Upgrading to Opensuse Tumbleweed
Upgrading to Opensuse Tumbleweed
This is an online upgrade.
This video walks through the process of upgrading to openSUSE Tumbleweed, a rolling release distribution that provides the latest stable versions of all software.
What is Tumbleweed?
openSUSE Tumbleweed is a rolling release distribution, meaning you get continuous updates rather than periodic major version releases. Once you're on Tumbleweed, you stay current with the latest packages through regular updates.
Upgrading from Leap
The video demonstrates upgrading from openSUSE Leap (versions like 42.1, 42.2, 42.3) to Tumbleweed. This is an "online upgrade" - you perform the upgrade while the system is running, without needing installation media.
The Upgrade Process
Using zypper dup
The key command for distribution upgrades in openSUSE is:
zypper dup
This performs a "distribution upgrade" that handles the transition from Leap to Tumbleweed.
Steps Overview
1. Update repository URLs - Point to Tumbleweed repositories
2. Refresh repositories - zypper ref
3. Perform distribution upgrade - zypper dup
4. Reboot into your new Tumbleweed system
Official Documentation
For the complete, up-to-date upgrade instructions:
openSUSE Tumbleweed Upgrade Guide
Bonus: OBS Studio on Tumbleweed
The video also references installing OBS Studio on openSUSE:
OBS Studio Installation Instructions
Why Tumbleweed?
- Always current - Get the latest kernel, desktop environment, and applications
- Stable rolling release - OpenQA automated testing ensures stability
- No major upgrades - Just keep updating, no need for version jumps