RPM Tool Usage Guide: From rpm -ivh to yum Equivalent Operations | Installation, Upgrade, Query, and yum Comparison Practice

1. Introduction

RPM (Red Hat Package Manager) is the basic package management tool in Red Hat family Linux distributions (such as RHEL, CentOS, Fedora). It can directly operate .rpm Package files, to complete operations such as installation, upgrade, query, and uninstallation.

Although modern systems prefer to use yum(or dnf) to manage software packages, but understand rpm Command and its relationship with yum the correspondence is still very important for troubleshooting, offline installation, and scripting.

This article will start from commonly used rpm Start with commands and focus on introducing rpm -ivh,rpm -Uvh and other practices, and provide the corresponding yum Equivalent operation method.

2. rpm Common Commands Quick Reference

2.1 Installation

# Install an RPM package and display detailed information and progress.
rpm -ivh package.rpm

# Parameter description:
# -i, --install     install
# -v, --verbose     Show detailed information
# -h, --hash        Show installation progress (# signs)

Note:rpm -ivh Does not automatically resolve dependencies. If a package has unmet dependencies, it will error out and abort.

2.2 Upgrade

# Upgrade an rpm package (install it if not installed)
rpm -Uvh package.rpm

# Parameter description:
# -U, --upgrade     Upgrade (if the package is not installed, perform installation)
# -v, --verbose
# -h, --hash

# Only upgrade installed packages (if not installed, report an error and do not install)
rpm -Fvh package.rpm

# Parameter description:
# -F, --freshen     Only upgrade already installed packages

2.3 Query

# Query information about installed packages
rpm -q package_name

# Query the file list of installed packages
rpm -ql package_name

# Find which installed package a file belongs to.
rpm -qf /path/to/file

# Query information about uninstalled RPM packages
rpm -qpi package.rpm

# Query the files contained in an uninstalled RPM package
rpm -qlp package.rpm

2.4 Uninstall

# Uninstall installed packages
rpm -e package_name

# Force uninstall (ignore dependency checks, use with caution)
rpm -e --nodeps package_name

2.5 Verification and Signature

# Verify the file integrity of installed packages
rpm -V package_name

# Check RPM package signature
rpm --checksig package.rpm

3. Comparison of equivalent operations between rpm and yum

yum is an RPM-based package manager that can automatically resolve dependencies. The following table lists rpm Common operations and yum the equivalent command for.

Operation	rpm command	yum equivalent command	Explanation
Install local RPM package	rpm -ivh package.rpm	yum localinstall package.rpm or yum install ./package.rpm	yum will automatically resolve dependencies
Upgrade local RPM package	rpm -Uvh package.rpm	yum localupdate package.rpm or yum update ./package.rpm	yum automatically resolves dependencies.
Only upgrade installed packages	rpm -Fvh package.rpm	yum update package_name(From warehouse)	For local packages there is no direct equivalent; you can use yum localupdate
Install the package from the repository	Not applicable (download required first)	yum install package_name	Install from configured repository
Upgrade the packages in the repository	Not applicable	yum update package_name	Upgrade from repository
Uninstall package	rpm -e package_name	yum remove package_name	yum will handle dependencies
Query installed package information	rpm -q package_name	yum info installed package_name	similar
Query package file list	rpm -ql package_name	yum provides /path/to/file(Reverse)	yum has no direct equivalent, can use repoquery -l
Query the package to which the file belongs	rpm -qf /path/to/file	yum provides /path/to/file	Similar
List all installed packages	rpm -qa	yum list installed	Similar
Clear cache	Not applicable	yum clean all	Only yum

Prompt:yum localinstall In newer versions, it has been unified as yum install ./package.rpm, just specify the local path directly.

4. Practical Examples

4.1 Installing local packages using rpm

# Download an RPM package (example)
wget https://example.com/packages/nginx-1.20.1-1.el7.x86_64.rpm

# Install using rpm
rpm -ivh nginx-1.20.1-1.el7.x86_64.rpm

If a dependency error occurs, for example:

error: Failed dependencies:
    pcre >= 8.32 is needed by nginx-1.20.1-1.el7.x86_64

At this point, switch to yum Installation:

yum install ./nginx-1.20.1-1.el7.x86_64.rpm

yum Will automatically download and install missing dependencies from the repository.

4.2 Using the rpm upgrade package

# Upgrade (install if not installed)
rpm -Uvh nginx-1.22.0-1.el7.x86_64.rpm

# Upgrade only the installed nginx
rpm -Fvh nginx-1.22.0-1.el7.x86_64.rpm

corresponding yum Operation:

# Upgrade local packages (automatically resolve dependencies)
yum update ./nginx-1.22.0-1.el7.x86_64.rpm

4.3 Query and Validation

# Check whether nginx is installed
rpm -q nginx

# List the files installed by nginx.
rpm -ql nginx

# Check which package a configuration file belongs to
rpm -qf /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

# Verify the integrity of the nginx package files
rpm -V nginx

4.4 Uninstall

# Uninstall using rpm
rpm -e nginx

# Uninstall using yum (recommended, handles dependencies)
yum remove nginx

5. Notes and Best Practices

• Prefer using yum/dnf: Unless offline installation, script control, or troubleshooting is required, prefer to use yum, because it can automatically resolve dependencies.

• rpm -ivh and rpm -Uvh the difference:-i Install only; an error will occur if the package already exists;-U Upgrade or install;-F Only upgrade installed packages.

• Avoid --nodeps and --force: Forced operations may cause confusion in the system package management state; use only when the consequences are clearly understood.

• Import GPG key: Before installing third-party rpm packages, ensure that a trusted GPG key is imported, use rpm --import Import.

• offline environment: Can be used in offline environments yumdownloader or repotrack Download dependencies in advance, then use yum localinstall Installation.

• Query uninstalled packages: Use rpm -qpi,rpm -qlp You can view package information and file list before installation.

6. Summary

rpm is the cornerstone of Linux package management, mastering rpm -ivh,rpm -Uvh,rpm -q,rpm -e and other commands, which can help you handle offline installation and troubleshooting with ease. And yum As a higher-level tool, it is more convenient in dependency handling and repository management. Understanding the equivalence between the two allows flexible selection according to the scenario.

I hope this article helps you use RPM and YUM tools better.