Installations

Published

2025-06-16

Scenario: You’ve been asked to install a software package on your Linux operating system. This could be an applications, library, utility, or their dependencies.

Package managers

In the Linux ecosystem, apt, yum, and dnf are package managers. These tools are responsible for installing and managing software packages, such as installing, updating, and removing software, as well as resolving package dependencies.

`apt`

apt (Advanced Package Tool)is used on Debian-based distributions like Ubuntu, Debian, etc. apt installs packages from .deb files, which are precompiled software packages.

Example usage

Install a package:
```
sudo apt install <package_name>
```
Update a package:
```
sudo apt update
```
Upgrade installed packages:
```
sudo apt upgrade
```

`yum`

yum (Yellowdog Updater, Modified) is used on older Red Hat-based distributions like CentOS 7, RHEL 7, and Fedora. yum installs packages from .rpm files, which are precompiled software packages.

Example usage

Install a package:
```
sudo yum install <package_name>
```
Update all packages:
```
sudo yum update
```
Remove a package:
```
sudo yum remove <package_name>
```

`dnf`

dnf (Dandified YUM) is the next-generation version of yum and the default package manager for RHEL 8+, CentOS 8+, and Fedora.

More efficient and faster than yum, with better dependency management.

Example usage

Install a package:
```
sudo dnf install <package_name>
```
Update all packages:
```
sudo dnf update
```
Remove a package:
```
sudo dnf remove <package_name>
```

Recap

The apt, yum, and dnf package managers install:

Software packages: Precompiled binaries or scripts, such as applications, libraries, and utilities.
Dependencies: Additional packages required for the primary software to function correctly.
Updates: Security patches and newer versions of existing software.

These package managers fetch packages from their respective repositories, which are online or local directories containing approved and signed software packages.