Fedora 44 Plans to Drop i686 Support and 32-Bit Multilib Compatibility

Fedora Linux may soon end support for the 32-bit (i686) architecture. A newly proposed change, targeted for Fedora 44 (scheduled for release in mid-April 2026), outlines plans to discontinue multilib support on x86_64 systems and halt i686 package builds—a move that would streamline maintenance but also phase out legacy compatibility.

Fedora has been gradually withdrawing from 32-bit support for years. In Fedora 31, the distribution stopped shipping i686 kernel packages and installation images, though it continued building i686 packages to support 32-bit applications on 64-bit systems (via multilib).

Then, in Fedora 37, maintainers gained the flexibility to drop i686 builds for leaf packages without dependencies, freeing up resources for more widely used architectures. Now, the proposal takes the next logical steps:

• Stopping i686 package builds altogether, eliminating the need to maintain compatibility with aging 32-bit systems.
• Removing 32-bit libraries from x86_64 repositories, effectively ending multilib support.

The change is structured as a two-step process, with the first step (dropping multilib) designed to be reversible if issues arise. The second step—halting i686 builds—would be harder to undo, as it would require re-bootstrapping the architecture from scratch.

The rationale behind the shift is straightforward: reducing maintenance overhead.

• For maintainers, supporting 32-bit builds has become increasingly burdensome as upstream projects abandon the architecture, forcing Fedora to either backport fixes or implement workarounds.
• For infrastructure, eliminating i686 builds means freeing up build machine resources, potentially speeding up x86_64 package compilation.
• For users, smaller repository metadata should lead to faster package manager operations, including quicker dependency resolution and updates.

However, the change isn’t without trade-offs. Some third-party software—particularly older Windows applications running via Wine—may require adjustments.

The proposal notes that Wine must switch to a “new WoW64” configuration to maintain 32-bit app compatibility on 64-bit systems, and existing Wine prefixes might need recreation. Steam’s RPM package may also need updates or removal from default third-party repos.

If the Fedora Engineering and Steering Committee (FESCo), a key governing body within the Fedora Project that oversees various technical decisions related to the distro’s development, approves the change, the transition will begin early in Fedora 44’s development cycle, with multilib support removed before the mass rebuild.

A full i686 build halt would follow before the beta freeze, giving developers time to address any unforeseen issues.

The system will automatically remove installed i686 packages for users upgrading from older Fedora versions to avoid leaving behind unmaintained software. While this ensures cleaner systems moving forward, it also means that some legacy 32-bit applications—especially those without 64-bit alternatives—will no longer function.

Once again, the proposal is currently open for discussion, with FESCo having the final say. For more information, see the proposal itself.