Unraid has announced plans for the next major version of its NAS-focused operating system, bringing some of the biggest changes the platform has seen: moving from its longtime Slackware base to a Fedora-based system built on Universal Blue’s uCore.
Unraid has relied on Slackware as its Linux foundation for roughly two decades, but the developers say switching to Fedora will help users get security updates faster and offer a larger, more standardized Linux base.
In light of this, Unraid 8 will use Universal Blue’s uCore, which is an immutable OCI-based server image built on Fedora CoreOS. uCore is designed to be a lightweight server platform with many commonly used tools and services already included.
This approach matches Unraid’s current system design. The project has always treated the underlying OS as something users can reset to a known state by rebooting, instead of letting changes build up permanently like in a typical Linux installation.
With Fedora and uCore as the base, Unraid says it can keep this model while more clearly separating the base system from the Unraid software on top. The new setup should also improve hardware support and make it easier to use features from the wider Fedora ecosystem.
Another benefit is more flexibility with the Linux kernel. Unraid plans to let users with new hardware choose a newer kernel, while those who don’t need the latest features can stick with a stable, long-term version. uCore already offers different image streams, like stable, testing, and long-term support options.
Unraid 8 will also include a built-in backup solution. Users will be able to back up to cloud storage, S3-compatible services, or another Unraid server, with snapshots and full restores built right into the product.
Docker Compose is another big new feature. While users can already use Compose through community plugins, version 8 will build it directly into the Community Apps system. This means Compose-based apps will show up with regular apps, so users won’t need a separate interface.
Plugins will also get a security update. Unraid 8 will add a permission system that shows what a plugin can access before you install it. This way, users can decide if those permissions are acceptable. A new plugin development SDK will come with the new permission system.
Moreover, the developers are working to make the UI more consistent across Unraid OS, user accounts, purchases, license management, and the new Community Apps website. For example, users will be able to save an app from their phone and later install it directly from their Unraid server.
Even with all these updates, Unraid says it won’t remove advanced features. Networking tools like VLANs, NIC bridging, and other options for experienced users will still be available.
For now, all these changes are still in development for Unraid 8. Users who are interested can join the beta waitlist. The developers said the release will go through several testing stages and will be available only when it’s ready.
For additional details, see the official announcement.
