20 Linux YUM Commands for Package Management

YUM (Yellowdog Updater Modified) is an open source command-line as well as graphical based package management tool for RPM (RedHat Package Manager) based Linux systems. It allows users and system administrator to easily install, update, remove or search software packages on a systems

1. Install a Package with YUM

   # Install a package called Firefox automatically and install all required dependencies for Firefox
   yum install firefox
   yum -y install firefox
   

2. Removing a Package with YUM

   # Remove a package completely with their all dependencies
   yum remove firefox
   yum -y remove firefox
   

3. Updating a Package using YUM

   # Update it to the latest stable version
   yum update mysql
   

4. List a Package using YUM

   # Use the list function to search for the specific package with name
   yum list openssh
   

5. Search for a Package using YUM

   # Use search function to search all the available packages to match the name of the package you specified
   yum search vsftpd
   

6. Get Information of a Package using YUM

   # Get information of a package before installing it
   yum info firefox
   

7. List all Available Packages using YUM

   # List all the available packages in the Yum database
   yum list | less
   

8. List all Installed Packages using YUM

   # List all the installed packages on a system
   yum list installed | less
   

9. Yum Provides Function

   # Yum provides function is used to find which package a specific file belongs to
   yum provides /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
   

10. Check for Available Updates using Yum

    # Find how many of installed packages on your system have updates available
    yum check-update
    

11. Update System using Yum

    # Keep your system up-to-date with all security and binary package updates
    yum update
    

12. List all available Group Packages

    # Install particular group that will install all the related packages that belongs to the group
    # List all the available groups
    yum grouplist
    

13. Install a Group Packages

    # Install a particular package group
    yum groupinstall 'MySQL Database'
    

14. Update a Group Packages

    # Update any existing installed group packages
    yum groupupdate 'DNS Name Server'
    

15. Remove a Group Packages

    # Delete or remove any existing installed group from the system
    yum groupremove 'DNS Name Server'
    

16. List Enabled Yum Repositories

    # List all enabled Yum repositories in your system
    yum repolist
    

17. List all Enabled and Disabled Yum Repositories

    # Display all enabled and disabled yum repositories on the system
    yum repolist all
    

18. Install a Package from Specific Repository

    # Install a particular package from a specific enabled or disabled repository
    # Use --enablerepo option in your yum command
    yum --enablerepo=epel install phpmyadmin
    

19. Interactive Yum Shell

    # Yum utility provides a custom shell where you can execute multiple commands
    yum shell
    

20. Clean Yum Cache

    # By default yum keeps all the repository enabled package data in /var/cache/yum/ with each sub-directory
    # Clean all cached files from enabled repository
    yum clean all
    

21. View History of Yum

    # View all the past transactions of yum command
    yum history