How To Use RPM Command in Linux With Examples

In this tutorial, we want to teach you How To Use RPM Command in Linux.

RPM stands for Red Hat Package Manager. It is an open-source package manager (default) and the most famous utility of package management for Red Hat-based systems such as Fedora, CentOS, and RHEL. The tool permits system users and administrators for installing, updating, uninstalling, querying, verifying, and managing system software packages in Linux/UNIX operating systems.

Formerly, the RPM is called the .rpm file. It contains compiled software libraries and programs required by the packages. It only implements with those packages that were created in .rpm format.

How To Use RPM Command in Linux

This tutorial provides some useful RPM command examples that might be helpful to you. With the help of these rpm commands, you can manage to install, update, and remove packages in your Linux systems.

General Syntax of RPM Command

The basic syntax for the rpm command is like this:

sudo rpm [option] [package_name]

To get a full list of options, you can run the command below:

sudo rpm --help

You will get the following output:

Here we list the most popular command options used with the rpm command in Linux:

-e, --erase Remove (uninstall) package(s).

-h, --hash Print hash marks as the package are installed.

-i, --install Install package(s).

-l, --list List files in a package.

-q, --query Query package(s).

-s, --state Display the state of the listed files.

-U, --upgrade Upgrade package(s).

-v, --verbose Provide more detailed output.

-V, --verify Verify package(s).

Now let’s see how to use the rpm command with examples.

Install RPM Packages in Linux

The syntax of installing RPM packages in Linux is like this:

sudo rpm -ivh package_name

Note: Before installing your RPM package, you must download your file. The package has to be compatible with the system architecture of the machine.

For example, to install the MySQL package, you can run the command below:

sudo rpm -ivh mysql80-community-release-el7-5.noarch.rpm

If you want to install an RPM package without previously downloading it, you can use the following syntax:

sudo rpm -ivh package_URL

For example:

sudo rpm -ivh https://dev.mysql.com/get/mysql80-community-release-el7-5.noarch.rpm

This will download and install your MySQL package.

Upgrade RPM Packages in Linux

You can easily upgrade your RPM package in Linux by using the syntax below:

sudo rpm -Uvh package_name

RPM upgrades a package by uninstalling the current version and installing the latest one.

For example:

sudo rpm -Uvh mysql80-community-release-el7-5.noarch.rpm

Note: If the new version requires additional dependencies, you must install them manually. RPM lists the missing dependencies in the output after running the command.

To ignore the message and update without the dependencies, add the –nodeps option to the command:

sudo rpm -Uvh --nodeps package_name

Delete RPM Packages in Linux

At this point, you can use the following syntax to remove your RPM package:

sudo rpm -e package_name

To see the verbose output, add the -v option to the command:

sudo rpm -ev package_name

To delete an RPM package without removing dependencies, add –nodeps:

sudo rpm -ev --nodeps package_name

For example, to remove MySQL without removing its dependencies, you can run:

sudo rpm -ev --nodeps mysql80-community-release-el7-5.noarch

List Package Information with RPM Command

You can display your available information about your installed RPM package by using the following syntax:

sudo rpm -qi package_name

The output displays the installed information, package version, and a short description.

Note: If you don’t install your RPM package, you can use the command below to get information about your RPM package before installing it:

sudo rpm -qip package_name

Check RPM Package Dependencies

RPM allows you to check the dependencies of packages prior to installing them on the system. Remember that you must have downloaded your file to see your package dependencies. The syntax is like this: