Your time
About 2 minutesAnaconda runs on its own
Download
About 1.3 GBFedora 44 Server netinst ISO
You get
Fedora Serveraccount, keys and Cockpit
Same steps for
Rocky Linux9 and 10, minimal or DVD

Start a workspace from an installer

Pick a kind of workspace in the sidebar and click + at the top right of the window. On the first step of the assistant, choose Installer image.

Select Image step with Installer image highlightedClick to enlarge
Installer image runs a distribution's own installer, downloaded for you.

Choose Fedora Server

Choose Fedora and release 44. There are three ISOs. Server and Everything are network installers that Velo Workspaces can drive on its own; Workstation is a live desktop image you install by hand. Download Server.

Choose an Installer step with Fedora 44 Server, Everything and Workstation ISOsClick to enlarge
Fedora 44's Server, Everything and Workstation images, from download.fedoraproject.org.

Keep Automatic installation ticked

When the ISO has downloaded and been checked against Fedora's published checksum, make sure Automatic installation is ticked below the list, and click Continue.

Fedora Server ISO downloaded and verified, with Automatic installation highlightedClick to enlarge
Downloaded, verified and selected, with Automatic installation on.

Name it and create your account

The name becomes the hostname, so “Sandbox Fedora” here turns into sandbox-fedora. Pick a profile, then the username and password Anaconda should create. This Mac's key goes into the account's authorized keys automatically.

Configure step for Fedora with the AI Sandbox profile, account fields and SSH public keysClick to enlarge
Name, profile and account. Advanced settings hold CPU, memory and disk size.

Review and start

Setup reads Automatic: Anaconda kickstart. Click Start Installation.

Review and Launch step with Setup Automatic Anaconda kickstart and Start Installation highlightedClick to enlarge
Fedora 44 Server, verified, installed by kickstart.

Let Anaconda work

Anaconda runs in text mode in the workspace's display. It partitions the disk, then downloads and installs packages: the Server ISO is a network installer, so it fetches around 700 packages from Fedora's mirrors. Don't type in it. It restarts on its own when it's done. How the kickstart reaches Anaconda with nothing on the kernel command line, and how the workspace knows the install has finished, is in unattended Ubuntu and Fedora installs, without a PXE server.

Anaconda text-mode installer downloading 694 packages in the workspace displayClick to enlarge
Anaconda downloading packages. Nothing for you to do here.

Sign in

The workspace comes back up at a login prompt. Fedora Server also starts Cockpit, its web console, on port 9090: open https://<workspace IP>:9090 in your Mac's browser and sign in with the same account if you'd like a dashboard.

Fedora 44 Server console showing the web console address and the login promptClick to enlarge
Installed. The console shows the Cockpit address and a login prompt.

In the Access tab, SSH turns ready within seconds. Click Open Terminal.

Built-in terminal signed in to Fedora with Open Terminal highlighted in the Access tabClick to enlarge
Signed in to sandbox-fedora over SSH.

Pro feature. The built-in terminal is part of Velo Workspaces Pro, which you can try free for a week. Without it, copy the ssh command from the Access tab into Terminal. That uses the keys in your ~/.ssh folder, so the workspace has to trust one of them: the SSH and VS Code guide shows how.

Rocky Linux and Fedora Everything

Rocky Linux 9 and 10 (minimal and DVD ISOs) and Fedora Everything install exactly the same way, because they use the same Anaconda installer. Fedora and Rocky Linux also have cloud images in Velo Workspaces, if you'd rather skip the installer altogether.

Where to go next

BackgroundFedora on Apple silicon: editions and what to expect Next guideSSH and VS Code into your workspace, with one key Step by stepInstall Ubuntu Desktop without answering a question BackgroundRocky Linux on Apple silicon: RHEL-compatible VMs