YUM-SHELL(8)
💅 YUM-SHELL(8) — like, the DNF manual page, bestie ✨
okay so real talk: this is YUM-SHELL(8) from the DNF section of the manual. It's literally a redirect to the DNF Command Reference, and we're gonna go through the whole thing together. grab a snack 🍓
🌸 NAME 🌸
yum-shell — redirecting to DNF Command Reference. that's it, that's the name, she's a pointer, she's an icon 👑
🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀
dnf [options] <command> [<args>...]that's the whole shape of it. options first, then the command, then whatever args the command wants. slay.
✨ DESCRIPTION ✨
so DNF is the next upcoming major version of YUM — literally the glow-up era 💖 — and it's a package manager for RPM-based Linux distributions. It roughly maintains CLI compatibility with YUM and defines a strict API for extensions and plugins. no cap, that's the vibe.
Plugins can modify or extend features of DNF, or provide additional CLI commands on top of the ones listed below. and here's a genuinely useful lil trick: if you know the name of such a command (including the commands mentioned below), you may find/install the package which provides it using the appropriate virtual provide in the form of dnf-command(<alias>), where <alias> is the name of the command. for example:
dnf install 'dnf-command(versionlock)'installs a versionlock plugin. periodt. this approach also applies to specifying dependencies of packages that require a particular DNF command. iykyk 🧚
💀 Return values 💀
0— Operation was successful. we love a win 🎉1— An error occurred, which was handled by dnf. handled! but still an error 😭3— An unknown unhandled error occurred during operation. not me finding out about this one the hard way 💀100— Seecheck-update200— There was a problem with acquiring or releasing of locks. the locks!! the locks are fighting!! 🔥
🦋 Available commands 🦋
here's the full roster, in the original order, no skips:
aliasautoremovecheckcheck-updatecleandeplistdistro-syncdowngradegrouphelphistoryinfoinstalllistmakecachemarkmoduleprovidesreinstallremoverepoinforepolistrepoqueryrepository-packagessearchshellswapupdateinfoupgradeupgrade-minimal
🌈 Additional information 🌈
- Options
- Specifying Packages
- Specifying Provides
- Specifying File Provides
- Specifying Groups
- Specifying Transactions
- Metadata Synchronization
- Configuration Files Replacement Policy
- Files
- See Also
(those are the deeper sections, we'll get to 'em ✨)
🔥 OPTIONS 🔥
okay this is the big one, buckle up, there are SO many flags and every single one matters 💅
-4— Resolve to IPv4 addresses only. old school, but make it fashion.-6— Resolve to IPv6 addresses only. futuristic baddie behavior.--advisory=<advisory>,--advisories=<advisory>— Include packages corresponding to the advisory ID, Eg.FEDORA-2201-123. Applicable for theinstall,repoquery,updateinfo,upgradeandoffline-upgrade(dnf-plugins-core) commands.--allowerasing— Allow erasing of installed packages to resolve dependencies. this option could be used as an alternative to theyum swapcommand where packages to remove are not explicitly defined. she's giving "i'll clean up for you" energy 🧹--assumeno— Automatically answer no for all questions. consent-first queen 🙈-b,--best— Try the best available package versions in transactions. Specifically duringdnf upgrade, which by default skips over updates that can not be installed for dependency reasons, the switch forces DNF to only consider the latest packages. When running into packages with broken dependencies, DNF will fail giving a reason why the latest version can not be installed.
Note that the use of the newest available version is only guaranteed for the packages directly requested (e.g. as a command line arguments), and the solver may use older versions of dependencies to meet their requirements. so like, "best" is best-effort for the deps, don't come for her ✋
--bugfix— Include packages that fix a bugfix issue. Applicable for theinstall,repoquery,updateinfo,upgradeandoffline-upgrade(dnf-plugins-core) commands.--bz=<bugzilla>,--bzs=<bugzilla>— Include packages that fix a Bugzilla ID, Eg.123123. Applicable for theinstall,repoquery,updateinfo,upgradeandoffline-upgrade(dnf-plugins-core) commands.-C,--cacheonly— Run entirely from system cache, don't update the cache and use it even in case it is expired. expired?? she does not care 💀
DNF uses a separate cache for each user under which it executes. The cache for the root user is called the system cache. This switch allows a regular user read-only access to the system cache, which usually is more fresh than the user's and thus he does not have to wait for metadata sync. lowkey a queen move for impatient people (me, i'm people).
--color=<color>— Control whether color is used in terminal output. Valid values arealways,neverandauto(default). aesthetics are load-bearing 🎨--comment=<comment>— Add a comment to the transaction history. leave a lil note for future you 🫶-c <config file>,--config=<config file>— Configuration file location.--cve=<cves>,--cves=<cves>— Include packages that fix a CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) ID (http://cve.mitre.org/about/), Eg.CVE-2201-0123. Applicable for theinstall,repoquery,updateinfo,upgradeandoffline-upgrade(dnf-plugins-core) commands.-d <debug level>,--debuglevel=<debug level>— Debugging output level. This is an integer value between0(no additional information strings) and10(shows all debugging information, even that not understandable to the user), default is2. Deprecated, use-vinstead. ⚠️ old flag alert, she's retired but still shows up to the party.--debugsolver— Dump data aiding in dependency solver debugging into./debugdata. detective mode 🔍--disableexcludes=[all|main|<repoid>],--disableexcludepkgs=[all|main|<repoid>]— Disableexcludepkgsandincludepkgsconfiguration options. Takes one of the following three options:all, disables allexcludepkgsandincludepkgsconfigurationsmain, disablesexcludepkgsandincludepkgsdefined in the[main]sectionrepoid, disablesexcludepkgsandincludepkgsdefined for the given repository
Note that the --exclude option appends to the [main] excludepkgs configuration and therefore is disabled when main or all is specified. okay so they're linked, careful bestie 🩷
--disable,--set-disabled— Disable specified repositories (automatically saves). The option has to be used together with theconfig-managercommand (dnf-plugins-core).--disableplugin=<plugin names>— Disable the listed plugins specified by names or globs.--disablerepo=<repoid>— Temporarily disable active repositories for the purpose of the current dnf command. Accepts an id, a comma-separated list of ids, or a glob of ids. This option can be specified multiple times, but is mutually exclusive with--repo. ✋ they cannot both be at the function, pick one.--downloaddir=<path>,--destdir=<path>— Redirect downloaded packages to provided directory. The option has to be used together with the--downloadonlycommand line option, with thedownload,modulesync,reposyncorsystem-upgradecommands (dnf-plugins-core).--downloadonly— Download the resolved package set without performing any rpm transaction (install/upgrade/erase).
Packages are removed after the next successful transaction. This applies also when used together with --destdir option as the directory is considered as a part of the DNF cache. To persist the packages, use the download command instead. 🚨 important!! do NOT assume your downloads stick around, they get yeeted.
-e <error level>,--errorlevel=<error level>— Error output level. This is an integer value between0(no error output) and10(shows all error messages), default is3. Deprecated, use-vinstead. another retired icon 💀--enable,--set-enabled— Enable specified repositories (automatically saves). The option has to be used together with theconfig-managercommand (dnf-plugins-core).--enableplugin=<plugin names>— Enable the listed plugins specified by names or globs.--enablerepo=<repoid>— Temporarily enable additional repositories for the purpose of the current dnf command. Accepts an id, a comma-separated list of ids, or a glob of ids. This option can be specified multiple times. stack 'em, bestie 🥞--enhancement— Include enhancement relevant packages. Applicable for theinstall,repoquery,updateinfo,upgradeandoffline-upgrade(dnf-plugins-core) commands.-x <package-file-spec>,--exclude=<package-file-spec>— Exclude packages specified by<package-file-spec>from the operation. not invited to the party 🚫--excludepkgs=<package-file-spec>— Deprecated option. It was replaced by the--excludeoption. she's a ghost of exclusions past 👻--forcearch=<arch>— Force the use of an architecture. Any architecture can be specified. However, use of an architecture not supported natively by your CPU will require emulation of some kind. This is usually through QEMU. The behavior of--forcearchcan be configured by using thearchandignorearchconfiguration options with values<arch>andTruerespectively. forcing it fr fr 🫡-h,--help,--help-cmd— Show the help. the classic, the beloved, the always-there-for-you 💖--installroot=<path>— Specifies an alternative installroot, relative to where all packages will be installed. Think of this like doingchroot <root> dnf, except using--installrootallows dnf to work before the chroot is created. It requires absolute path. and like, here's the fine print — read it, it's all real:cachedir, log files,releasever, andgpgkeyare taken from or stored in the installroot. Gpgkeys are imported into the installroot from a path relative to the host which can be specified in the repository section of configuration files.- configuration file and
reposdirare searched inside the installroot first. If they are not present, they are taken from the host system. Note: When a path is specified within a command line argument (--config=<config file>in case of configuration file and--setopt=reposdir=<reposdir>forreposdir) then this path is always relative to the host with no exceptions. varsare taken from the host system or installroot according toreposdir. Whenreposdirpath is specified within a command line argument,varsare taken from the installroot. Whenvarsdirpaths are specified within a command line argument (--setopt=varsdir=<reposdir>) then those path are always relative to the host with no exceptions.- The
pluginpathandpluginconfpathare relative to the host.
Note: You may also want to use the command-line option --releasever=<release> when creating the installroot, otherwise the $releasever value is taken from the rpmdb within the installroot (and thus it is empty at the time of creation and the transaction will fail). If --releasever=/ is used, the releasever will be detected from the host (/) system. The new installroot path at the time of creation does not contain the repository, releasever and dnf.conf files. 🚨 this one bites people, ngl, don't say i didn't warn you.
okay that's where this part wraps — there's more coming, don't go anywhere 🦋
okay so on a modular system you may also wanna use the --setopt=module_platform_id=<module_platform_name:stream> command-line option when you're creating the installroot, bestie. otherwise the module_platform_id value gets taken from the /etc/os-release file inside the installroot (which means it'll be empty at creation time, the modular dependency could be unsatisfied, and modules content could be excluded 😭).
Installroot examples: ✨
dnf --installroot=<installroot> --releasever=<release> install system-releasePermanently sets the releasever of the system in the <installroot> directory to <release>.
dnf --installroot=<installroot> --setopt=reposdir=<path> --config /path/dnf.conf upgradeUpgrades packages inside the installroot from a repository described by --setopt using configuration from /path/dnf.conf.
--newpackage— Includenewpackagerelevant packages. Applicable for theinstall,repoquery,updateinfo,upgradeandoffline-upgrade(dnf-plugins-core) commands.--noautoremove— Disable removal of dependencies that are no longer used. It sets theclean_requirements_on_removeconfiguration option toFalse.--nobest— Setbestoption toFalse, so that transactions are not limited to best candidates only. lowkey useful when you need the messy ones too 💅--nodocs— Do not install documentation. Sets the rpm flag'RPMTRANS_FLAG_NODOCS'.--nogpgcheck— Skip checking GPG signatures on packages (if RPM policy allows). ⚠️ only when you know what you're doing, bestie.--noplugins— Disable all plugins.--obsoletes— This option has an effect on an install/update, it enables dnf's obsoletes processing logic. For more information see theobsoletesoption.
This option also displays capabilities that the package obsoletes when used together with the repoquery command.
Configuration Option: obsoletes
-q,--quiet— In combination with a non-interactive command, shows just the relevant content. Suppresses messages notifying about the current state or actions of DNF.-R <minutes>,--randomwait=<minutes>— Maximum command wait time.--refresh— Set metadata as expired before running the command.--releasever=<release>— Configure DNF as if the distribution release was<release>. This can affect cache paths, values in configuration files and mirrorlist URLs.--releasever_major=<major version>— Override thereleasever_majorvariable, which is usually automatically detected or taken from the part of$releaseverbefore the first.. This option does not affect the$releasevervariable.--releasever_minor=<minor version>— Override thereleasever_minorvariable, which is usually automatically detected or taken from the part of$releaseverafter the first.. This option does not affect the$releasevervariable.--repofrompath <repo>,<path/url>— Specify a repository to add to the repositories for this query. This option can be used multiple times.- The repository label is specified by
<repo>. - The path or url to the repository is specified by
<path/url>. It is the same path as abaseurland can be also enriched by the repo variables. - The configuration for the repository can be adjusted using
--setopt=<repo>.<option>=<value>. - If you want to view only packages from this repository, combine this with the
--repo=<repo>or--disablerepo="*"switches.
- The repository label is specified by
--repo=<repoid>,--repoid=<repoid>— Enable just specific repositories by an id or a glob. Can be used multiple times with accumulative effect. It is basically a shortcut for--disablerepo="*" --enablerepo=<repoid>and is mutually exclusive with the--disablerepooption.--rpmverbosity=<name>— RPM debug scriptlet output level. Sets the debug level to<name>for RPM scriptlets. For available levels, see therpmverbosityconfiguration option.--sec-severity=<severity>,--secseverity=<severity>— Includes packages that provide a fix for an issue of the specified severity. Applicable for theinstall,repoquery,updateinfo,upgradeandoffline-upgrade(dnf-plugins-core) commands.--security— Includes packages that provide a fix for a security issue. Applicable for theinstall,repoquery,updateinfo,upgradeandoffline-upgrade(dnf-plugins-core) commands. 🔐--setopt=<option>=<value>— Override a configuration option from the configuration file. To override configuration options for repositories, userepoid.optionfor the<option>. Values for configuration options likeexcludepkgs,includepkgs,installonlypkgsandtsflagsare appended to the original value, they do not override it. However, specifying an empty value (e.g.--setopt=tsflags=) will clear the option.--skip-broken— Resolve depsolve problems by removing packages that are causing problems from the transaction. It is an alias for thestrictconfiguration option with valueFalse. Additionally, with theenableanddisablemodule subcommands it allows one to perform an action even in case of broken modular dependencies.--showduplicates— Show duplicate packages in repositories. Applicable for thelistandsearchcommands.--transient— Applicable only onbootc(bootable containers) systems. Perform transactions using a transient overlay which will be lost on the next reboot. See also thepersistenceconfiguration option.-v,--verbose— Verbose operation, show debug messages.--version— Show DNF version and exit.-y,--assumeyes— Automatically answer yes for all questions.
List options are comma-separated. Command-line options override respective settings from configuration files.
👑 COMMANDS 👑
For an explanation of <package-spec>, <package-file-spec> and <package-name-spec> see Specifying Packages.
For an explanation of <provide-spec> see Specifying Provides.
For an explanation of <group-spec> see Specifying Groups.
For an explanation of <module-spec> see Specifying Modules.
For an explanation of <transaction-spec> see Specifying Transactions.
🎀 Alias Command 🎀
Command: alias
Allows the user to define and manage a list of aliases (in the form <name=value>), which can be then used as dnf commands to abbreviate longer command sequences. For examples on using the alias command, see Alias Examples. For examples on the alias processing, see Alias Processing Examples.
To use an alias (name=value), the name must be placed as the first "command" (e.g. the first argument that is not an option). It is then replaced by its value and the resulting sequence is again searched for aliases. The alias processing stops when the first found command is not a name of any alias.
In case the processing would result in an infinite recursion, the original arguments are used instead.
Also, like in shell aliases, if the result starts with a \, the alias processing will stop.
All aliases are defined in configuration files in the /etc/dnf/aliases.d/ directory in the [aliases] section, and aliases created by the alias command are written to the USER.conf file. In case of conflicts, the USER.conf has the highest priority, and alphabetical ordering is used for the rest of the configuration files.
Optionally, there is the enabled option in the [main] section defaulting to True. This can be set for each file separately in the respective file, or globally for all aliases in the ALIASES.conf file.
dnf alias [options] [list] [<name>...] List aliases with their final result. The [<alias>...] parameter further limits the result to only those aliases matching it.
dnf alias [options] add <name=value>... Create new aliases.
dnf alias [options] delete <name>... Delete aliases.
🌸 Alias Examples 🌸
dnf alias list— Lists all defined aliases.dnf alias add rm=remove— Adds a new command alias calledrmwhich works the same as theremovecommand.dnf alias add upgrade="\upgrade --skip-broken --disableexcludes=all --obsoletes"— Adds a new command alias calledupgradewhich works the same as theupgradecommand, with additional options. Note that the originalupgradecommand is prefixed with a\to prevent an infinite loop in alias processing. 🌀
🦋 Alias Processing Examples 🦋
If there are defined aliases in=install and FORCE="--skip-broken --disableexcludes=all":
dnf FORCE inwill be replaced withdnf --skip-broken --disableexcludes=all installdnf in FORCEwill be replaced withdnf install FORCE(which will fail)
If there is defined alias in=install:
dnf inwill be replaced withdnf installdnf --repo updates inwill be replaced withdnf --repo updates in(which will fail)
🧚 Autoremove Command 🧚
Command: autoremove Aliases for explicit NEVRA matching: autoremove-n, autoremove-na, autoremove-nevra
dnf [options] autoremoveRemoves all packages from the system that were originally installed as dependencies of user-installed packages, but which are no longer required by any such package.
dnf [options] autoremove <spec>...This is an alias for the Remove Command command with clean_requirements_on_remove set to True. It removes the specified packages from the system along with any packages depending on the packages being removed. Each <spec> can be either a <package-spec>, which specifies a package directly, or a @<group-spec>, which specifies an (environment) group which contains it. It also removes any dependencies that are no longer needed.
There are also a few specific autoremove commands autoremove-n, autoremove-na and autoremove-nevra that allow the specification of an exact argument in the NEVRA (name-epoch:version-release.architecture) format.
This command by default does not force a sync of expired metadata. See also Metadata Synchronization.
💀 Check Command 💀
Command: check
dnf [options] check [--dependencies] [--duplicates] [--obsoleted] [--provides]Checks the local packagedb and produces information on any problems it finds. You can limit the checks to be performed by using the --dependencies, --duplicates, --obsoleted and --provides options (the default is to check everything).
🔄 Check-Update Command 🔄
Command: check-update Aliases: check-upgrade
- Non-interactively checks whether updates for the packages you named are available. No
<package-file-spec>? Then it just checks whether any updates at all exist for your whole system, no cap. DNF's exit code is100when updates are available and a list of them gets printed,0if there's nothing, and1if something errors out 😭. And if you pass--changelogs, it also prints the changelog delta of the packages that are about to be updated. cute bonus.
ok important bestie note 🫶: just because a specific newer version shows up as available (andcheck-updatereports it) does not mean a laterdnf upgradewill actually install it. The difference is thatdnf upgradehas restrictions it has to take into account — like package dependencies being satisfied. so don't come for dnf when the upgrade does something slightly different, it's literally doing math 💅
The output is affected by the autocheck_running_kernel configuration option. noted ✨
🧹 Clean Command
Command: clean
Performs cleanup of temporary files kept for repositories. This includes any such data left behind from disabled or removed repositories, plus the stuff for different distribution release versions. it's giving spring cleaning for your cache directory 🎀
dnf clean dbcache— removes cache files generated from the repository metadata. This forces DNF to regenerate those cache files the next time it's run. no shortcuts, it's rebuilding from scratch 🌸dnf clean expire-cache— marks the repository metadata expired. DNF will re-validate the cache for each repository the next time it's used. it's not deleted, just ✨flagged✨dnf clean metadata— removes repository metadata. Those are the files DNF uses to determine the remote availability of packages. Using this option will make DNF download all the metadata the next time it's run. so like, brace yourself for a slow one 💀dnf clean packages— removes any cached packages from the system. bye bye.rpmfiles 🦋dnf clean all— does all of the above. the whole combo, main character energy 👑
🗂️ Deplist Command
dnf [options] deplist [<select-options>] [<query-options>]
[<package-spec>]Deprecated alias for dnf repoquery --deplist. that's it, that's the whole vibe — it's deprecated, use the repoquery one 🥲
🔄 Distro-Sync Command
Command: distro-sync Aliases: dsync Deprecated aliases: distrosync, distribution-synchronization
dnf distro-sync [<package-spec>...]As necessary, upgrades, downgrades or keeps selected installed packages to match the latest version available from any enabled repository. If no package is given, all installed packages are considered. she will move you up, down, or leave you exactly where you are — whatever gets you matching 💅
See also Configuration Files Replacement Policy.
⬇️ Downgrade Command
Command: downgrade Aliases: dg
dnf [options] downgrade <package-spec>...Downgrades the specified packages to the highest installable package of all known lower versions if possible. And when a version is given and it's lower than the version of the installed package, then it downgrades to that target version. going backwards on purpose, iconic 🌈
👯 Group Command
Command: group Aliases: grp Deprecated aliases: groups, grouplist, groupinstall, groupupdate, groupremove, grouperase, groupinfo
Groups are virtual collections of packages. DNF keeps track of groups that the user selected ("marked") installed, and can manipulate the comprising packages with simple commands. it's like a playlist but for packages 🎧
dnf [options] group [summary] <group-spec>— display an overview of how many groups are installed and available. With a spec, limit the output to the matching groups.summaryis the default groups subcommand. so if you type nothing extra, this is what you get ✨dnf [options] group info <group-spec>— display package lists of a group. Shows which packages are installed or available from a repository when-vis used. receipts mode 🔍dnf [options] group install [--with-optional] <group-spec>...— mark the specified group installed and install the packages it contains. Also include optional packages of the group if--with-optionalis specified. All Mandatory and Default packages will be installed whenever possible. Conditional packages are installed if they meet their requirement. If the group is already (partially) installed, the command installs the missing packages from the group. Depending on the value of theobsoletesconfiguration option, group installation takes obsoletes into account. and that's on finishing what you started 🫶dnf [options] group list <group-spec>...— list all matching groups, either among installed or available groups. If nothing is specified, list all known groups. The--installedand--availableoptions narrow down the requested list. Records are ordered by thedisplay_ordertag defined in thecomps.xmlfile. Provides a list of all hidden groups by using the option--hidden. Provides group IDs when the-vor--idsoptions are used. so many little knobs, love that for us 🎀dnf [options] group remove <group-spec>...— mark the group removed and remove those packages in the group from the system which do not belong to another installed group and were not installed explicitly by the user. she's careful, she's not gonna yank something you actually asked for 💅dnf [options] group upgrade <group-spec>...— upgrades the packages from the group and upgrades the group itself. The latter comprises installing packages that were added to the group by the distribution and removing packages that got removed from the group, as far as they were not installed explicitly by the user. group upgrade is a whole glow-up, not just a package upgrade ⭐
Groups can also be marked installed or removed without physically manipulating any packages:
dnf [options] group mark install <group-spec>...— mark the specified group installed. No packages will be installed by this command, but the group is then considered installed. all vibes, zero installs 😌dnf [options] group mark remove <group-spec>...— mark the specified group removed. No packages will be removed by this command. same energy, other direction 🙈
See also Configuration Files Replacement Policy.
❓ Help Command
Command: help
dnf help [<command>]Displays the help text for all commands. If you give it a command name, then it only displays help for that particular command. your personal cheat sheet, no gatekeeping 🌸
📜 History Command
Command: history Aliases: hist
The history command allows the user to view what has happened in past transactions and act according to this information (assuming the history_record configuration option is set). it's the receipts of your entire dnf career 🧾
🕰️ History List
dnf history [list] [--reverse] [<spec>...]The default history action is listing information about given transactions in a table. Each <spec> can be either a <transaction-spec>, which specifies a transaction directly, or a <transaction-spec>..<transaction-spec>, which specifies a range of transactions, or a <package-name-spec>, which specifies a transaction by a package which it manipulated. When no transaction is specified, list all known transactions. pick your poison, all formats work 💜
Note that transient transactions (see--transient) will be listed even though they do not make persistent changes to files under/usror to the RPM database. they still show up in the group chat, they just didn't leave a mark 😭
The "Action(s)" column lists each type of action taken in the transaction. The possible values are:
- Install (I): a new package was installed on the system
- Downgrade (D): an older version of a package replaced the previously-installed version
- Obsolete (O): an obsolete package was replaced by a new package
- Upgrade (U): a newer version of the package replaced the previously-installed version
- Remove (E): a package was removed from the system
- Reinstall (R): a package was reinstalled with the same version
- Reason change (C): a package was kept in the system but its reason for being installed changed
The "Altered" column lists the number of actions taken in each transaction, possibly followed by one or two of the following symbols:
>: The RPM database was changed, outside DNF, after the transaction<: The RPM database was changed, outside DNF, before the transaction*: The transaction aborted before completion#: The transaction completed, but with a non-zero statusE: The transaction completed successfully, but had warning/error output
--reverse — the order of history list output is printed in reverse order. newest first, if that's your thing 🔥
🔎 History Info
dnf history info [<spec>...]Describe the given transactions. The meaning of <spec> is the same as in the History List Command. When no transaction is specified, describe what happened during the latest transaction. the "so what actually went down" command 👀
🔁 History Redo
dnf history redo <transaction-spec>|<package-file-spec>Repeat the specified transaction. Uses the last transaction (with the highest ID) if more than one transaction for the given <package-file-spec> is found. If it's not possible to redo some operations due to the current state of RPMDB, it will not redo the transaction. no partial sends, it's all or nothing 💀
📼 History Replay
dnf history replay [--ignore-installed] [--ignore-extras]
[--skip-unavailable] <filename>Replay a transaction stored in the file <filename> by the History Store Command. The replay will perform the exact same operations on the packages as in the original transaction and will return with an error in case of any differences in installed packages or their versions. See also the Transaction JSON Format specification of the file format. it's a movie night, and the plot must not change 🎬
--ignore-installed— Don't check for the installed packages being in the same state as those recorded in the transaction. E.g. in case there is an upgradefoo-1.0 -> foo-2.0stored in the transaction, but there isfoo-1.1installed on the target system. close enough, bestie 🤷--ignore-extras— Don't check for extra packages pulled into the transaction on the target system. E.g. the target system may not have some dependency, which was installed on the source system. The replay errors out on this by default, as the transaction would not be the same. she's strict by default and honestly? valid 🎀--skip-unavailable— In case some packages stored in the transaction are not available on the target system, skip them instead of erroring out. out of stock? we move 🦋
⏪ History Rollback
dnf history rollback <transaction-spec>|<package-file-spec>Undo all transactions performed after the specified transaction. Uses the last transaction (with the highest ID) if more than one transaction for the given <package-file-spec> is found. If it's not possible to undo some transactions due to the current state of RPMDB, it will not undo any transaction. total rewind button, but she checks the vibes first 🌙
🧸 dnf history store 💾
dnf history store [--output <output-file>] <transaction-spec>Okay so this one's a whole mood — it stores a transaction, the one you point at with <transaction-spec>. And then later you can replay it with the History Replay Command. Like saving a game before a boss fight, bestie. 🎮
⚠️ Warning, and I mean it: the stored transaction format is considered unstable and may change at any time. It'll work if the same version of dnf is used to store and replay (or between versions as long as it stays the same). So like… don't build your whole personality on it, k? 💀
-o <output-file>,--output=<output-file>— store the serialized transaction into<output-file>. Default istransaction.json. ✨
↩️ dnf history undo 🌸
dnf history undo <transaction-spec>|<package-file-spec>Performs the opposite operation to all operations performed in the specified transaction. Iconic behaviour honestly — it just un-does the do. 🫶
Uses the last transaction (the one with the highest ID) if more than one transaction for the given <package-file-spec> is found. And heads up: if it's not possible to undo some operations because of the current state of RPMDB, it will not undo the transaction. No partial slay, it's all or nothing. 😭
👑 dnf history userinstalled 🎀
Shows all packages installed by user, packages installed from a group or a module profile, and packages installed outside of DNF. Basically it lists the packages that will stay on the system when Autoremove Command or Remove Command — along with the clean_requirements_on_remove configuration option set to True — gets executed. 🧚
Little note: the same results can be accomplished with dnf repoquery --userinstalled, and ngl the repoquery command is more powerful when it comes to formatting the output. So like, options, bestie. 💅
This command by default does not force a sync of expired metadata — except for the redo, rollback, and undo subcommands. See also Metadata Synchronization and Configuration Files Replacement Policy. 🔥
🦋 Info Command
Command: info Aliases: if
dnf [options] info [<package-file-spec>...]Lists description and summary information about installed and available packages. The vibe check of a package, if you will. 💖
The info command limits the displayed packages the same way as the list command does.
This command by default does not force a sync of expired metadata. See also Metadata Synchronization. ✨
🛍️ Install Command
Command: install Aliases: in Aliases for explicit NEVRA matching: install-n, install-na, install-nevra Deprecated aliases: localinstall
dnf [options] install <spec>...Makes sure that the given packages and their dependencies are installed on the system. Obsessed with a complete install, honestly. 💅
Each <spec> can be either a <package-spec>, or a @<module-spec>, or a @<group-spec>. See Install Examples down below. 👀
If a given package or provide cannot be (and is not already) installed, the exit code will be non-zero. So if you're scripting, that's your little signal, iykyk. 🚨
And if <spec> matches both a @<module-spec> and a @<group-spec> — only the module gets installed. Module wins, periodt. 👑
When <package-spec> is used to specify the exact version of the package, DNF will install the desired version, no matter which version of the package is already installed. The former version of the package will be removed in the case of non-installonly package. Glow up in progress. 🦋
On the other hand, if <package-spec> specifies only a name, DNF also takes into account packages obsoleting it when picking which package to install. This behaviour is specific to the install command. Note that this can lead to seemingly unexpected results if a package has multiple versions and some older version is being obsoleted — it creates a split in the upgrade-path and both ways are considered correct, and the resulting package is picked simply by lexicographical order. Lowkey chaotic but that's the rule. 🌀
There are also a few specific install commands — install-n, install-na and install-nevra — that allow the specification of an exact argument in the NEVRA format. As a consequence, <spec> will not be matched with provides and file provides. Strict mode: activated. 🎀
See also Configuration Files Replacement Policy.
🌈 Install Examples
dnf install tito Install the tito package (tito is the package name). Easy. ✨
dnf install ~/Downloads/tito-0.6.2-1.fc22.noarch.rpm Install a local rpm file tito-0.6.2-1.fc22.noarch.rpm from the ~/Downloads/ directory. Your downloads folder finally serving a purpose 💖
dnf install tito-0.5.6-1.fc22 Install the package with a specific version. If the package is already installed it will automatically try to downgrade or upgrade to the specific version. Choose-your-own-version energy. 🎯
dnf --best install tito Install the latest available version of the package. If the package is already installed it will try to automatically upgrade to the latest version. If the latest version of the package cannot be installed, the installation will fail. No fallbacks, we die like legends. 💀
dnf install vim DNF will automatically recognize that vim is not a package name, but will look up and install a package that provides vim with all the required dependencies. Note: package name match has precedence over package provides match. 👑
dnf install https://kojipkgs.fedoraproject.org//packages/tito/0.6.0/1.fc22/noarch/tito-0.6.0-1.fc22.noarch.rpm Install a package directly from a URL. Living in the future fr fr 🌐
dnf install '@docker' Install all default profiles of module 'docker' and their RPMs. Module streams get enabled accordingly. 🐳
dnf install '@Web Server' Install the 'Web Server' environmental group. 🌸
dnf install /usr/bin/rpmsign Install a package that provides the /usr/bin/rpmsign file. File-path sleuthing, slay. 🔍
dnf -y install tito --setopt=install_weak_deps=False Install the tito package (tito is the package name) without weak deps. Weak deps are not required for core functionality of the package, but they enhance the original package (like extended documentation, plugins, additional functions, etc.). The bare minimum, minimal, clean. 🧼
dnf install --advisory=FEDORA-2018-b7b99fe852 \* Install all packages that belong to the "FEDORA-2018-b7b99fe852" advisory. Yes the \* is doing work there, don't touch it. ⭐
📋 List Command
Command: list Aliases: ls
Prints lists of packages depending on the packages' relation to the system. A package is installed if it is present in the RPMDB, and it is available if it is not installed but is present in a repository that DNF knows about. Simple as that, bestie. 💜
The list command also limits the displayed packages according to specific criteria — e.g. to only those that update an installed package (respecting the repository priority). The exclude option in the configuration file can influence the result, but if the --disableexcludes command line option is used, it ensures that all installed packages will be listed. 🫶
dnf [options] list [--all] [<package-file-spec>...]Lists all packages, present in the RPMDB, in a repository, or both. Everything everywhere all at once. 🌈
dnf [options] list --installed [<package-file-spec>...]Lists installed packages.
dnf [options] list --available [<package-file-spec>...]Lists available packages.
dnf [options] list --extras [<package-file-spec>...]Lists extras — that is, packages installed on the system that are not available in any known repository. The mysterious ones. 👀
dnf [options] list --obsoletes [<package-file-spec>...]List packages installed on the system that are obsoleted by packages in any known repository.
dnf [options] list --recent [<package-file-spec>...]List packages recently added into the repositories. Fresh out the oven 🍓
dnf [options] list --upgrades [<package-file-spec>...]List upgrades available for the installed packages. Glow-up list 💅
dnf [options] list --autoremoveList packages which will be removed by the dnf autoremove command.
This command by default does not force a sync of expired metadata. See also Metadata Synchronization. ✨
🗄️ Makecache Command
Command: makecache Aliases: mc
dnf [options] makecacheDownloads and caches metadata for enabled repositories. It tries to avoid downloading whenever possible (e.g. when the local metadata hasn't expired yet or when the metadata timestamp hasn't changed). Efficient queen behaviour. 👑
dnf [options] makecache --timerLike plain makecache, but instructs DNF to be more resource-aware — meaning it will not do anything if running on battery power, it will terminate immediately if it's too soon after the last successful makecache run (see dnf.conf(5), metadata_timer_sync), and if the first mirror in a repository mirrorlist fails, it will not try to synchronize the metadata from more mirrors for that repository. It knows when to chill. 😌
🏷️ Mark Command
Command: mark
dnf mark install <package-spec>...Marks the specified packages as installed by user. Super useful if any package was installed as a dependency and you want it to stay on the system when Autoremove Command or Remove Command — along with the clean_requirements_on_remove configuration option set to True — is executed. Protective bestie mode activated 🫶
dnf mark remove <package-spec>...Unmarks the specified packages as installed by user. Whenever you as a user don't need a specific package you can mark it for removal. The package stays installed on the system but will be removed when Autoremove Command or Remove Command — along with the clean_requirements_on_remove configuration option set to True — is executed. You should use this operation instead of Remove Command if you're not sure whether the package is a requirement of other user installed packages on the system. Safety first, always 💖
dnf mark group <package-spec>...Marks the specified packages as installed by group. This can be useful if any package was installed as a dependency or a user and is desired to be protected and handled as a group member — like during group remove. Group hug 🎀
🧩 Module Command
Command: module
Modularity overview is available at man page dnf.modularity(7). ✨
Module subcommands take <module-spec>... arguments that specify modules or profiles.
dnf [options] module install <module-spec>...Install module profiles, including their packages. In case no profile was provided, all default profiles get installed. Module streams get enabled accordingly. 🌈
🚫 This command cannot be used for switching module streams. Use the dnf module switch-to command for that. Don't try to make install do a switch-to's job, it's not that girl. 💅
dnf [options] module update <module-spec>...Update packages associated with an active module stream, optionally restricted to a profile. If the profile_name is provided, only the packages referenced by that profile will be updated. 🦋
dnf [options] module switch-to <module-spec>...— the glow-up command 💅 switches you to (or enables) a module stream, bumps installed packages to the versions the new stream provides, and yeets the packages from the old stream that just aren't available anymore. It also updates the installed profiles if the new stream has them. But bestie, listen: when a profile was provided, it installs that profile and does not touch any profiles you already had installed.
Think of it as dnf module enable but with main-character energy — because it doesn't just enable modules, it also does a distrosync to all modular packages in the enabled modules.
You can also use it as a beefed-up dnf module install, but heads up: you have to spell out the profiles you want installed, because switch-to doesn't do default profiles. And it's not just a profile installer either — it makes a distrosync to all modular packages in the installed module. no cap ✨
dnf [options] module remove <module-spec>...— removes installed module profiles, including the packages that came in throughdnf module install. It will not remove packages that other installed module profiles need, or packages other user-installed packages depend on. If no profile was given, all installed profiles get removed. bye 👋dnf [options] module remove --all <module-spec>...— same profile-removal deal as above, but with--allit also removes all packages whose names are provided by the modules you specified. The ones that stay safe: packages required by other installed module profiles, and packages whose names are also provided by any other module. 🛡️dnf [options] module enable <module-spec>...— enables a module stream and makes the stream's RPMs available in the package set.
Modular dependencies get resolved, dependencies get checked, and everything gets recursively enabled. If there's a modular dependency issue the whole operation gets rejected 😭 — to do it anyway, use the --skip-broken option.
Fr fr: this command can not be used for switching module streams. Use dnf module switch-to for that, bestie.
dnf [options] module disable <module-name>...— disables a module. All related module streams become unavailable. Consequently, all installed profiles get removed and the module RPMs become unavailable in the package set. If there's a modular dependency issue the operation gets rejected — to push through anyway, use the--skip-brokenoption.dnf [options] module reset <module-name>...— resets the module state so it's no longer enabled or disabled. Consequently, all installed profiles get removed and only RPMs from the default stream are available in the package set. clean slate energy 🧼✨dnf [options] module provides <package-name-spec>...— lists all modular packages matching<package-name-spec>from all modules (disabled ones included 🫶), along with the modules and streams they belong to.dnf [options] module list [--all] [module_name...]— lists all module streams, their profiles and states (enabled,disabled,default).dnf [options] module list --enabled [module_name...]— lists the module streams that are enabled.dnf [options] module list --disabled [module_name...]— lists the module streams that are disabled.dnf [options] module list --installed [module_name...]— lists module streams with installed profiles.dnf [options] module info <module-spec>...— prints the detailed tea ☕ on the given module stream.dnf [options] module info --profile <module-spec>...— prints detailed info about the given module profiles.dnf [options] module repoquery <module-spec>...— lists all available packages belonging to the selected modules.dnf [options] module repoquery --available <module-spec>...— lists all available packages belonging to the selected modules.dnf [options] module repoquery --installed <module-spec>...— lists all installed packages with the same name as packages belonging to the selected modules.
🔍 Provides Command 🔍
Command: provides Aliases: prov, whatprovides, wp
dnf [options] provides <provide-spec>— finds the packages that provide the given<provide-spec>. This is the moment when you know a filename and you're like "okay but what package (installed or not) gives me this file??" 🕵️♀️ The<provide-spec>gets looked for gradually, in these locations:- The
<provide-spec>is matched against all file provides of any available package:
- The
$ dnf provides /usr/bin/gzip
gzip-1.9-9.fc29.x86_64 : The GNU data compression program
Matched from:
Filename : /usr/bin/gzip- Then all provides of all available packages get searched:
$ dnf provides "gzip(x86-64)"
gzip-1.9-9.fc29.x86_64 : The GNU data compression program
Matched from:
Provide : gzip(x86-64) = 1.9-9.fc29- DNF assumes the
<provide-spec>is a system command, prepends it with/usr/bin/,/usr/sbin/prefixes (one at a time) and does the file provides search all over again. And for legacy reasons (shoutout to the packages that didn't do UsrMove 💀)/binand/sbinprefixes get searched too:
$ dnf provides zless
gzip-1.9-9.fc29.x86_64 : The GNU data compression program
Matched from:
Filename : /usr/bin/zless- If even that last step fails, DNF returns
"Error: No Matches found". 😔
This command by default does not force a sync of expired metadata. See also Metadata Synchronization.
♻️ Reinstall Command ♻️
Command: reinstall Aliases: rei
dnf [options] reinstall <package-spec>...— installs the specified packages, and fails if some of the packages are either not installed or not available (i.e. there's no repository where to download the same RPM). it's giving "run it back" but with receipts 🔁
🗑️ Remove Command 🗑️
Command: remove Aliases: rm Aliases for explicit NEVRA matching: remove-n, remove-na, remove-nevra Deprecated aliases: erase, erase-n, erase-na, erase-nevra
dnf [options] remove <package-spec>...— removes the specified packages from the system, along with any packages depending on the packages being removed. Each<spec>can be either a<package-spec>, which specifies a package directly, or a@<group-spec>, which specifies an (environment) group that contains it. Ifclean_requirements_on_removeis enabled (which is the default), it also removes any dependencies that are no longer needed. so thorough 👏dnf [options] remove --duplicates— removes older versions of duplicate packages. To keep the system's integrity intact it reinstalls the newest package. In some cases the command can't resolve conflicts — when that happens, the dnf shell command withremove --duplicatesandupgradednf-shell sub-commands could help. 😮💨dnf [options] remove --oldinstallonly— removes old installonly packages, keeping only the latest versions and the version of the running kernel. 🫶
There are also a few specific remove commands remove-n, remove-na and remove-nevra that let you specify an exact argument in the NEVRA format. As a consequence, <spec> will not be matched with provides and file provides.
🎀 Remove Examples 🎀
dnf remove acpi tito— remove theacpiandtitopackages.dnf remove $(dnf repoquery --extras --exclude=tito,acpi)— remove packages that aren't present in any repository, but don't remove thetitoandacpipackages (ngl they still might get removed if they depend on some of the removed packages).dnf remove --duplicates— remove older versions of duplicated packages (an equivalent of yum'spackage-cleanup --cleandups).
📋 Repoinfo Command 📋
Command: repoinfo
An alias for the repolist command that provides more detailed information, like dnf repolist -v. the details are the moment ✨
📚 Repolist Command 📚
Command: repolist
dnf [options] repolist [--enabled|--disabled|--all]— depending on the exact command, lists enabled, disabled or all known repositories. Lists all enabled repositories by default. Provides more detailed information when the-voption is used.
This command by default does not force a sync of expired metadata. See also Metadata Synchronization.
🔎 Repoquery Command 🔎
Command: repoquery Aliases: rq Aliases for explicit NEVRA matching: repoquery-n, repoquery-na, repoquery-nevra
dnf [options] repoquery [<select-options>] [<query-options>] [<package-file-spec>]Searches available DNF repositories for selected packages and displays the requested information about them. It's the equivalent of rpm -q but for remote repositories. iconic behaviour honestly 👑
dnf [options] repoquery --groupmember <package-spec>...— list groups that contain<package-spec>.dnf [options] repoquery --querytags— provides the list of tags recognized by the--queryformatrepoquery option.
There are also a few specific repoquery commands repoquery-n, repoquery-na and repoquery-nevra that let you specify an exact argument in the NEVRA format (this does not affect arguments of options like --whatprovides <arg>, ...). As a consequence, <spec> will not be matched with file provides.
⭐ Select Options ⭐
Together with <package-file-spec>, these control what packages are displayed in the output. If <package-file-spec> is given, it limits the resulting set of packages to the ones matching the specification. All packages are considered if no <package-file-spec> is specified.
<package-file-spec>— package specification in the NEVRA format (name[-[epoch:]version[-release]][.arch]) or a file provide. See Specifying Packages.-a,--all— query all packages (for rpmquery compatibility, it's also a shorthand forrepoquery '*'orrepoquerywith no arguments). all of them, bestie 🫶--arch <arch>[,<arch>...],--archlist <arch>[,<arch>...]— limit the resulting set only to packages of selected architectures (the default is all architectures). In some cases the result is affected by the basearch of the running system, so to run repoquery for an arch that's incompatible with your system, use the--forcearch=<arch>option to change the basearch. 💅--duplicates— narrows the result set down to installed duplicate packages, aka when you've somehow ended up with more than one package version for the same name and architecture. Installonly packages are excluded from this set, so don't @ me.--unneeded— limits the set to leaf packages that were installed as dependencies and are, like, no longer needed. Basically this shows you the packages that are gonna get removed after you run thednf autoremovecommand. It's giving "who's getting evicted" energy 🔥--available— limits the result set to available packages only (this one's set by default).--disable-modular-filtering— turns off filtering of modular packages, so packages from inactive module streams show up in the result too. Filtered? Not anymore bestie 💅--extras— limits the result set to packages that are not present in any of the available repositories.-f <file>,--file <file>— limits the result set to only the package that owns <file>. Cute lil detective move 🔍--installed— limits the result set to installed packages only. Heads up: theexcludeoption in the configuration file might influence the result, but if you use the command line option--disableexcludes, that ensures all installed packages will be listed. No cap 🫶--installonly— limits the result set to installed installonly packages.--latest-limit <number>— limits the result set to <number> of latest packages for every package name and architecture. If <number> is negative, it skips <number> of latest packages. And for a negative <number> you have to use the--latest-limit=<number>syntax — that's not optional, it's the rules ✨--recent— limits the result set to packages that were recently edited.--repo <repoid>— limits the result set to only packages from the repository identified by <repoid>. Can be used multiple times with accumulative effect, so stack 'em like bracelets 🎀--unsatisfied— reports unsatisfied dependencies among installed packages, i.e. missing requires and existing conflicts. It's the "bestie we have a problem" report 😭--upgrades— limits the result set to packages that provide an upgrade for some already installed package.--userinstalled— limits the result set to packages installed by the user. Same caveat as before: theexcludeoption in the configuration file might influence the result, but if the command line option--disableexcludesis used, it ensures that all installed packages will be listed.--whatdepends <capability>[,<capability>...]— limits the result set to only packages that require, enhance, recommend, suggest or supplement any of <capabilities>. The whole squad of dependency types, all in one place 👑--whatconflicts <capability>[,<capability>...]— limits the result set to only packages that conflict with any of <capabilities>.--whatenhances <capability>[,<capability>...]— limits the result set to only packages that enhance any of <capabilities>. Use--whatdependsif you want to list all depending packages.--whatobsoletes <capability>[,<capability>...]— limits the result set to only packages that obsolete any of <capabilities>.--whatprovides <capability>[,<capability>...]— limits the result set to only packages that provide any of <capabilities>.--whatrecommends <capability>[,<capability>...]— limits the result set to only packages that recommend any of <capabilities>. Use--whatdependsif you want to list all depending packages.--whatrequires <capability>[,<capability>...]— limits the result set to only packages that require any of <capabilities>. Use--whatdependsif you want to list all depending packages.--whatsuggests <capability>[,<capability>...]— limits the result set to only packages that suggest any of <capabilities>. Use--whatdependsif you want to list all depending packages.--whatsupplements <capability>[,<capability>...]— limits the result set to only packages that supplement any of <capabilities>. Use--whatdependsif you want to list all depending packages.--alldeps— this option is stackable with--whatrequiresor--whatdependsonly. Additionally it adds all packages requiring the package features to the result set (used as default). So it's the "go off, include everything" switch 💅--exactdeps— this option is stackable with--whatrequiresor--whatdependsonly. It limits the resulting set to only packages that require <capability> specified by--whatrequires. Precision mode, bestie 🎯--srpm— operate on the corresponding source RPM.
✨ Query Options ✨
This is the section where you pick what info actually gets shown about each package. Set what information is displayed about each package.
The following are mutually exclusive, i.e. at most one can be specified. If no query option is given, matching packages are displayed in the standard NEVRA notation. Pick one, bestie — this isn't a build-your-own-combo situation 🍓
-i,--info— shows detailed information about the package.-l,--list— shows the list of files in the package.-s,--source— shows the package source RPM name.--changelogs— prints the package changelogs. The receipts, literally 📜--conflicts— displays capabilities that the package conflicts with. Same as--qf "%{conflicts}.--depends— displays capabilities that the package depends on, enhances, recommends, suggests or supplements.--enhances— displays capabilities enhanced by the package. Same as--qf "%{enhances}"".--location— shows a location where the package could be downloaded from.--obsoletes— displays capabilities that the package obsoletes. Same as--qf "%{obsoletes}".--provides— displays capabilities provided by the package. Same as--qf "%{provides}".--recommends— displays capabilities recommended by the package. Same as--qf "%{recommends}".--requires— displays capabilities that the package depends on. Same as--qf "%{requires}".--requires-pre— displays capabilities that the package depends on for running a%prescript. Same as--qf "%{requires-pre}".--suggests— displays capabilities suggested by the package. Same as--qf "%{suggests}".--supplements— displays capabilities supplemented by the package. Same as--qf "%{supplements}".--tree— displays a recursive tree of packages with capabilities specified by one of these supplementary options:--whatrequires,--requires,--conflicts,--enhances,--suggests,--provides,--supplements,--recommends. It's giving family tree but for dependencies 🌳--deplist— produces a list of all direct dependencies and what packages provide those dependencies for the given packages. The result only shows the newest providers (which you can change by using--verbose).--nvr— shows found packages in the name-version-release format. Same as--qf "%{name}-%{version}-%{release}".--nevra— shows found packages in thename-epoch:version-release.architectureformat. Same as--qf "%{name}-%{epoch}:%{version}-%{release}.%{arch}"(default). The classic, the icon, the moment 👑--envra— shows found packages in theepoch:name-version-release.architectureformat. Same as--qf "%{epoch}:%{name}-%{version}-%{release}.%{arch}"--qf <format>,--queryformat <format>— custom display format. <format> is the string to output for each matched package. Every occurrence of%{<tag>}within is replaced by the corresponding attribute of the package. The list of recognized tags can be displayed by runningdnf repoquery --querytags. Build your own aesthetic, no rules 💖--recursive— queries packages recursively. Has to be used with--whatrequires <REQ>(optionally with--alldeps, but not with--exactdeps) or with--requires <REQ> --resolve.--resolve— resolves capabilities to originating package(s).
🌸 Repoquery Examples 🌸
Okay so these are the actual vibes in action, watch and learn:
dnf repoquery 'light*'Display NEVRAs of all available packages matching light*
dnf repoquery-na 'light*.noarch'Display NEVRAs of all available packages matching name light* and architecture noarch (accepts only arguments in the "<name>.<arch>" format)
dnf repoquery --requires lighttpdDisplay requires of all lighttpd packages
dnf repoquery --requires python --resolveDisplay packages providing the requires of python packages
dnf repoquery --source lighttpdDisplay source rpm of lighttpd package
dnf repoquery --file /etc/lighttpd/lighttpd.confDisplay package name that owns the given file
dnf repoquery --queryformat '%{name}.%{arch} : %{reponame}' lighttpdDisplay name, architecture and the containing repository of all lighttpd packages
dnf repoquery --whatprovides webserverDisplay all available packages providing "webserver"
dnf repoquery --whatprovides webserver --arch i686Display all available packages providing "webserver" but only for "i686" architecture
dnf repoquery --duplicatesDisplay duplicate packages
dnf repoquery --disablerepo="*" --enablerepo="*-source" --arch=src --whatrequires <provide>Display source packages that require a <provide> for a build
🧚 Repository-Packages Command 🧚
Command: repository-packages
Deprecated aliases: repo-pkgs, repo-packages, repository-pkgs
The repository-packages command lets you run commands on top of all packages in the repository named <repoid>. But heads up — any dependency resolution still takes into account packages from all enabled repositories. The <package-file-spec> and <package-spec> specifications further limit the candidates to only those packages matching at least one of them. Sneaky but fair 💅
The info subcommand lists description and summary information about packages depending on the packages' relation to the repository. The list subcommand just prints lists of those packages. Simple as that ✨
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> check-update [<package-file-spec>...]Non-interactively checks if updates of the specified packages in the repository are available. DNF exit code will be 100 when there are updates available and a list of the updates will be printed.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> info [--all] [<package-file-spec>...]List all related packages.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> info --installed [<package-file-spec>...]List packages installed from the repository.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> info --available [<package-file-spec>...]List packages available in the repository but not currently installed on the system.
Okay so we’re still in repository-packages land, bestie — and the vibe is very “one repo, all the subcommands, no crumbs” 💅 Here’s the rest of that family.
info --extras 🧐
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> info --extras
[<package-file-specs>...]Lists packages installed from the repository that are not available in any repository. It’s giving “where did you even come from?” energy.
info --obsoletes
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> info --obsoletes
[<package-file-spec>...]Lists packages in the repository that obsolete packages installed on the system. Old era, meet new era ✨
info --recent
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> info --recent
[<package-file-spec>...]Lists packages recently added into the repository. Fresh drops only 🍓
info --upgrades
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> info --upgrades
[<package-file-spec>...]Lists packages in the repository that upgrade packages installed on the system. Glow-up candidates, basically 👑
install
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> install [<package-spec>...]Installs packages matching <package-spec> from the repository. If <package-spec> isn’t specified at all, install all packages from the repository. No cap.
list --all
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> list [--all]
[<package-file-spec>...]Lists all related packages. The whole friend group, together.
list --installed
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> list --installed
[<package-file-spec>...]Lists packages installed from the repository. These ones already moved in 🫶
list --available
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> list --available
[<package-file-spec>...]Lists packages available in the repository but not currently installed on the system. Shopping list behavior 🛍️
list --extras
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> list --extras
[<package-file-spec>...]Lists packages installed from the repository that are not available in any repository. Same “mystery origin” situation as info --extras.
list --obsoletes
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> list --obsoletes
[<package-file-spec>...]Lists packages in the repository that obsolete packages installed on the system. Replacement arc.
list --recent
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> list --recent
[<package-file-spec>...]Lists packages recently added into the repository. New arrivals ✨
list --upgrades
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> list --upgrades
[<package-file-spec>...]Lists packages in the repository that upgrade packages installed on the system. Upgrade szn.
move-to
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> move-to [<package-spec>...]Reinstalls all those packages that are available in the repository. Little relocation moment 🚚
reinstall
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> reinstall [<package-spec>...]Runs the reinstall-old subcommand. If it fails, run the move-to subcommand. Backup plan built in.
reinstall-old
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> reinstall-old
[<package-spec>...]Reinstalls all those packages that were installed from the repository and simultaneously are available in the repository. Vintage but still on the shelf.
remove
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> remove [<package-spec>...]Removes all packages installed from the repository along with any packages depending on the packages being removed. If clean_requirements_on_remove is enabled (the default) also removes any dependencies that are no longer needed. It’s a clean sweep 🧹
remove-or-distro-sync
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> remove-or-distro-sync
[<package-spec>...]Selects all packages installed from the repository. Upgrade, downgrade or keep those of them that are available in another repository to match the latest version available there, and remove the others along with any packages depending on the packages being removed. If clean_requirements_on_remove is enabled (the default) also removes any dependencies that are no longer needed. Basically: match the vibe or get out 💀
remove-or-reinstall
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> remove-or-reinstall
[<package-spec>...]Selects all packages installed from the repository. Reinstalls those of them that are available in another repository and removes the others along with any packages depending on the packages being removed. If clean_requirements_on_remove is enabled (the default) also removes any dependencies that are no longer needed. Reinstall or removal — choose your fighter.
upgrade
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> upgrade [<package-spec>...]Updates all packages to the highest resolvable version available in the repository. When versions are specified in the <package-spec>, update to these versions. Highest resolvable version is the main character 👑
upgrade-to
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> upgrade-to
[<package-specs>...]A deprecated alias for the upgrade subcommand. Cute but old, bestie.
🔎 Search Command
Command: search Aliases: se
dnf [options] search [--all] <keywords>...Searches package metadata for keywords. Keywords are matched as case-insensitive substrings, and globbing is supported. By default, lists packages that match all requested keys (AND operation). Keys are searched in package names and summaries. If the --all option is used, lists packages that match at least one of the keys (an OR operation). In addition, the keys are searched in the package descriptions and URLs. The result is sorted from the most relevant results to the least. Obsessed with relevance sorting, honestly.
This command by default does not force a sync of expired metadata. See also Metadata Synchronization.
🐚 Shell Command
Command: shell Aliases: sh
dnf [options] shell [filename]Opens an interactive shell for conducting multiple commands during a single execution of DNF. These commands can be issued manually or passed to DNF from a file. The commands are much the same as the normal DNF command line options. There are a few additional commands documented below.
config [conf-option] [value]- Set a configuration option to a requested value. If no value is given it prints the current value.
repo [list|enable|disable] [repo-id]list: list repositories and their statusenable: enable repositorydisable: disable repository
transaction [list|reset|solve|run]list: resolve and list the content of the transactionreset: reset the transactionrun: resolve and run the transaction
Note that all local packages must be used in the first shell transaction subcommand (e.g.install /tmp/nodejs-1-1.x86_64.rpm /tmp/acpi-1-1.noarch.rpm) otherwise an error will occur. Anydisable,enable, andresetmodule operations (e.g.module enable nodejs) must also be performed before any other shell transaction subcommand is used.
🔁 Swap Command
Command: swap
dnf [options] swap <remove-spec> <install-spec>Removes remove-spec and installs install-spec in one transaction. Each <spec> can be either a <package-spec>, which specifies a package directly, or a @<group-spec>, which specifies an (environment) group which contains it. Automatic conflict solving is provided in DNF by the --allowerasing option that provides the functionality of the swap command automatically. One transaction, two jobs, zero drama ✨
📰 Updateinfo Command
Command: updateinfo Aliases: upif Deprecated aliases: list-updateinfo, list-security, list-sec, info-updateinfo, info-security, info-sec, summary-updateinfo
dnf [options] updateinfo [--summary|--list|--info] [<availability>]
[<spec>...]Displays information about update advisories.
Depending on the output type, DNF displays just counts of advisory types (omitted or --summary), list of advisories (--list) or detailed information (--info). The -v option extends the output. When used with --info, the information is even more detailed. When used with --list, an additional column with date of the last advisory update is added.
<availability> specifies whether advisories about newer versions of installed packages (omitted or --available), advisories about equal and older versions of installed packages (--installed), advisories about newer versions of those installed packages for which a newer version is available (--updates) or advisories about any versions of installed packages (--all) are taken into account. Most of the time, --available and --updates displays the same output. The outputs differ only in the cases when an advisory refers to a newer version but there is no enabled repository which contains any newer version.
Note, that --available takes only the latest installed versions of packages into account. In case of the kernel packages (when multiple version could be installed simultaneously) also packages of the currently running version of kernel are added.
To print only advisories referencing a CVE or a bugzilla use --with-cve or --with-bz options. When these switches are used also the output of the --list is altered — the ID of the CVE or the bugzilla is printed instead of the one of the advisory.
If given and if neither ID, type (bugfix, enhancement, security/sec) nor a package name of an advisory matches <spec>, the advisory is not taken into account. The matching is case-sensitive and in the case of advisory IDs and package names, globbing is supported.
Output of the --summary option is affected by the autocheck_running_kernel configuration option 🔍
⬆️ Upgrade Command
Command: upgrade Aliases: up Deprecated aliases: update, upgrade-to, update-to, localupdate
dnf [options] upgradeUpdates each package to the latest version that is both available and resolvable. If it’s available and resolvable, it’s invited to the upgrade party.
dnf [options] upgrade <package-spec>...Updates each specified package to the latest available version. Updates dependencies as necessary. When versions are specified in the <package-spec>, update to these versions.
dnf [options] upgrade @<spec>...Alias for the dnf module update command.
If the main obsoletes configure option is true or the --obsoletes flag is present, dnf will include package obsoletes in its calculations. For more information see obsoletes.
See also Configuration Files Replacement Policy.
🔧 Upgrade-Minimal Command
Command: upgrade-minimal Aliases: up-min Deprecated aliases: update-minimal
dnf [options] upgrade-minimalUpdates each package to the nearest available version that provides a bugfix, enhancement or a fix for a security issue (security). Minimal effort, maximum fix energy 🛠️
dnf [options] upgrade-minimal <package-spec>...Updates each specified package to the nearest available version that provides a bugfix, enhancement or a fix for security issue (security). Updates dependencies as necessary.
🌸 SPECIFYING PACKAGES 🌸
Okay bestie, so like — lots of commands take a <package-spec> parameter, and that’s just the thing that picks which package the command is gonna operate on. The <package-spec> argument gets matched against package NEVRAs, provides, and file provides. ✨
<package-file-spec> is basically the same vibe as <package-spec>, except no provides matching happens, so it’s only matched against NEVRAs and file provides. And <package-name-spec>? That one is matched against NEVRAs only. Simple, clean, no cap.
🧚 Globs
Package specification supports the exact same glob pattern matching that the shell does — and for all three things above (NEVRAs, provides, and file provides), that’s what it matches against. The patterns that are supported are:
*— matches any number of characters. Literally any amount, slay.?— matches any single character. One and only one, periodt.[]— matches any one of the enclosed characters. A pair of characters separated by a hyphen denotes a range expression; any character that falls between those two characters, inclusive, is matched. If the first character following the[is a!or a^then any character not enclosed is matched.
Note: curly brackets ({}) are not supported. You can still use them in shells that support them and let the shell do the expansion, but if quoted or escaped,dnfwill not expand them. 💀
🔥 NEVRA Matching
When matching against NEVRAs, partial matching is supported. DNF tries to match the spec against this list of NEVRA forms, in decreasing order of priority:
name-[epoch:]version-release.archname.archnamename-[epoch:]version-releasename-[epoch:]version
Note that name can in general contain dashes (e.g. package-with-dashes). Iconic.
The first form that matches any packages is used and the remaining forms are not tried. If none of the forms match any packages, an attempt is made to match the <package-spec> against full package NEVRAs. This is only relevant if globs are present in the <package-spec>.
<package-spec> matches NEVRAs the same way <package-name-spec> does, but in case matching NEVRAs fails, it attempts to match against provides and file provides of packages as well.
You can specify globs as part of any of the five NEVRA components. You can also specify a glob pattern to match over multiple NEVRA components (in other words, to match across the NEVRA separators). In that case, however, you need to write the spec to match against full package NEVRAs, as it is not possible to split such spec into NEVRA forms. 🫶
🌈 Specifying NEVRA Matching Explicitly
Some commands — autoremove, install, remove, and repoquery — also have aliases with suffixes -n, -na, and -nevra that let you explicitly specify how to parse the arguments:
- Command
install-nonly matches againstname. - Command
install-naonly matches againstname.arch. - Command
install-nevraonly matches againstname-[epoch:]version-release.arch.
🎀 SPECIFYING PROVIDES 🎀
<provide-spec> in command descriptions means the command operates on packages providing the given spec. This can either be an explicit provide, an implicit provide (i.e. name of the package), or a file provide. The selection is case-sensitive and globbing is supported. Yes bestie, case-sensitive — watch those caps. 👑
🦋 Specifying File Provides
If a spec starts with either / or */, it is considered as a potential file provide.
💜 SPECIFYING GROUPS 💜
<group-spec> lets you select (environment) groups a particular operation should work on. It’s a case insensitive string (supporting globbing characters) that is matched against a group’s ID, canonical name, and name translated into the current LC_MESSAGES locale (if possible). So like, multilingual group matching? We love to see it. 🌍
⭐ SPECIFYING MODULES ⭐
<module-spec> lets you select modules or profiles a particular operation should work on.
It’s in the form of NAME:STREAM:VERSION:CONTEXT:ARCH/PROFILE and the supported partial forms are the following:
NAMENAME:STREAMNAME:STREAM:VERSIONNAME:STREAM:VERSION:CONTEXT- all above combinations with
::ARCH(e.g.NAME::ARCH) NAME:STREAM:VERSION:CONTEXT:ARCH- all above combinations with
/PROFILE(e.g.NAME/PROFILE)
In case stream is not specified, the enabled or the default stream is used, in this order. In case profile is not specified, the system default profile or the 'default' profile is used. Cute and deterministic-ish. 💅
🍓 SPECIFYING TRANSACTIONS 🍓
<transaction-spec> can be in one of several forms. If it’s an integer, it specifies a transaction ID. Specifying last is the same as specifying the ID of the most recent transaction. The last form is last-<offset>, where <offset> is a positive integer. It specifies the offset-th transaction preceding the most recent transaction. So last-1 is like one before the latest, etc. Math but make it slay. 🔢
💀 PACKAGE FILTERING 💀
Package filtering filters packages out from the available package set, making them invisible to most dnf commands. They cannot be used in a transaction. Packages can be filtered out by either Exclude Filtering or Modular Filtering.
🙈 Exclude Filtering
Exclude Filtering is a mechanism used by a user or by a DNF plugin to modify the set of available packages. Exclude Filtering can be modified by either includepkgs or excludepkgs configuration options in configuration files. The --disableexcludes command line option can be used to override excludes from configuration files. In addition to user-configured excludes, plugins can also extend the set of excluded packages. To disable excludes from a DNF plugin you can use the --disableplugin command line option.
To disable all excludes for e.g. the install command, you can use the following combination of command line options:
dnf --disableexcludes=all --disableplugin="*" install bash🧊 Modular Filtering
Please see the modularity documentation for details on how Modular Filtering works. (That’s literally what it says, bestie — no extra lore here.)
With modularity, only RPM packages from active module streams are included in the available package set. RPM packages from inactive module streams, as well as non-modular packages with the same name or provides as a package from an active module stream, are filtered out. Modular filtering is not applied to packages added from the command line, installed packages, or packages from repositories with module_hotfixes=true in their .repo file.
Disabling of modular filtering is not recommended, because it could cause the system to get into a broken state. Like, do not do that casually. 😭
To disable modular filtering for a particular repository, specify module_hotfixes=true in the .repo file or use --setopt=<repo_id>.module_hotfixes=true.
To discover the module which contains an excluded package use dnf module provides.
🌸 METADATA SYNCHRONIZATION 🌸
Correct operation of DNF depends on having access to up-to-date data from all enabled repositories, but contacting remote mirrors on every operation considerably slows it down and costs bandwidth for both the client and the repository provider. The metadata_expire (see dnf.conf(5)) repository configuration option is used by DNF to determine whether a particular local copy of repository data is due to be re-synced. It is crucial that the repository providers set the option well, namely to a value where it is guaranteed that if particular metadata was available in time T on the server, then all packages it references will still be available for download from the server in time T + metadata_expire.
To further reduce the bandwidth load, some of the commands where having up-to-date metadata is not critical (e.g. the list command) do not look at whether a repository is expired and whenever any version of it is locally available to the user’s account, it will be used. For non-root use, see also the --cacheonly switch. Note that in all situations the user can force synchronization of all enabled repositories with the --refresh switch. Bandwidth girlies, we respect you. 🫶
🎀 CONFIGURATION FILES REPLACEMENT POLICY 🎀
The updated packages could replace the old modified configuration files with the new ones or keep the older files. Neither of the files are actually replaced. To the conflicting ones RPM gives additional suffix to the origin name. Which file should maintain the true name after transaction is not controlled by package manager but is specified by each package itself, following packaging guideline. So like, the package decides, not DNF. Periodt.
🦋 FILES 🦋
- Cache Files —
/var/cache/dnf - Main Configuration —
/etc/dnf/dnf.conf - Repository —
/etc/yum.repos.d/
👑 SEE ALSO 👑
dnf.conf(5), DNF Configuration Referencednf-PLUGIN(8)for documentation on DNF plugins.dnf.modularity(7), Modularity overview.dnf-transaction-json(5), Stored Transaction JSON Format Specification.- DNF project homepage (
https://github.com/rpm-software-management/dnf/) - How to report a bug (
https://github.com/rpm-software-management/dnf/wiki/Bug-Reporting) - YUM project homepage (
http://yum.baseurl.org/)
💖 AUTHOR 💖
See AUTHORS in DNF source distribution.
🌈 COPYRIGHT 🌈
2012-2020, Red Hat, Licensed under GPLv2+
Okay bestie, that’s the whole yum-shell(8) manual page — source/version 4.23.0, dated Mar 19, 2025. Go forth and package-manage like the main character you are. 💅✨🎀
📦 where this page comes from
- opensuse-leap 16.0: yum 4.23.0-bp160.1.7 · GPL-2.0-only AND GPL-2.0-or-later
- 💖 girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 on : a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms