In the upcoming Fedora Linux 44 release, scheduled for spring 2026, support for launching 32-bit applications on the x86 architecture is expected to be discontinued. If the plan is approved by the FESCo (Fedora Engineering Steering Committee), which is responsible for the technical aspects of Fedora Linux development, the distribution will cease to build packages for the i686 architecture and 32-bit libraries (multilib) that ensure compatibility with 32-bit applications in x86_64 environments.
The supply of Linux kernel builds, installation images, and separate package repositories for 32-bit x86 systems was discontinued back in 2019 (Fedora 31). However, support for running 32-bit applications on x86_64 installations was maintained, and the necessary 32-bit packages for this support were placed in repositories for x86_64 systems. In Fedora 37, maintainers were given the option to stop building packages for the i686 architecture if the package is not a dependency for other packages. Currently, about ten thousand 32-bit packages (i686) remain in Fedora, mainly used for running Wine and 32-bit games.
The distribution intends to transition to supplying 64-bit Wine builds using the Wow64 (64-bit Windows-on-Windows) mode to run 32-bit Windows applications on 64-bit Unix systems. The supply of 64-bit Wine packages will minimize users' need for multilib. The discontinuation of i686 support is proposed to occur in two stages: in the first stage, the intention is to stop publishing 32-bit libraries in the x86_64 repositories, and in the second stage, to discontinue the support for building packages for the i686 architecture. Should any unforeseen issues arise in the first stage, the change can be rolled back, and package publication can be reinstated.
Key factors for discontinuing support for the i686 architecture:
- Removing a large number of 32-bit packages will accelerate package operations by significantly reducing indexes and the size of downloadable metadata;
- The load on maintainers will decrease, allowing them to spend more time on packages for 64-bit systems;
- It will become easier to generate and test releases;
- Resource consumption in the build infrastructure will be reduced.
Source: opennet.ru
