Package Management Basicsapt, yum, dnf, zypper, and pkg2016-03-30AbstractThis guide is intended as a quick reference for the fundamentals of finding, installing, and upgrading packages on a variety of distributions, and should help you translate that knowledge between systems.AudienceFor those new to Linux who need a basic understanding of package management.Original version of this docThe original version of this guide can be found at Digital Ocean.Revision History15.1.2016v1.0 Converted and edited for TLDPJason Evans15.2.2016v1.1 Changed format to asciidoc and made correctionsJason Evans30.3.2016v1.2 Added documentation for SuSE, Abstract section, and expanded overview, also many small typographical changes and corrections.Jason EvansContributionsBrennen Bearnes
(original author).Jason Evans (editor and maintainer for TLDP)FeedbackMissing information, missing links, missing characters? Mail it to the maintainer of this document: jsevans at youvegotthe.infoCopyright informationThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.IntroductionWhy was this document written?Most modern Unix-like operating systems offer a centralized mechanism for finding and installing software. Software is usually distributed in the form of packages, kept in repositories. Working with packages is known as package management. Packages provide the basic components of an operating system, along with shared libraries, applications, services, and documentation.A package management system does much more than one-time installation of software. It also provides tools for upgrading already-installed packages. Package repositories help to ensure that code has been vetted for use on your system, and that the installed versions of software have been approved by developers and package maintainers.When configuring servers or development environments, it’s often necessary look beyond official repositories. Packages in the stable release of a distribution may be out of date, especially where new or rapidly-changing software is concerned. Nevertheless, package management is a vital skill for system administrators and developers, and the wealth of packaged software for major distributions is a tremendous
resource.What do you need?This guide covers Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora, SuSE, and FreeBSD and will require one of those distributions to be installed.All of the commands in this guide assume that the user is running the commands as root or with sudo.Package Management Systems: A Brief OverviewIn a Windows environment, programs are packaged in .exe or .msi installers which will then install most of the files needed to run the program. If your computer doesn’t have some dependant applications, then the program that you are trying to run will either not install or not run properly. You will then have to scour the internet in order to find the missing required applications or libraries. For example in CentOS 7, in order to install the VIM text editor, I need to add the following packages: gpm-libs x86_64 1.20.7-5.el7 base 32 k
groff-base x86_64 1.22.2-8.el7 base 942 k
perl x86_64 4:5.16.3-286.el7 base 8.0 M
perl-Carp noarch 1.26-244.el7 base 19 k
perl-Encode x86_64 2.51-7.el7 base 1.5 M
perl-Exporter noarch 5.68-3.el7 base 28 k
perl-File-Path noarch 2.09-2.el7 base 26 k
perl-File-Temp noarch 0.23.01-3.el7 base 56 k
perl-Filter x86_64 1.49-3.el7 base 76 k
perl-Getopt-Long noarch 2.40-2.el7 base 56 k
perl-HTTP-Tiny noarch 0.033-3.el7 base 38 k
perl-PathTools x86_64 3.40-5.el7 base 82 k
perl-Pod-Escapes noarch 1:1.04-286.el7 base 50 k
perl-Pod-Perldoc noarch 3.20-4.el7 base 87 k
perl-Pod-Simple noarch 1:3.28-4.el7 base 216 k
perl-Pod-Usage noarch 1.63-3.el7 base 27 k
perl-Scalar-List-Utils x86_64 1.27-248.el7 base 36 k
perl-Socket x86_64 2.010-3.el7 base 49 k
perl-Storable x86_64 2.45-3.el7 base 77 k
perl-Text-ParseWords noarch 3.29-4.el7 base 14 k
perl-Time-HiRes x86_64 4:1.9725-3.el7 base 45 k
perl-Time-Local noarch 1.2300-2.el7 base 24 k
perl-constant noarch 1.27-2.el7 base 19 k
perl-libs x86_64 4:5.16.3-286.el7 base 687 k
perl-macros x86_64 4:5.16.3-286.el7 base 43 k
perl-parent noarch 1:0.225-244.el7 base 12 k
perl-podlators noarch 2.5.1-3.el7 base 112 k
perl-threads x86_64 1.87-4.el7 base 49 k
perl-threads-shared x86_64 1.43-6.el7 base 39 k
vim-common x86_64 2:7.4.160-1.el7 base 5.9 M
vim-filesystem x86_64 2:7.4.160-1.el7 base 9.6 k
which x86_64 2.20-7.el7 base 41 kImagine trying to manually install all of these programs one at a time just to be able to install a text editor! In the early days of Linux, we faced these kinds of problems, however this problem is fixed with package management systems such as apt, yum, and others. Package managers simplify everything. They look at the package that you want to install such as VIM, LibreOffice, etc., then look at what other package it depends upon, the dependencies of those packages, and so on; then it downloads them all and installs them. For example, in order to install VIM in CentOS 7 today, I simply have to run yum install vim.Some different package management systems:While their functionality and benefits are broadly similar, packaging formats and tools vary by platform:Operating SystemFormatTool(s)Debian.debapt, apt-cache, apt-get, dpkgUbuntu.debapt, apt-cache, apt-get, dpkgCentOS.rpmyumFedora.rpmdnfSuSE.rpmzypperFreeBSDPorts, .txzmake, pkgIn Debian and systems based on it such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and Raspbian, the package format is the .deb file. Apt, the Advanced Packaging Tool, provides commands used for most common operations: Searching repositories, installing collections of packages and their dependencies, and managing upgrades. APT commands operate as a front-end to the lower-level dpkg utility, which handles the installation of individual .deb files on the local system, and is sometimes invoked directly.Fedora and enterprise level distributions like Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), CentOS, and Oracle Linux use RPM files. In CentOS, Oracle, and RHEL, yum is used to interact with both individual package files and repositories. In recent versions of Fedora, yum has been replaced by dnf, a modernized fork which retains most of yum’s functionality.SuSE also uses RPM files. However, the package management software is known as zypper. Zypper’s command line interface is very similar to yum. SuSE also has a build-in gui called YasT that can handle package management and can be accessed from a graphical mode or from the command line.FreeBSD’s binary package system is administered with the pkg command. FreeBSD also offers the Ports Collection, a local directory structure and tools which allow the user to fetch, compile, and install packages directly from source using Makefiles. It’s usually much more convenient to use pkg, but occasionally a pre-compiled package is unavailable, or syou may need to change compile-time options.Update Package ListsMost systems keep a local database of the packages available from remote repositories. It’s best to update this database before installing or upgrading packages. As a partial exception to this pattern, yum and dnf will check for updates before performing some operations, but you can ask them at any time whether updates are available.SystemCommandDebian / Ubuntuapt-get updateCentOSyum check-updateFedoradnf check-updateSuSEzypper refreshFreeBSD Packagespkg updateFreeBSD Portsportsnap fetch updateUpgrade Installed PackagesMaking sure that all of the installed software on a machine stays up to date would be an enormous undertaking without a package system. You would have to track upstream changes and security alerts for hundreds of different packages. While a package manager doesn’t solve every problem you’ll encounter when upgrading software, it does enable you to maintain most system components with a few commands.On FreeBSD, upgrading installed ports can introduce breaking changes or require manual configuration steps. It’s best to read /usr/ports/UPDATING before upgrading with portmaster.SystemCommandNotesDebian / Ubuntuapt-get upgradeOnly upgrades installed packages, where possible.apt-get dist-upgradeMay add or remove packages to satisfy new dependencies.CentOSyum updateFedoradnf upgradeSuSEzypper updateFreeBSD Packagespkg upgradeFreeBSD Portsless /usr/ports/UPDATINGUses less to view update notes for ports (use arrow keys to scroll, pressq to quit).cd /usr/ports/ports-mgmt/portmaster && make install && portmaster -aInstalls portmaster and uses it to update installed ports.Find a PackageMost distributions offer a graphical or menu-driven front end to package
collections. These can be a good way to browse by category and discover
new software. Often, however, the quickest and most effective way to
locate a package is to search with command-line tools.SystemCommandNotesDebian / Ubuntuapt-cache searchCentOSyum searchyum search allSearches all fields, including description.Fedoradnf searchdnf search allSearches all fields, including description.SuSEzypper seFreeBSD Packagespkg searchSearches by name.pkg search -fSearches by name, returning full descriptions.pkg search -DSearches description.FreeBSD Portscd /usr/ports && make search name=packageSearches by name.cd /usr/ports && make search key=Searches comments, descriptions, and dependencies.View Info About a Specific PackageWhen deciding what to install, it’s often helpful to read detailed descriptions of packages. Along with human-readable text, these often include metadata like version numbers and a list of the package’s dependencies.SystemCommandNotesDebian / Ubuntuapt-cache show packageShows locally-cached info about a package.dpkg -s packageShows the current installed status of a package.CentOSyum info packageyum deplist packageLists dependencies for a package.Fedoradnf info packagednf repoquery -\/-requires packageLists dependencies for a package.SuSEzypper info search stringLists dependencies for a package.FreeBSD Packagespkg info packageShows info for an installed package.FreeBSD Portscd /usr/ports/category/port && cat pkg-descrInstall a Package from RepositoriesOnce you know the name of a package, you can usually install it and its dependencies with a single command. In general, you can supply multiple packages to install simply by listing them all.SystemCommandNotesDebian / Ubuntuapt-get install packageapt-get install package1 package2Installs all listed packages.apt-get install -y packageAssumes "yes" where apt would usually prompt to continue.CentOSyum install packageyum install package1 package2Installs all listed packages.yum install -y packageAssumes "yes" where yum would usually prompt to continue.Fedoradnf install packagednf install package1 package2Installs all listed packages.dnf install -y packageAssumes "yes" where dnf would usually prompt to continue.SuSEzypper installFreeBSD Packagespkg install packagepkg install package1 package2Installs all listed packages.FreeBSD Portscd /usr/ports/category/port && make installBuilds and installs a port from source.Install a Package from the Local FilesystemSometimes, even though software isn’t officially packaged for a given operating system, a developer or vendor will offer package files for download. You can usually retrieve these with your web browser, or viacurl on the command line. Once a package is on the target system, it can often be installed with a single command.On Debian-derived systems, dpkg handles individual package files. If a package has unmet dependencies, gdebi can often be used to retrieve them from official repositories.On CentOS and Fedora systems, yum and dnf are used to install individual files, and will also handle needed dependencies.SystemCommandNotesDebian / Ubuntudpkg -i package.debapt-get install -yg debi && gdebi package.debInstalls and uses gdebi to install package.deb and retrieve any missing dependencies.CentOSyum install package.rpmFedoradnf install package.rpmSuSEzypper install package.rpmFreeBSD Packagespkg add package.txzpkg add -f package.txzInstalls package even if already installed.Remove One or More Installed PackagesSince a package manager knows what files are provided by a given package, it can usually remove them cleanly from a system if the software is no longer needed.SystemCommandNotesDebian / Ubuntuapt-get remove packageyum remove packageapt-get autoremoveRemoves unneeded packages.CentOSyum remove packageFedoradnf erase packageFreeBSD Packagespkg delete packagepkg autoremoveRemoves unneeded packages.SuSEzypper rm packageRemoves unneeded packages.FreeBSD Portspkg delete packagecd /usr/ports/path_to_port && make deinstallDe-installs an installed port.Get HelpIn addition to web-based documentation, keep in mind that Unix manual pages (usually referred to as man pages) are available for most commands from the shell. To read a page, use the man command. For example, man yum will give you a brief manual on how to use yum.Conclusion and Further ReadingThis guide provides an overview of basic operations that can be
cross-referenced between systems, but only scratches the surface of a
complex topic. For greater detail on a given system, you can consult the
following resources:This guide covers Ubuntu and Debian package management in detail.There’s an official CentOS guide to managing software with yum.There’s a Fedora wiki page about dnf, and an official manual for dnf itselfThis guide covers FreeBSD package management using pkg.The FreeBSD Handbook contains
a section on using
the Ports Collection.OpenSuSE documentation for Zypper and YaST.