rpm is a powerful PackageManager, which can be used to build, install, query, verify, update, and erase
individual software packages. A package consists of an archive of files and meta-data used to install
and erase the archive files. The meta-data includes helper scripts, file attributes, and descriptive
information about the package. Packages come in two varieties: binary packages, used to encapsulate
software to be installed, and source packages, containing the source code and recipe necessary to produce
binary packages.
One of the following basic modes must be selected: Query, Verify, Install/Upgrade/Freshen/Reinstall,
Uninstall, SetOwners/Groups, ShowQuerytags, and ShowConfiguration.
GENERALOPTIONS
These options can be used in all the different modes.
-?,--help
Print a longer usage message than normal.
--version
Print a single line containing the version number of rpm being used.
--quiet
Print as little as possible - normally only error messages will be displayed.
-v,--verbose
Print verbose information - normally routine progress messages will be displayed.
-vv Print lots of ugly debugging information.
--rcfileFILELIST
Replace the default list of configuration files to be read with FILELIST. See rpmrcConfiguration
for details.
--loadFILE
Load an individual macro file.
--macrosFILELIST
Replace the list of macro files to be loaded with FILELIST. See MacroConfiguration for details.
--pipeCMD
Pipes the output of rpm to the command CMD.
--dbpathDIRECTORY
Use the database in DIRECTORY rather than the default path /var/lib/rpm.
--rootDIRECTORY
Use the file system tree rooted at DIRECTORY for all operations. Note that this means the
database within DIRECTORY will be used for dependency checks and any scriptlet(s) (e.g. %post if
installing, or %prep if building, a package) will be run after a chroot(2) to DIRECTORY.
Note that rpm assumes the environment inside the root is set up by the caller, such as any mounts
needed for the operation inside the root directory.
-D,--define='MACROEXPR'
Defines MACRO with value EXPR.
--undefine='MACRO'
Undefines MACRO.
-E,--eval='EXPR'
Prints macro expansion of EXPR.
More - less often needed - options can be found on the rpm-misc(8) man page.
INSTALLANDUPGRADEOPTIONS
In these options, PACKAGE_FILE can be either rpm binary file or ASCII package manifest (see PACKAGESELECTIONOPTIONS), and may be specified as an ftp or http URL, in which case the package will be
downloaded before being installed. See FTP/HTTPOPTIONS for information on rpm's ftp and http client
support.
The general form of an rpm install command is
rpm {-i|--install} [install-options] PACKAGE_FILE...
This installs a new package.
The general form of an rpm upgrade command is
rpm {-U|--upgrade} [install-options] PACKAGE_FILE...
This upgrades or installs the package currently installed to a newer version. This is the same as
install, except all other version(s) of the package are removed after the new package is installed.
rpm {-F|--freshen} [install-options] PACKAGE_FILE...
This will upgrade packages, but only ones for which an earlier version is installed.
The general form of an rpm reinstall command is
rpm {--reinstall} [install-options] PACKAGE_FILE...
This reinstalls a previously installed package.
--allfiles
Installs or upgrades all the missingok files in the package, regardless if they exist.
--badreloc
Used with --relocate, permit relocations on all file paths, not just those OLDPATH's included in
the binary package relocation hint(s).
--excludepathOLDPATH
Don't install files whose name begins with OLDPATH.
--excludeartifacts
Don't install any files which are marked as artifacts, such as build-id links.
--excludedocs
Don't install any files which are marked as documentation (which includes man pages and texinfo
documents).
--force
Same as using --replacepkgs, --replacefiles, and --oldpackage.
-h,--hash
Print 50 hash marks as the package archive is unpacked. Use with -v|--verbose for a nicer
display.
--ignoresize
Don't check mount file systems for sufficient disk space before installing this package.
--ignorearch
Allow installation or upgrading even if the architectures of the binary package and host don't
match.
--ignoreos
Allow installation or upgrading even if the operating systems of the binary package and host don't
match.
--includedocs
Install documentation files. This is the default behavior.
--justdb
Update only the database, not the filesystem.
--nodb Update only the filesystem, not the database.
--nodigest
Don't verify package or header digests when reading.
--nomanifest
Don't process non-package files as manifests.
--nosignature
Don't verify package or header signatures when reading.
--nodeps
Don't do a dependency check before installing or upgrading a package.
--nocaps
Don't set file capabilities.
--noorder
Don't reorder the packages for an install. The list of packages would normally be reordered to
satisfy dependencies.
--noverify
Don't perform verify package files prior to installation.
--noplugins
Do not load and execute plugins.
--noscripts, --nopre, --nopost, --nopreun, --nopostun, --nopretrans, --noposttrans, --nopreuntrans,
--nopostuntrans
Don't execute the scriptlet of the same name. The --noscripts option is equivalent to
--nopre--nopost--nopreun--nopostun--nopretrans--noposttrans--nopreuntrans--nopostuntrans
and turns off the execution of the corresponding %pre, %post, %preun, %postun%pretrans, %posttrans,
%preuntrans and %postuntrans scriptlet(s).
--notriggers, --notriggerin, --notriggerun, --notriggerprein, --notriggerpostun
Don't execute any trigger scriptlet of the named type. The --notriggers option is equivalent to
--notriggerprein--notriggerin--notriggerun--notriggerpostun
and turns off execution of the corresponding %triggerprein, %triggerin, %triggerun, and %triggerpostun
scriptlet(s).
--nosysusers
Don’t create sysusers from packages
--oldpackage
Allow an upgrade to replace a newer package with an older one.
--percent
Print percentages as files are unpacked from the package archive. This is intended to make rpm
easy to run from other tools.
--prefixNEWPATH
For relocatable binary packages, translate all file paths that start with the installation prefix
in the package relocation hint(s) to NEWPATH.
--relocateOLDPATH=NEWPATH
For relocatable binary packages, translate all file paths that start with OLDPATH in the package
relocation hint(s) to NEWPATH. This option can be used repeatedly if several OLDPATH's in the
package are to be relocated.
--replacefiles
Install the packages even if they replace files from other, already installed, packages.
--replacepkgs
Install the packages even if some of them are already installed on this system.
--test Do not install the package, simply check for and report potential conflicts.
ERASEOPTIONS
The general form of an rpm erase command is
rpm {-e|--erase} [--allmatches] [--justdb][--nodeps] [--noscripts] [--notriggers] [--test] PACKAGE_NAME...
The following options may also be used:
--allmatches
Remove all versions of the package which match PACKAGE_NAME. Normally an error is issued if
PACKAGE_NAME matches multiple packages.
--justdb
Update only the database, not the filesystem.
--nodeps
Don't check dependencies before uninstalling the packages.
--noscripts, --nopreun, --nopostun
Don't execute the scriptlet of the same name. The --noscripts option during package erase is
equivalent to
--nopreun--nopostun
and turns off the execution of the corresponding %preun, and %postun scriptlet(s).
--notriggers, --notriggerun, --notriggerpostun
Don't execute any trigger scriptlet of the named type. The --notriggers option is equivalent to
--notriggerun--notriggerpostun
and turns off execution of the corresponding %triggerun, and %triggerpostun scriptlet(s).
--test Don't really uninstall anything, just go through the motions. Useful in conjunction with the -vv
option for debugging.
QUERYOPTIONS
The general form of an rpm query command is
rpm {-q|--query} [select-options] [query-options]
You may specify the format that package information should be printed in. To do this, you use the
--qf|--queryformatQUERYFMT
option, followed by the QUERYFMT format string. Query formats are modified versions of the standard
printf(3) formatting. The format is made up of static strings (which may include standard C character
escapes for newlines, tabs, and other special characters (not including \0)) and printf(3) type
formatters. As rpm already knows the type to print, the type specifier must be omitted however, and
replaced by the name of the header tag to be printed, enclosed by {} characters. Tag names are case
insensitive, and the leading RPMTAG_ portion of the tag name may be omitted as well.
Alternate output formats may be requested by following the tag with :typetag. Currently, the following
types are supported:
:armor Wrap a public key in ASCII armor.
:arraysize
Display number of elements in array tags.
:base64
Encode binary data using base64.
:date Use strftime(3) "%c" format.
:day Use strftime(3) "%a %b %d %Y" format.
:depflags
Format dependency comparison operator.
:deptype
Format dependency type.
:expand
Perform macro expansion.
:fflags
Format file flags.
:fstate
Format file state.
:fstatus
Format file verify status.
:hex Format in hexadecimal.
:octal Format in octal.
:humaniec
Human readable number (in IEC 80000). The suffix K = 1024, M = 1048576, ...
:humansi
Human readable number (in SI). The suffix K = 1000, M = 1000000, ...
:json Wrap data in JSON.
:perms Format file permissions.
:pgpsig
Display signature fingerprint and time.
:shescape
Escape single quotes for use in a script.
:string
Display string format. (default)
:tagname
Display tag name.
:tagnum
Display tag number.
:triggertype
Display trigger suffix.
:vflags
File verification flags.
:xml Wrap data in simple xml markup.
For example, to print only the names of the packages queried, you could use %{NAME} as the format string.
To print the packages name and distribution information in two columns, you could use
%-30{NAME}%{DISTRIBUTION}. rpm will print a list of all of the tags it knows about when it is invoked
with the --querytags argument.
There are three subsets of options for querying: package selection, file selection and information
selection.
PACKAGESELECTIONOPTIONSPACKAGE_NAME
Query installed package named PACKAGE_NAME. To specify the package more precisely the package
name may be followed by the version or version and release both separated by a dash or an
architecture name separated by a dot. See the output of rpm-qa or rpm-qpPACKAGE_FILE as an
example.
-a,--all[SELECTOR]
Query all installed packages.
An optional SELECTOR in the form of tag=pattern can be provided to narrow the selection, for example
name="b*" to query packages whose name starts with "b".
--dupes
List duplicated packages.
-f,--fileFILE
Query package owning installed FILE.
--filecaps
List file names with POSIX1.e capabilities.
--fileclass
List file names with their classes (libmagic classification).
--filecolor
List file names with their colors (0 for noarch, 1 for 32bit, 2 for 64 bit).
--fileprovide
List file names with their provides.
--filerequire
List file names with their requires.
-g,--groupGROUP
Query packages with the group of GROUP.
--hdridSHA1
Query package that contains a given header identifier, i.e. the SHA1 digest of the immutable
header region.
-p,--packagePACKAGE_FILE
Query an (uninstalled) package PACKAGE_FILE. The PACKAGE_FILE may be specified as an ftp or http
style URL, in which case the package header will be downloaded and queried. See FTP/HTTPOPTIONS
for information on rpm's ftp and http client support. The PACKAGE_FILE argument(s), if not a
binary package, will be interpreted as an ASCII package manifest unless --nomanifest option is
used. In manifests, comments are permitted, starting with a '#', and each line of a package
manifest file may include white space separated glob expressions, including URL's, that will be
expanded to paths that are substituted in place of the package manifest as additional PACKAGE_FILE
arguments to the query.
--pathPATH
Query package(s) owning PATH, whether the file is installed or not. Multiple packages may own a
PATH, but the file is only owned by the package installed last.
--pkgidMD5
Query package that contains a given package identifier, i.e. the MD5 digest of the combined header
and payload contents.
--querybynumberHDRNUM
Query the HDRNUMth database entry directly; this is useful only for debugging.
--specfileSPECFILE
Parse and query SPECFILE as if it were a package. Although not all the information (e.g. file
lists) is available, this type of query permits rpm to be used to extract information from spec
files without having to write a specfile parser.
--tidTID
Query package(s) that have a given TID transaction identifier. A UNIX time stamp is currently
used as a transaction identifier. All package(s) installed or erased within a single transaction
have a common identifier.
--triggeredbyPACKAGE_NAME
Query packages that are triggered by package(s) PACKAGE_NAME.
--whatobsoletesCAPABILITY
Query all packages that obsolete CAPABILITY for proper functioning.
--whatprovidesCAPABILITY
Query all packages that provide the CAPABILITY capability.
--whatrequiresCAPABILITY
Query all packages that require CAPABILITY for proper functioning.
--whatconflictsCAPABILITY
Query all packages that conflict with CAPABILITY.
--whatrecommendsCAPABILITY
Query all packages that recommend CAPABILITY.
--whatsuggestsCAPABILITY
Query all packages that suggest CAPABILITY.
--whatsupplementsCAPABILITY
Query all packages that supplement CAPABILITY.
--whatenhancesCAPABILITY
Query all packages that enhance CAPABILITY.
PACKAGEQUERYOPTIONS--changelog
Display change information for the package.
--changes
Display change information for the package with full time stamps.
--conflicts
List capabilities this package conflicts with.
--dump Dump file information as follows (implies -l):
path size mtime digest mode owner group isconfig isdoc rdev symlink
--enhances
List capabilities enhanced by package(s).
--filesbypkg
List all the files in each selected package.
--filetriggers
List filetrigger scriptlets from package(s).
-i,--info
Display package information, including name, version, and description. This uses the
--queryformat if one was specified.
--last Orders the package listing by install time such that the latest packages are at the top.
-l,--list
List files in package.
--obsoletes
List packages this package obsoletes.
--provides
List capabilities this package provides.
--recommends
List capabilities recommended by package(s).
-R,--requires
List capabilities on which this package depends.
--suggests
List capabilities suggested by package(s).
--supplements
List capabilities supplemented by package(s).
--scripts
List the package specific scriptlet(s) that are used as part of the installation and
uninstallation processes.
-s,--state
Display the states of files in the package (implies -l). The state of each file is one of normal,
notinstalled, or replaced.
--triggers,--triggerscripts
Display the trigger scripts, if any, which are contained in the package.
--xml Format package headers as XML.
FILESELECTIONOPTIONS-A,--artifactfiles
Only include artifact files (implies -l).
-c,--configfiles
Only include configuration files (implies -l).
-d,--docfiles
Only include documentation files (implies -l).
-L,--licensefiles
Only include license files (implies -l).
--noartifact
Exclude artifact files.
--noconfig
Exclude config files.
--noghost
Exclude ghost files.
VERIFYOPTIONS
The general form of an rpm verify command is
rpm {-V|--verify} [select-options] [verify-options]
Verifying a package compares information about the installed files in the package with information about
the files taken from the package metadata stored in the rpm database. Among other things, verifying
compares the size, digest, permissions, type, owner and group of each file. Any discrepancies are
displayed. Files that were not installed from the package, for example, documentation files excluded on
installation using the "--excludedocs" option, will be silently ignored.
The package and file selection options are the same as for package querying (including package manifest
files as arguments). Other options unique to verify mode are:
--nodeps
Don't verify dependencies of packages.
--nodigest
Don't verify package or header digests when reading.
--nofiles
Don't verify any attributes of package files.
--noscripts
Don't execute the %verifyscript scriptlet (if any).
--nosignature
Don't verify package or header signatures when reading.
--nolinkto--nofiledigest (formerly --nomd5)
--nosize--nomtime--nomode--nordev
Don't verify the corresponding file attribute.
--nouser--nogroup
Don't verify file user/group ownership. Note that only local passwd(5) and group(5) databases are
consulted.
--nocaps
Don't verify file capabilities.
The format of the output is a string of 9 characters, a possible attribute marker:
**a** %**a**rtifact a build side-effect file (such as buildid links).
**c** %**c**onfig configuration file.
**d** %**d**oc documentation file.
**g** %**g**host file (i.e. the file contents are not included in the package payload).
**l** %**l**icense license file.
**m** %**m**issingok file missing is not a verify failure.
**n** %%config(**n**oreplace) (do not replace file).
**r** %**r**eadme readme file.
**s** **s**pecfile in source package.
from the package header, followed by the file name. Each of the 9 characters denotes the result of a
comparison of attribute(s) of the file to the value of those attribute(s) recorded in the database. A
single "." (period) means the test passed, while a single "?" (question mark) indicates the test could
not be performed (e.g. file permissions prevent reading). Otherwise, the (mnemonically emBoldened)
character denotes failure of the corresponding --verify test:
**S** file **S**ize differs
**M** **M**ode differs (includes permissions and file type)
**5** digest (formerly MD**5** sum) differs
**D** **D**evice major/minor number mismatch
**L** read**L**ink(2) path mismatch
**U** **U**ser ownership differs
**G** **G**roup ownership differs
**T** m**T**ime differs
**P** ca**P**abilities differ
MISCELLANEOUSCOMMANDSrpm--showrc
shows the values rpm will use for all of the options which are currently set in rpmrc and macros
configuration file(s).
rpm--setperms | --setugids | --setcapsPACKAGE_NAME
obsolete aliases for --restorerpm--restore [select-options]
The option restores file metadata such as timestamp, owner, group, permissions and capabilities of
files in packages.
FTP/HTTPOPTIONSrpm can act as an FTP and/or HTTP client so that packages can be queried or installed from the internet.
Package files for install, upgrade, and query operations may be specified as an ftp or http style URL:
http://HOST[:PORT]/path/to/package.rpm
ftp://[USER:PASSWORD]@HOST[:PORT]/path/to/package.rpm
If both the user and password are omitted, anonymous ftp is used.
rpm allows the following options to be used with ftp URLs:
rpm allows the following options to be used with http and ftp URLs:
--httpproxyHOST
The host HOST will be used as a proxy server for all http and ftp transfers. This option may also
be specified by configuring the macro %_httpproxy.
--httpportPORT
The TCP PORT number to use for the http connection on the proxy http server instead of the default
port. This option may also be specified by configuring the macro %_httpport.
Install Now
Emojis
PNG Icons
