide metadata for clients such as fwupdmgr and GNOME Software, and the fwupd README says the project is configured by default to download firmware from LVFS.

The package is broadly distributed across Linux distributions and package managers. Upstream documentation explicitly tells users to rely on distro-maintained packages in most cases, making fwupd a canonical example of firmware update functionality moving into the Linux distribution layer.

LVFS documentation also frames the service for hardware vendors, end users, and developers, with vendor-uploaded redistributable firmware packaged in `.cab` archives and consumed by clients on end-user machines.

How it is used

The basic command-line flow is to run `fwupdmgr get-devices`, refresh metadata, check updates, and run `fwupdmgr update`. Some updates apply live, while others are staged for the next boot.

Configuration is Linux system-level. Official generated docs describe `/etc/fwupd/fwupd.conf` as the main daemon config and provide a separate manual page for `fwupd-remotes.d` remote configuration.

For enterprises, approved updates can constrain which firmware is available from a central source. For local-network efficiency, fwupd can integrate with Passim to republish downloaded metadata for nearby clients.

Why package nerds care

fwupd is one of the most important Linux firmware packages because it bridges OS package management, hardware vendor firmware, desktop software centers, signed metadata, device plugins, and boot-time update mechanisms.

It is also a packaging case study in why some tools should be maintained by distributions: the upstream README emphasizes dependency complexity, integration testing, and interactions with other system software such as GNOME Software.

For package historians, fwupd and LVFS mark a shift from vendor-specific firmware downloads toward a shared Linux firmware update pipeline.

Timeline

• 2015: Public fwupd repository created and LVFS website copyright begins.
• 2015: Early `fwupd_0_1_0` tags appear.
• 2021: 1.6.x releases published.
• 2026: 2.1.x releases published.
• 2026: 2.0.21 release published.

Related projects

• LVFS is the central related service and provides firmware metadata and hosting for fwupd clients.
• GNOME Software is a graphical frontend named by LVFS and upstream docs.
• Passim can republish fwupd metadata on local networks.
• dbxtool and fwupdtool are related command-line tools documented with fwupd.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/fwupd/fwupd
• https://fwupd.github.io/
• https://fwupd.github.io/libfwupdplugin/fwupd-remotes.d.html
• https://fwupd.github.io/libfwupdplugin/fwupd.conf.html
• https://fwupd.org/
• https://github.com/fwupd/fwupd
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fwupd/fwupd/main/README.md