3.2 Package Management

Linux uses repositories (“repos”) to manage software securely. You generally do not download .exe files from the web.

Debian / Ubuntu (apt)

Uses .deb packages (see [[/en/module-1/1-overview|Distribution Families]]).

# 1. Update list of available packages (repo metadata)
sudo apt update

# 2. Install a package
sudo apt install nginx

# 3. Upgrade all installed packages to latest version
sudo apt upgrade

# 4. Remove a package
sudo apt remove nginx

# 5. Search for a package
apt search nginx

RHEL / Rocky (dnf)

Uses .rpm packages. dnf is the successor to yum.

# 1. Verify updates
sudo dnf check-update

# 2. Install (also updates metadata automatically)
sudo dnf install nginx

# 3. Update entire system
sudo dnf update

# 4. Remove a package
sudo dnf remove nginx

# 5. View info
dnf info nginx

Note

On older RHEL/CentOS 7 systems, you will see yum. On RHEL 8/9, yum is just a symlink to dnf.

Practice Exercises

1. Update First:
   • Run the update command appropriate for your system (apt update or dnf check-update).
2. Install Tools:
   • Install git and curl.
   • Verify they are installed by checking their versions (git --version).
3. Search:
   • Search for a package named htop.
   • Install it and run it.
4. Clean:
   • Remove htop if you don’t want it.