Btrfs Root Snapshot Rollback and RPM Database Synchronization

Fedora utilizes Btrfs snapshots to facilitate system state recovery, allowing users to boot into previous root filesystem states via the GRUB menu. This mechanism provides a method for reverting OS-level changes and configuration errors.

A potential conflict arises when the DNF package manager modifies the RPM database. Because the RPM database is stored within the root filesystem, a snapshot rollback reverts the database to a previous state. However, if external data volumes or separate partitions containing application-specific schemas were updated independently, the system state may become inconsistent.

There is uncertainty regarding how the system handles the discrepancy between a reverted RPM database and external state changes that cannot be rolled back by Btrfs snapshots.

• Does the current rollback mechanism provide a way to synchronize the RPM database with external volume states?
• What is the expected behavior when a package update involves both a root-level binary change and a non-root data schema change?