How to Install VLC Media Player on Fedora 36 Linux

The VLC media player is an open-source, free portable, cross-platform media player software and streaming media server developed by the VideoLAN project. VLC can play nearly all known multimedia files and DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols and can be extended and customized with multiple plugins.

In the following tutorial, you will learn to install the VLC Media Player on Fedora 36 workstation using two methods with RPM Fusion with the dnf package manager or the flatpak package manager, both of which are installed natively on your workstation, along with some tips in maintaining or removing VLC into the future using the command line terminal.

Update Fedora

Before you begin, make sure your system is up-to-date to avoid any conflicts during the installation, and for good practice, use the terminal command as follows.

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh -y

Install VLC Media Player – DNF Manager

The first option is to import the RPM Fusion, a third-party repository that still utilizes the dnf package manager, a more popular choice for Fedora users.

To import the repository, use the following command.

Install/Enable the Free Repository

sudo dnf install \
  https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

Install/Enable the Non-Free Repository

sudo dnf install \
  https://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

An in-depth tutorial on RPM Fusion installation on Fedora 36 can be found in How to Install RPM Fusion on Fedora 36 Linux.

Next, execute the following dnf install command to install the media player.

sudo dnf install vlc -y

Install VLC Media Player – Flatpak Method

The second option is to use the Flatpak package manager. This comes installed on Rocky Linux 8 unless you removed it. This is another popular option similar to Snap but is featured amongst many distributions as an alternative third-party installation package manager for the latest packages.

First, re-install Flatpak if you have removed the package manager previously.

sudo dnf install flatpak -y

Next, you need to enable Flatpack using the following command in your terminal.

sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Now install the media player using the following flatpak command.

flatpak install flathub org.videolan.VLC -y

If the above command does not work and you receive the “error: Unable to load summary from remote flathub: Can’t fetch summary from disabled remote ‘flathub’‘ use the following command.

flatpak remote-modify --enable flathub

This will fix the issue.

How to Launch VLC Media Player

Now that you have the software installed, launching can be done in two ways.

First, you can launch from your current terminal session by typing the following.

vlc

Lastly, Flatpak users can run from the terminal using the following command.

flatpak run org.videolan.VLC

However, this isn’t practical, and you would use the following path on your desktop to open with the path: Activities > Show Applications > Media Player

Example:

The first time you open VLC, a prompt will appear advising you to enable or disable metadata for privacy reasons, either untick or leave it ticked and click ok.

Example:

Once you open VLC, you will see the first default landing screen. From here, you can begin to use the software to play or stream as your heart desires.

Example:

Congratulations, you have successfully installed VLC Media Player.

How to Update/Upgrade VLC Media Player

Updates should appear in notifications, but if these fail to show or sometimes, it is recommended to check using the terminal regardless use one of the following commands to check for updates.

DNF Method

sudo dnf update --refresh

Flatpak Method

flatpak update

How to Remove VLC Media Player

Use one of the following commands to suit the original installation method for users who no longer require the application.

DNF Remove Method

sudo dnf autoremove vlc -y

Note, autoremove will also delete any unused packages from VLCand any other leftovers from previous applications. Most times, this is safe to do and should be done to keep your system from being bloated.

Flatpak Remove Method

flatpak remove  --delete-data org.videolan.VLC -y

Next, run the following command for any leftover clean-ups required, similar to the autoremove command described for the dnf remove example command.

flatpak remove --unused

Comments and Conclusion

In the tutorial, you have learned how to add the official VLC Media Player on Fedora 36 workstation desktop in two different ways.

VLC Media Player is a great all-around media player that can handle most formats and be easily customized. If you’re looking for a reliable, free player with good support and lots of features, look no further than VLC.