Yum and RPM Tips

To determine if a package is installed or use:

• yum list <package name> # shows installed and available packages
• rpm -qa |grep <package name> # shows installed packages only

To update a package:

• yum -y update <package name>
• rpm -Uvh <rpm file name>

If you are using rpm to install an updated kernel, always use the -ivh option; NEVER use -U or -F options with kernel installations

To update all installed packages:

• yum -y update

To verify availability of yum repository:

• yum list available

To find a package by partial name:

• yum list '*partial-name*'
• yum list installed '*partial-name*' # only list installed packages
• rpm -qa |grep partial-name

To determine what files belong to a package with rpm:

• rpm -ql <package name>

To determine the build host and installed size of packages:

• rpm -qi <package name>
• yum info <package name>

To verify an installed package:

• rpm -V <package name>

      The format of the output is a  string  of  9  characters,  a  possible
      attribute marker:
      c %config configuration file.
      d %doc documentation file.
      g %ghost file (i.e. the file contents are not included in the package payload).
      l %license license file.
      r %readme readme file.
      from  the  package  header,  followed by the file name.  Each of the 8
      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  "?"  (ques-
      tion  mark)  indicates the test could not be performed (e.g. file per-
      missions prevent reading). Otherwise,  the  (mnemonically  emBoldened)
      character denotes failure of the corresponding --verify test:
      S file Size differs
      M Mode differs (includes permissions and file type)
      5 MD5 sum differs
      D Device major/minor number mismatch
      L readLink(2) path mismatch
      U User ownership differs
      G Group ownership differs
      T mTime differs
      C selinux Context differs

To determine which package installed a file:

• rpm -qf <file name>
• For example, rpm -qf /etc/mail/sendmail.cf
• Output: sendmail-8.13.1-3.3.el4
• yum provides <file name>