Computer Science
rpm(8) Red Hat Linux rpm(8)
NAME
rpm - Red Hat Package Manager
SYNOPSIS
rpm [options]
DESCRIPTION
rpm is a powerful package manager, which can be used to
build, install, query, verify, update, and uninstall indi-
vidual software packages. A package consists of an
archive of files, and package information, including name,
version, and description.
One of the following basic modes must be selected: Ini-
tialize Database, Rebuild Database, Build Package, Recom-
pile Package, Build Package from Tarball, Query, Show
Querytags, Install, Freshen, Uninstall, Verify, Signature
Check, Resign, Add Signature, set owners and groups and
Show Configuration.
Database maintenance:
rpm -i [--initdb]
rpm -i [--rebuilddb]
Building:
rpm [-b|t] [package_spec]+
rpm [--rebuild] [sourcerpm]+
rpm [--tarbuild] [tarredsource]+
Querying:
rpm [--query] [queryoptions]
rpm [--querytags]
Maintaining installed packages:
rpm [--install] [installoptions] [package_file]+
rpm [--freshen|-F] [installoptions] [package_file]+
rpm [--uninstall|-e] [uninstalloptions] [package]+
rpm [--verify|-V] [verifyoptions] [package]+
Signatures:
rpm [--verify|-V] [verifyoptions] [package]+
rpm [--resign] [package_file]+
rpm [--addsign] [package_file]+
Miscellaneous:
rpm [--showrc]
rpm [--setperms] [package]+
rpm [--setgids] [package]+
GENERAL OPTIONS
These options can be used in all the different modes.
-vv Print lots of ugly debugging information.
--quiet
Print as little as possible - normally only error
messages will be displayed.
--help Print a longer usage message then normal.
--version
Print a single line containing the version number
of rpm being used.
--rcfile <filelist>
Each of the files in the colon separated <filelist>
is read sequentially by rpm for configuration
information. The default <filelist> is
/usr/lib/rpm/rpmrc:/etc/rpmrc:~/.rpmrc. Only the
first file in the list must exist, and tildes will
be expanded to the value of $HOME.
--root <dir>
Use the system rooted at <dir> for all operations.
Note that this means the database will be read or
modified under <dir> and any pre or post scripts
are run after a chroot() to <dir>.
--dbpath <path>
Use RPM database in <path>.
--justdb
Update only the database, not the filesystem.
--ftpproxy <host>, --httpproxy <host>
Use <host> as an FTP or HTTP proxy host. See
FTP/HTTP OPTIONS.
--ftpport <port>, --httpport <port>
Use <port> as the FTP or HTTP port on the proxy
host. See FTP/HTTP OPTIONS.
--pipe <cmd>
Pipes the output of rpm to the command <cmd>.
INSTALL AND UPGRADE OPTIONS
The general form of an rpm install command is
rpm -i [install-options] <package_file>+
This installs a new package. The general form of an rpm
upgrade command is
rpm -U [install-options] <package_file>+
This upgrades or installs the package currently installed
to the version in the new RPM. This is the same as
install, except all other version of the package are
removed from the system.
rpm [-F|--freshen] [install-options] <package_file>+
This will upgrade packages, but only if an earlier version
currently exists.
The <package_file> may be specified as an ftp or http URL,
in which case the package will be downloaded before being
installed. See FTP/HTTP OPTIONS for information on RPM's
built-in ftp and http support.
--force
Same as using --replacepkgs, --replacefiles, and
--oldpackage.
-h, --hash
Print 50 hash marks as the package archive is
unpacked. Use with -v for a nice display.
--oldpackage
Allow an upgrade to replace a newer package with an
older one.
--percent
Print percentages as files are unpacked from the
package archive. This is intended to make RPM easy
to run from other tools.
--replacefiles
Install the packages even if they replace files
from other, already installed, packages.
--replacepkgs
Install the packages even if some of them are
already installed on this system.
--allfiles
Installs or upgrades all the missingok files in the
package, regardless if they exist.
--nodeps
Don't do a dependency check before installing or
upgrading a package.
--noscripts
Don't execute the preinstall or postinstall
scripts.
--notriggers
Don't execute scripts which are triggered by the
installation of this package.
--ignoresize
Don't check mount file systems for sufficient disk
space before installing this package.
--excludepath <path>
Don't install files whose name begins with <path>.
--excludedocs
Don't install any files which are marked as docu-
mentation (which includes man pages and texinfo
documents).
--includedocs
Install documentation files. This is the default
behavior.
--test Do not install the package, simply check for and
report potential conflicts.
--ignorearch
This allows installation or upgrading even if the
architectures of the binary RPM and host don't
match.
--ignoreos
This allows installation or upgrading even if the
operating systems of the binary RPM and host don't
match.
--prefix <path>
This sets the installation prefix to <path> for
relocatable packages.
--relocate <oldpath>=<newpath>
For relocatable packages, translates the files that
would be put in <oldpath> to <newpath>.
--badreloc
To be used in conjunction with --relocate, this
forces the relocation even if the package isn't
relocatable.
--noorder
Don't reorder the packages for an install. The list
of packages would normally be reordered to satisfy
dependancies.
QUERY OPTIONS
The general form of an rpm query command is
rpm -q [query-options]
You may specify the format that package information should
be printed in. To do this, you use the [--queryformat|-qf]
option, followed by the format string.
Query formats are modifed versions of the standard
printf(3) formatting. The format is made up of static
strings (which may include standard C character escapes
for newlines, tabs, and other special characters) and
printf(3) type formatters. As rpm already knows the type
to print, the type specifier must be omitted however, and
replaced by the name of the header tag to be printed,
enclosed by {} characters. The RPMTAG_ portion of the tag
name may be omitted.
Alternate output formats may be requested by following the
tag with :typetag. Currently, the following types are sup-
ported: octal, date, shescape, perms, fflags, and
depflags.
For example, to print only the names of the packages
queried, you could use %{NAME} as the format string. To
print the packages name and distribution information in
two columns, you could use %-30{NAME}%{DISTRIBUTION}.
rpm will print a list of all of the tags it knows about
when it is invoked with the --querytags argument.
There are two subsets of options for querying: package
selection, and information selection.
Package selection options:
<package_name>
Query installed package named <package_name>.
-a, --all
Query all installed packages
--whatrequires <capability>
Query all packages that requires <capability> for
proper functioning.
--whatprovides <virtual>
Query all packages that provide the <virtual> capa-
bility.
-f <file>, --file <file>
Query package owning <file>.
-g <group>, --group <group>
Query packages with the group of <group>.
-p <package_file>
Query an (uninstalled) package <package_file>. The
<package_file> may be specified as an ftp or http
style URL, in which case the package header will be
downloaded and queried. See FTP/HTTP OPTIONS for
information on RPM's built-in ftp and http client
support.
--specfile <specfile>
Parse and query <specfile> as if it were a package.
Although not all the information (e.g. file lists)
is available, this type of query permits rpm to be
used to extract information from spec files without
having to write a specfile parser.
--querybynumber <num>
Query the <num>th database entry directly; this is
helpful for debugging purposes.
--triggeredby <pkg>
Query packages that are triggered by packages
<pkg>.
Information selection options:
-i Display package information, including name, ver-
sion, and description. This uses the --queryformat
if one was specified.
-R, --requires
List packages on which this package depends.
--provides
List capabilities this package provides.
--changelog
Display change information for the package.
-l, --list
List files in package.
-s, --state
Display the states of files in the package (implies
-l). The state of each file is either normal, not
installed, or replaced.
-d, --docfiles
List only documentation files (implies -l).
-c, --configfiles
List only configuration files (implies -l).
--scripts
List the package specific shell scripts that are
used as part of the installation and uninstallation
processes, if there are any.
--triggers, --triggerscripts
Display the trigger scripts, if any, which are con-
tained in the package.
--dump Dump file information as follows: path size mtime
md5sum mode owner group isconfig isdoc rdev sym-
link. This must be used with at least one of -l,
-c, -d.
--last Orders the package listing by install time such
that the latest packages are at the top.
--querybypkg
This lists all the files in each package.
--triggerscripts
Shows all the trigger scripts for the selected
packages.
VERIFY OPTIONS
The general form of an rpm verify command is
rpm -V|-y|--verify [verify-options]
Verifying a package compares information about the
installed files in the package with information about the
files taken from the original package and stored in the
rpm database. Among other things, verifying compares the
size, MD5 sum, permissions, type, owner and group of each
file. Any discrepencies are displayed. The package spec-
ification options are the same as for package querying.
Files that were not installed from the package, for exam-
ple documentation files excluded on installation using the
"--excludedocs" option, will be silently ignored.
Options that can be used in verify mode:
--nofiles
Ignores missing files when verifying.
--nomd5
Ignores MD5 checksum errors when verifying.
--nopgp
Ignores PGP checking errors when verifying.
--nofiles
Ignores missing files when verifying.
The format of the output is a string of 8 charac-
ters, a possible "c" denoting a configuration file,
and then the file name. Each of the 8 characters
denotes the result of a comparison of one attribute
of the file to the value of that attribute recorded
in the RPM database. A single "." (period) means
the test passed. The following characters denote
failure of certain tests:
5 MD5 sum
S File size
L Symlink
T Mtime
D Device
U User
G Group
M Mode (includes permissions and file type)
SIGNATURE CHECKING
The general form of an rpm signature check command is
rpm --checksig <package_file>+
This checks the PGP signature of package <package_file> to
ensure its integrity and origin. PGP configuration infor-
mation is read from configuration files. See the section
on PGP SIGNATURES for details.
UNINSTALL OPTIONS
The general form of an rpm uninstall command is
rpm -e <package_name>+
--allmatches
Remove all versions of the package which match
<package_name>. Normally an error is issued if
<package_name> matches multiple packages.
--noscripts
Don't execute the preuninstall or postuninstall
scripts.
--notriggers
Don't execute scripts which are triggered by the
removal of this package.
--nodeps
Don't check dependencies before uninstalling the
packages.
--test Don't really uninstall anything, just go through
the motions. Useful in conjunction with the -vv
option.
BUILD OPTIONS
The general form of an rpm build command is
rpm -[b|t]O [build-options] <package_spec>+
The argument used is -b if a spec file is being used to
build the package and -t if RPM should look inside of a
gzipped (or compressed) tar file for the spec file to use.
After the first argument, the next argument (O) specifies
the stages of building and packaging to be done and is one
of:
-bp Executes the "%prep" stage from the spec file.
Normally this involves unpacking the sources and
applying any patches.
-bl Do a "list check". The "%files" section from the
spec file is macro expanded, and checks are made to
verify that each file exists.
-bc Do the "%build" stage from the spec file (after
doing the prep stage). This generally involves the
equivalent of a "make".
-bi Do the "%install" stage from the spec file (after
doing the prep and build stages). This generally
involves the equivalent of a "make install".
-bb Build a binary package (after doing the prep,
build, and install stages).
-bs Build just the source package (after doing the
prep, build, and install stages).
-ba Build binary and source packages (after doing the
prep, build, and install stages).
The following options may also be used:
--short-circuit
Skip straight to specified stage (ie, skip all
stages leading up to the specified stage). Only
valid with -bc and -bi.
--timecheck
Set the "timecheck" age (0 to disable). This value
can also be configured by defining the macro
"_timecheck". The timecheck value expresses, in
seconds, the maximum age of a file being packaged.
Warnings will be printed for all files beyond the
timecheck age.
--clean
Remove the build tree after the packages are made.
--rmsource
Remove the sources and spec file after the build
(may also be used standalone, eg. "rpm --rmsource
foo.spec").
--test Do not execute any build stages. Useful for test-
ing out spec files.
--sign Embed a PGP signature in the package. This signa-
ture can be used to verify the integrity and the
origin of the package. See the section on PGP SIG-
NATURES for configuration details.
--buildroot <dir>
When building the package, override the BuildRoot
tag with directory <dir>.
--target <platform>
When building the package, interpret <platform> as
arch-vendor-os and set the macros _target, _tar-
get_arch and _target_os accordingly.
--buildarch <arch>
When building the package, set the architecture to
<arch>. This option has been obsoleted by --target
in RPM 3.0.
--buildos <os>
When building the package, set the architecture to
<os>. This option has been obsoleted by --target in
RPM 3.0.
REBUILD AND RECOMPILE OPTIONS
There are two other ways to invoke building with rpm:
rpm --recompile <source_package_file>+
rpm --rebuild <source_package_file>+
When invoked this way, rpm installs the named source pack-
age, and does a prep, compile and install. In addition,
--rebuild builds a new binary package. When the build has
completed, the build directory is removed (as in --clean)
and the the sources and spec file for the package are
removed.
SIGNING AN EXISTING RPM
rpm --resign <binary_package_file>+
This option generates and inserts new signatures for the
listed packages. Any existing signatures are removed.
rpm --addsign <binary_package_file>+
This option generates and appends new signatures for the
listed packages to those that already exist.
PGP SIGNATURES
In order to use the signature feature RPM must be able to
run PGP (it must be installed and in your path), and it
must be able to find a public key ring with RPM public
keys in it. By default, RPM uses the PGP defaults to find
the keyrings (honoring PGPPATH). If your key rings are
not located where PGP expects them to be, you will need to
configure the macro
_pgp_path
to be the location of the PGP key rings to use.
If you want to be able to sign packages you create your-
self, you also need to create your own public and secret
key pair (see the PGP manual). You will also need to con-
figure the macros
_signature
The signature type. Right now only pgp is sup-
ported.
_pgp_name
The name of the "user" whose key you wish to use to
sign your packages.
When building packages you then add --sign to the command
line. You will be prompted for your pass phrase, and your
package will be built and signed.
For example, to be able to use PGP to sign packages as the
user "John Doe <jdoe@foo.com>" from the key rings located
in /etc/rpm/.pgp you would include
%_signature
pgp
%_pgp_name
/etc/rpm/.pgp
%_pgp_name
John Doe <jdoe@foo.com>"
in a macro configuration file. Use /etc/rpm/macros for
per-system configuration and ~/.rpmmacros for per-user
configuration.
REBUILD DATABASE OPTIONS
The general form of an rpm rebuild database command is
rpm --rebuilddb
To rebuild a new database, do:
rpm --initdb
The only options for these modes are --dbpath and --root.
SHOWRC
Running
rpm --showrc
shows the values RPM will use for all of the options that
may be set in rpmrc files.
FTP/HTTP OPTIONS
RPM includes simple FTP and HTTP clients to simplify
installing and querying packages which are available over
the internet. Package files for install, upgrade, and
query operations may be specified as an ftp or http style
URL:
ftp://<user>:<password>@hostname:<port>/path/to/pack-
age.rpm
If the :password portion is omitted, the password will be
prompted for (once per user/hostname pair). If both the
user and password are omitted, anonymous ftp is used. In
all cases passive (PASV) ftp transfers are used.
RPM allows the following options to be used with ftp URLs:
--ftpproxy <hostname>
The host <hostname> will be used as a proxy server
for all ftp transfers, which allows users to ftp
through firewall machines which use proxy systems.
This option may also be specified by configuring
the macro _ftpproxy.
--ftpport <port>
The TCP <port> number to use for the ftp connec-
tion on the proxy ftp server instead of the default
port. This option may also be specified by config-
uring the macro _ftpport.
RPM allows the following options to be used with http
URLs:
--httpproxy <hostname>
The host <hostname> will be used as a proxy server
for all http transfers. This option may also be
specified by configuring the macro _httpproxy.
--httpport <port>
The TCP <port> number to use for the http connec-
tion on the proxy http server instead of the
default port. This option may also be specified by
configuring the macro _httpport.
FILES
/usr/lib/rpm/rpmrc
/etc/rpmrc
~/.rpmrc
/var/lib/rpm/packages
/var/lib/rpm/pathidx
/var/lib/rpm/nameidx
/tmp/rpm*
SEE ALSO
glint(8), rpm2cpio(8), http://www.rpm.org/
AUTHORS
Marc Ewing <marc@redhat.com>
Jeff Johnson <jbj@redhat.com>
Erik Troan <ewt@redhat.com>
Red Hat Software 22 December 1998 1
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