DNF Command Reference

Synopsis
dnf [options] <command> [<args>...]

Description
`DNF`_ is the next upcoming major version of `YUM`_, a package manager for RPM-
based Linux distributions. It roughly maintains CLI compatibility with YUM and
defines a strict API for extensions and plugins.

Plugins can modify or extend features of DNF or provide additional CLI commands on
top of those mentioned below. If you know the name of such a command (including
commands mentioned below), you may find/install the package which provides it using
the appropriate virtual provide in the form of dnf-command(<alias>), where <alias>
is the name of the command; e.g.``dnf install ‘dnf-command(versionlock)’`` installs
a versionlock plugin. This approach also applies to specifying dependencies of
packages that require a particular DNF command.

Return values:

0 : Operation was successful.

1 : An error occurred, which was handled by dnf.
3 : An unknown unhandled error occurred during operation.
100: See check-update
200: There was a problem with acquiring or releasing of locks.
Available commands:

alias
autoremove
check
check-update
clean
deplist
distro-sync
downgrade
group
help
history
info
install
list
makecache
mark
module
provides
reinstall
remove
repoinfo
repolist
repoquery
repository-packages
search
shell
swap
updateinfo
upgrade
upgrade-minimal
upgrade-to
Additional information:
Options
Specifying Packages
Specifying Exact Versions of Packages
Specifying Provides
Specifying Groups
Specifying Transactions
Metadata Synchronization
Configuration Files Replacement Policy
Files
See Also
Options
-4
Resolve to IPv4 addresses only.
-6
Resolve to IPv6 addresses only.
--advisory=<advisory>, --advisories=<advisory>
Include packages corresponding to the advisory ID, Eg. FEDORA-2201-123. Applicable
for the install, repoquery, updateinfo and upgrade commands.
--allowerasing
Allow erasing of installed packages to resolve dependencies. This option could be
used as an alternative to the yum swap command where packages to remove are not
explicitly defined.
--assumeno
Automatically answer no for all questions.
-b, --best
Try the best available package versions in transactions. Specifically during dnf
upgrade, which by default skips over updates that can not be installed for
dependency reasons, the switch forces DNF to only consider the latest packages.
When running into packages with broken dependencies, DNF will fail giving a reason
why the latest version can not be installed.
--bugfix
Include packages that fix a bugfix issue. Applicable for the install, repoquery,
updateinfo and upgrade commands.
--bz=<bugzilla>, --bzs=<bugzilla>
Include packages that fix a Bugzilla ID, Eg. 123123. Applicable for the install,
repoquery, updateinfo and upgrade commands.
-C, --cacheonly
Run entirely from system cache, don’t update the cache and use it even in case it
is expired.

DNF uses a separate cache for each user under which it executes. The cache for the
root user is called the system cache. This switch allows a regular user read-only
access to the system cache, which usually is more fresh than the user’s and thus he
does not have to wait for metadata sync.

--color=<color>
Control whether color is used in terminal output. Valid values are always, never
and auto (default).
--comment=<comment>
Add a comment to the transaction history.
-c <config file>, --config=<config file>
Configuration file location.
--cve=<cves>, --cves=<cves>
Include packages that fix a CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) ID
(http://cve.mitre.org/about/), Eg. CVE-2201-0123. Applicable for the install,
repoquery, updateinfo, and upgrade commands.
-d <debug level>, --debuglevel=<debug level>
Debugging output level. This is an integer value between 0 (no additional
information strings) and 10 (shows all debugging information, even that not
understandable to the user), default is 2. Deprecated, use -v instead.
--debugsolver
Dump data aiding in dependency solver debugging into ./debugdata.
--disableexcludes=[all|main|<repoid>], --disableexcludepkgs=[all|main|<repoid>]

Disable the configuration file excludes. Takes one of the following three options:

all, disables all configuration file excludes

main, disables excludes defined in the [main] section
repoid, disables excludes defined for the given repository
--disable, --set-disabled
Disable specified repositories (automatically saves). The option has to be used
together with the config-manager command (dnf-plugins-core).
--disableplugin=<plugin names>
Disable the listed plugins specified by names or globs.
--disablerepo=<repoid>
Disable specific repositories by an id or a glob. This option is mutually exclusive
with --repo.
--downloaddir=<path>, --destdir=<path>
Redirect downloaded packages to provided directory. The option has to be used
together with the --downloadonly command line option, with the download command
(dnf-plugins-core) or with the system-upgrade command (dnf-plugins-extras).
--downloadonly
Download the resolved package set without performing any rpm transaction
(install/upgrade/erase).
-e <error level>, --errorlevel=<error level>
Error output level. This is an integer value between 0 (no error output) and 10
(shows all error messages), default is 3. Deprecated, use -v instead.
--enable, --set-enabled
Enable specified repositories (automatically saves). The option has to be used
together with the config-manager command (dnf-plugins-core).
--enableplugin=<plugin names>
Enable the listed plugins specified by names or globs.
--enablerepo=<repoid>
Enable additional repositories by an id or a glob.
--enhancement
Include enhancement relevant packages. Applicable for the install, repoquery,
updateinfo and upgrade commands.
-x <package-file-spec>, --exclude=<package-file-spec>
Exclude packages specified by <package-file-spec> from the operation.
--excludepkgs=<package-file-spec>
Deprecated option. It was replaced by the --exclude option.
--forcearch=<arch>
Force the use of an architecture. Any architecture can be specified. However, use
of an architecture not supported natively by your CPU will require emulation of
some kind. This is usually through QEMU. The behavior of --forcearch can be
configured by using the arch and ignorearch configuration options with values
<arch> and True respectively.
-h, --help, --help-cmd
Show the help.
--installroot=<path>
Specifies an alternative installroot, relative to where all packages will be
installed. Think of this like doing chroot <root> dnf, except using --installroot
allows dnf to work before the chroot is created. It requires absolute path.
cachedir, log files, releasever, and gpgkey are taken from or stored in the
installroot. Gpgkeys are imported into the installroot from a path relative to the
host which can be specified in the repository section of configuration files.
configuration file and reposdir are searched inside the installroot first. If they
are not present, they are taken from the host system. Note: When a path is
specified within a command line argument (--config=<config file> in case of
configuration file and --setopt=reposdir=<reposdir> for reposdir) then this path is
always relative to the host with no exceptions.
vars are taken from the host system or installroot according to reposdir . When
reposdir path is specified within a command line argument, vars are taken from the
installroot. When varsdir paths are specified within a command line argument (--
setopt=varsdir=<reposdir>) then those path are always relative to the host with no
exceptions.
The pluginpath and pluginconfpath are relative to the host.
Note: You may also want to use the command-line option --releasever=<release> when
creating the installroot, otherwise the $releasever value is taken from the rpmdb
within the installroot (and thus it is empty at the time of creation and the
transaction will fail). If --releasever=/ is used, the releasever will be detected
from the host (/) system. The new installroot path at the time of creation does not
contain the repository, releasever and dnf.conf files.

On a modular system you may also want to use the

--setopt=module_platform_id=<module_platform_name:stream> command-line option when
creating the installroot, otherwise the module_platform_id value will be taken from
the /etc/os-release file within the installroot (and thus it will be empty at the
time of creation, the modular dependency could be unsatisfied and modules content
could be excluded).

Installroot examples:

dnf --installroot=<installroot> --releasever=<release> install system-release

Permanently sets the releasever of the system in the <installroot> directory to
<release>.
dnf --installroot=<installroot> --setopt=reposdir=<path> --config /path/dnf.conf
upgrade
Upgrades packages inside the installroot from a repository described by --setopt
using configuration from /path/dnf.conf.
--newpackage
Include newpackage relevant packages. Applicable for the install, repoquery,
updateinfo and upgrade commands.
--noautoremove
Disable removal of dependencies that are no longer used. It sets
clean_requirements_on_remove configuration option to False.
--nobest
Set best option to False, so that transactions are not limited to best candidates
only.
--nodocs
Do not install documentation. Sets the rpm flag ‘RPMTRANS_FLAG_NODOCS’.
--nogpgcheck
Skip checking GPG signatures on packages (if RPM policy allows).
--noplugins
Disable all plugins.
--obsoletes
This option has an effect on an install/update, it enables dnf’s obsoletes
processing logic. For more information see the obsoletes option.

This option also displays capabilities that the package obsoletes when used
together with the repoquery command.

Configuration Option: obsoletes

-q, --quiet
In combination with a non-interactive command, shows just the relevant content.
Suppresses messages notifying about the current state or actions of DNF.
-R <minutes>, --randomwait=<minutes>
Maximum command wait time.
--refresh
Set metadata as expired before running the command.
--releasever=<release>
Configure DNF as if the distribution release was <release>. This can affect cache
paths, values in configuration files and mirrorlist URLs.
--repofrompath <repo>,<path/url>
Specify a repository to add to the repositories for this query. This option can be
used multiple times.
The repository label is specified by <repo>.
The path or url to the repository is specified by <path/url>. It is the same path
as a baseurl and can be also enriched by the repo variables.
The configuration for the repository can be adjusted using
--setopt=<repo>.<option>=<value>.
If you want to view only packages from this repository, combine this with the
--repo=<repo> or --disablerepo="*" switches.
--repo=<repoid>, --repoid=<repoid>
Enable just specific repositories by an id or a glob. Can be used multiple times
with accumulative effect. It is basically a shortcut for --disablerepo="*"
--enablerepo=<repoid> and is mutually exclusive with the --disablerepo option.
--rpmverbosity=<name>
RPM debug scriptlet output level. Sets the debug level to <name> for RPM
scriptlets. For available levels, see the rpmverbosity configuration option.
--sec-severity=<severity>, --secseverity=<severity>
Includes packages that provide a fix for an issue of the specified severity.
Applicable for the install, repoquery, updateinfo and upgrade commands.
--security
Includes packages that provide a fix for a security issue. Applicable for the
upgrade command.
--setopt=<option>=<value>
Override a configuration option from the configuration file. To override
configuration options for repositories, use repoid.option for the <option>. Values
for configuration options like excludepkgs, includepkgs, installonlypkgs and
tsflags are appended to the original value, they do not override it. However,
specifying an empty value (e.g. --setopt=tsflags=) will clear the option.
--skip-broken
Resolve depsolve problems by removing packages that are causing problems from the
transaction. It is an alias for the strict configuration option with value False.
Additionally, with the enable and disable module subcommands it allows one to
perform an action even in case of broken modular dependencies.
--showduplicates
Show duplicate packages in repositories. Applicable for the list and search
commands.
-v, --verbose
Verbose operation, show debug messages.
--version
Show DNF version and exit.
-y, --assumeyes
Automatically answer yes for all questions.
List options are comma-separated. Command-line options override respective settings
from configuration files.

Commands
For an explanation of <package-spec> and <package-file-spec> see Specifying
Packages.

For an explanation of <package-nevr-spec> see Specifying Exact Versions of

Packages.
For an explanation of <provide-spec> see Specifying Provides.

For an explanation of <group-spec> see Specifying Groups.

For an explanation of <module-spec> see Specifying Modules.

For an explanation of <transaction-spec> see Specifying Transactions.

Alias Command
Allows the user to define and manage a list of aliases (in the form <name=value>),
which can be then used as dnf commands to abbreviate longer command sequences. For
examples on using the alias command, see Alias Examples. For examples on the alias
processing, see Alias Processing Examples.

To use an alias (name=value), the name must be placed as the first “command” (e.g.
the first argument that is not an option). It is then replaced by its value and the
resulting sequence is again searched for aliases. The alias processing stops when
the first found command is not a name of any alias.

In case the processing would result in an infinite recursion, the original

arguments are used instead.

Also, like in shell aliases, if the result starts with a \, the alias processing
will stop.

All aliases are defined in configuration files in the /etc/dnf/aliases.d/ directory

in the [aliases] section, and aliases created by the alias command are written to
the USER.conf file. In case of conflicts, the USER.conf has the highest priority,
and alphabetical ordering is used for the rest of the configuration files.

Optionally, there is the enabled option in the [main] section defaulting to True.
This can be set for each file separately in the respective file, or globally for
all aliases in the ALIASES.conf file.

dnf alias [options] [list] [<name>...]

List aliases with their final result. The [<alias>...] parameter further limits the
result to only those aliases matching it.
dnf alias [options] add <name=value>...

Create new aliases.

dnf alias [options] delete <name>...

Delete aliases.
Alias Examples
dnf alias list
Lists all defined aliases.
dnf alias add rm=remove
Adds a new command alias called rm which works the same as the remove command.
dnf alias add upgrade="\upgrade --skip-broken --disableexcludes=all --obsoletes"
Adds a new command alias called upgrade which works the same as the upgrade
command, with additional options. Note that the original upgrade command is
prefixed with a \ to prevent an infinite loop in alias processing.
Alias Processing Examples
If there are defined aliases in=install and FORCE="--skip-broken
--disableexcludes=all":

dnf FORCE in will be replaced with dnf --skip-broken --disableexcludes=all install

dnf in FORCE will be replaced with dnf install FORCE (which will fail)
If there is defined alias in=install:

dnf in will be replaced with dnf install

dnf --repo updates in will be replaced with dnf --repo updates in (which will fail)
Auto Remove Command
dnf [options] autoremove

Removes all “leaf” packages from the system that were originally installed as
dependencies of user-installed packages, but which are no longer required by any
such package.
Packages listed in installonlypkgs are never automatically removed by this command.

dnf [options] autoremove <spec>...

This is an alias for the Remove Command command with clean_requirements_on_remove

set to True. It removes the specified packages from the system along with any
packages depending on the packages being removed. Each <spec> can be either a
<package-spec>, which specifies a package directly, or a @<group-spec>, which
specifies an (environment) group which contains it. It also removes any
dependencies that are no longer needed.

There are also a few specific autoremove commands autoremove-n, autoremove-na and
autoremove-nevra that allow the specification of an exact argument in the NEVRA
(name-epoch:version-release.architecture) format.

This command by default does not force a sync of expired metadata. See also
Metadata Synchronization.

Check Command
dnf [options] check [--dependencies] [--duplicates] [--obsoleted] [--provides]

Checks the local packagedb and produces information on any problems it finds. You
can limit the checks to be performed by using the --dependencies, --duplicates,
--obsoleted and --provides options (the default is to check everything).
Check-Update Command
dnf [options] check-update [--changelogs] [<package-file-spec>...]

Non-interactively checks if updates of the specified packages are available. If no

<package-file-spec> is given, checks whether any updates at all are available for
your system. DNF exit code will be 100 when there are updates available and a list
of the updates will be printed, 0 if not and 1 if an error occurs. If --changelogs
option is specified, also changelog delta of packages about to be updated is
printed.

Please note that having a specific newer version available for an installed package
(and reported by check-update) does not imply that subsequent dnf upgrade will
install it. The difference is that dnf upgrade has restrictions (like package
dependencies being satisfied) to take into account.

The output is affected by the autocheck_running_kernel configuration option.

Clean Command
Performs cleanup of temporary files kept for repositories. This includes any such
data left behind from disabled or removed repositories as well as for different
distribution release versions.

dnf clean dbcache

Removes cache files generated from the repository metadata. This forces DNF to
regenerate the cache files the next time it is run.
dnf clean expire-cache
Marks the repository metadata expired. DNF will re-validate the cache for each
repository the next time it is used.
dnf clean metadata
Removes repository metadata. Those are the files which DNF uses to determine the
remote availability of packages. Using this option will make DNF download all the
metadata the next time it is run.
dnf clean packages
Removes any cached packages from the system.
dnf clean all
Does all of the above.
Deplist command
dnf [options] deplist [<select-options>] [<query-options>] [<package-spec>]
Alias for dnf repoquery –deplist.
Distro-Sync command
dnf distro-sync [<package-spec>...]
As necessary upgrades, downgrades or keeps selected installed packages to match the
latest version available from any enabled repository. If no package is given, all
installed packages are considered.

See also Configuration Files Replacement Policy.

Distribution-Synchronization command
dnf distribution-synchronization
Deprecated alias for the Distro-Sync command.
Downgrade Command
dnf [options] downgrade <package-spec>...
Downgrades the specified packages to the highest installable package of all known
lower versions if possible. When version is given and is lower than version of
installed package then it downgrades to target version.
Erase Command
dnf [options] erase <spec>...
Deprecated alias for the Remove Command.
Group Command
Groups are virtual collections of packages. DNF keeps track of groups that the user
selected (“marked”) installed and can manipulate the comprising packages with
simple commands.

dnf [options] group [summary] <group-spec>

Display overview of how many groups are installed and available. With a spec, limit
the output to the matching groups. summary is the default groups subcommand.
dnf [options] group info <group-spec>
Display package lists of a group. Shows which packages are installed or available
from a repository when -v is used.
dnf [options] group install [--with-optional] <group-spec>...
Mark the specified group installed and install packages it contains. Also include
optional packages of the group if --with-optional is specified. All mandatory and
Default packages will be installed whenever possible. Conditional packages are
installed if they meet their requirement. If the group is already (partially)
installed, the command installs the missing packages from the group. Depending on
the value of obsoletes configuration option group installation takes obsoletes into
account.
dnf [options] group list <group-spec>...
List all matching groups, either among installed or available groups. If nothing is
specified, list all known groups. --installed and --available options narrow down
the requested list. Records are ordered by the display_order tag defined in
comps.xml file. Provides a list of all hidden groups by using option --hidden.
Provides group IDs when the -v or --ids options are used.
dnf [options] group remove <group-spec>...
Mark the group removed and remove those packages in the group from the system which
do not belong to another installed group and were not installed explicitly by the
user.
dnf [options] group upgrade <group-spec>...
Upgrades the packages from the group and upgrades the group itself. The latter
comprises of installing packages that were added to the group by the distribution
and removing packages that got removed from the group as far as they were not
installed explicitly by the user.
Groups can also be marked installed or removed without physically manipulating any
packages:

dnf [options] group mark install <group-spec>...

Mark the specified group installed. No packages will be installed by this command,
but the group is then considered installed.
dnf [options] group mark remove <group-spec>...
Mark the specified group removed. No packages will be removed by this command.
See also Configuration Files Replacement Policy.

Groups Command
dnf [options] groups
Deprecated alias for the Group Command.
Help Command
dnf help [<command>]
Displays the help text for all commands. If given a command name then only displays
help for that particular command.
History Command
The history command allows the user to view what has happened in past transactions
and act according to this information (assuming the history_record configuration
option is set).

dnf history [list] [<spec>...]

The default history action is listing information about given transactions in a
table. Each <spec> can be either a <transaction-spec>, which specifies a
transaction directly, or a <transaction-spec>..<transaction-spec>, which specifies
a range of transactions, or a <package-name-spec>, which specifies a transaction by
a package which it manipulated. When no transaction is specified, list all known
transactions.
dnf history info [<spec>...]
Describe the given transactions. The meaning of <spec> is the same as in the
History List Command. When no transaction is specified, describe what happened
during the latest transaction.
dnf history redo <transaction-spec>|<package-file-spec>
Repeat the specified transaction. Uses the last transaction (with the highest ID)
if more than one transaction for given <package-file-spec> is found. If it is not
possible to redo some operations due to the current state of RPMDB, it will not
redo the transaction.
dnf history rollback <transaction-spec>|<package-file-spec>
Undo all transactions performed after the specified transaction. Uses the last
transaction (with the highest ID) if more than one transaction for given <package-
file-spec> is found. If it is not possible to undo some transactions due to the
current state of RPMDB, it will not undo any transaction.
dnf history undo <transaction-spec>|<package-file-spec>
Perform the opposite operation to all operations performed in the specified
transaction. Uses the last transaction (with the highest ID) if more than one
transaction for given <package-file-spec> is found. If it is not possible to undo
some operations due to the current state of RPMDB, it will not undo the
transaction.
dnf history userinstalled
Show all installonly packages, packages installed outside of DNF and packages not
installed as dependency. I.e. it lists packages that will stay on the system when
Auto Remove Command or Remove Command along with clean_requirements_on_remove
configuration option set to True is executed. Note the same results can be
accomplished with dnf repoquery --userinstalled, and the repoquery command is more
powerful in formatting of the output.
This command by default does not force a sync of expired metadata, except for the
redo, rollback, and undo subcommands. See also Metadata Synchronization and
Configuration Files Replacement Policy.

Info Command
dnf [options] info [<package-file-spec>...]
Lists description and summary information about installed and available packages.
This command by default does not force a sync of expired metadata. See also
Metadata Synchronization.

Install Command
dnf [options] install <spec>...
Makes sure that the given packages and their dependencies are installed on the
system. Each <spec> can be either a <package-spec>, or a @<module-spec>, or a
@<group-spec>. See Install Examples. If a given package or provide cannot be (and
is not already) installed, the exit code will be non-zero. If the <spec> matches
both a @<module-spec> and a @<group-spec>, only the module is installed.

When <package-spec> to specify the exact version of the package is given, DNF will
install the desired version, no matter which version of the package is already
installed. The former version of the package will be removed in the case of non-
installonly package.

There are also a few specific install commands install-n, install-na and install-
nevra that allow the specification of an exact argument in the NEVRA format.

See also Configuration Files Replacement Policy.

Install Examples
dnf install tito
Install the tito package (tito is the package name).
dnf install ~/Downloads/tito-0.6.2-1.fc22.noarch.rpm
Install a local rpm file tito-0.6.2-1.fc22.noarch.rpm from the ~/Downloads/
directory.
dnf install tito-0.5.6-1.fc22
Install the package with a specific version. If the package is already installed it
will automatically try to downgrade or upgrade to the specific version.
dnf --best install tito
Install the latest available version of the package. If the package is already
installed it will try to automatically upgrade to the latest version. If the latest
version of the package cannot be installed, the installation will fail.
dnf install vim
DNF will automatically recognize that vim is not a package name, but will look up
and install a package that provides vim with all the required dependencies. Note:
Package name match has precedence over package provides match.
dnf install
https://kojipkgs.fedoraproject.org//packages/tito/0.6.0/1.fc22/noarch/tito-0.6.0-
1.fc22.noarch.rpm
Install a package directly from a URL.
dnf install '@docker'
Install all default profiles of module ‘docker’ and their RPMs. Module streams get
enabled accordingly.
dnf install '@Web Server'
Install the ‘Web Server’ environmental group.
dnf install /usr/bin/rpmsign
Install a package that provides the /usr/bin/rpmsign file.
dnf -y install tito --setopt=install_weak_deps=False
Install the tito package (tito is the package name) without weak deps. Weak deps
are not required for core functionality of the package, but they enhance the
original package (like extended documentation, plugins, additional functions,
etc.).
dnf install --advisory=FEDORA-2018-b7b99fe852 \*
Install all packages that belong to the “FEDORA-2018-b7b99fe852” advisory.
List Command
Prints lists of packages depending on the packages’ relation to the system. A
package is installed if it is present in the RPMDB, and it is available if it is
not installed but is present in a repository that DNF knows about. The list command
can also limit the displayed packages according to specific criteria, e.g. to only
those that update an installed package. The exclude option in the configuration
file can influence the result, but if the --disableexcludes command line option is
used, it ensures that all installed packages will be listed.

dnf [options] list [--all] [<package-file-spec>...]

Lists all packages, present in the RPMDB, in a repository or both.
dnf [options] list --installed [<package-file-spec>...]
Lists installed packages.
dnf [options] list --available [<package-file-spec>...]
Lists available packages.
dnf [options] list --extras [<package-file-spec>...]
Lists extras, that is packages installed on the system that are not available in
any known repository.
dnf [options] list --obsoletes [<package-file-spec>...]
List packages installed on the system that are obsoleted by packages in any known
repository.
dnf [options] list --recent [<package-file-spec>...]
List packages recently added into the repositories.
dnf [options] list --upgrades [<package-file-spec>...]
List upgrades available for the installed packages.
dnf [options] list --autoremove
List packages which will be removed by the dnf autoremove command.
This command by default does not force a sync of expired metadata. See also
Metadata Synchronization.

Localinstall Command
dnf [options] localinstall <spec>...
Deprecated alias for the Install Command.
Makecache Command
dnf [options] makecache
Downloads and caches metadata for all known repos. Tries to avoid downloading
whenever possible (e.g. when the local metadata hasn’t expired yet or when the
metadata timestamp hasn’t changed).
dnf [options] makecache --timer
Like plain makecache, but instructs DNF to be more resource-aware, meaning it will
not do anything if running on battery power and will terminate immediately if it’s
too soon after the last successful makecache run (see dnf.conf(5),
metadata_timer_sync).
Mark Command
dnf mark install <package-spec>...
Marks the specified packages as installed by user. This can be useful if any
package was installed as a dependency and is desired to stay on the system when
Auto Remove Command or Remove Command along with clean_requirements_on_remove
configuration option set to True is executed.
dnf mark remove <package-spec>...
Unmarks the specified packages as installed by user. Whenever you as a user don’t
need a specific package you can mark it for removal. The package stays installed on
the system but will be removed when Auto Remove Command or Remove Command along
with clean_requirements_on_remove configuration option set to True is executed. You
should use this operation instead of Remove Command if you’re not sure whether the
package is a requirement of other user installed packages on the system.
dnf mark group <package-spec>...
Marks the specified packages as installed by group. This can be useful if any
package was installed as a dependency or a user and is desired to be protected and
handled as a group member like during group remove.
Module Command
Modularity overview is available at man page dnf.modularity(7). Module subcommands
take <module-spec>… arguments that specify modules or profiles.

dnf [options] module install <module-spec>...

Install module profiles, including their packages. In case no profile was provided,
all default profiles get installed. Module streams get enabled accordingly.

This command cannot be used for switching module streams. It is recommended to

remove all installed content from the module and reset the module using the reset
command. After you reset the module, you can install the other stream.

dnf [options] module update <module-spec>...

Update packages associated with an active module stream, optionally restricted to a
profile. If the profile_name is provided, only the packages referenced by that
profile will be updated.
dnf [options] module remove <module-spec>...
Remove installed module profiles, including packages that were installed with the
dnf module install command. Will not remove packages required by other installed
module profiles or by other user-installed packages. In case no profile was
provided, all installed profiles get removed.
dnf [options] module remove --all <module-spec>...
Remove installed module profiles, including packages that were installed with the
dnf module install command. With –all option it additionally removes all packages
whose names are provided by specified modules. Packages required by other installed
module profiles and packages whose names are also provided by any other module are
not removed.
dnf [options] module enable <module-spec>...
Enable a module stream and make the stream RPMs available in the package set.

Modular dependencies are resolved, dependencies checked and also recursively

enabled. In case of modular dependency issue the operation will be rejected. To
perform the action anyway please use --skip-broken option.

This command cannot be used for switching module streams. It is recommended to

remove all installed content from the module, and reset the module using the reset
command. After you reset the module, you can enable the other stream.

dnf [options] module disable <module-name>...

Disable a module. All related module streams will become unavailable. Consequently,
all installed profiles will be removed and the module RPMs will become unavailable
in the package set. In case of modular dependency issue the operation will be
rejected. To perform the action anyway please use --skip-broken option.
dnf [options] module reset <module-name>...
Reset module state so it’s no longer enabled or disabled. Consequently, all
installed profiles will be removed and only RPMs from the default stream will be
available in the package set.
dnf [options] module provides <package-name-spec>...
Lists all modular packages matching <package-name-spec> from all modules (including
disabled), along with the modules and streams they belong to.
dnf [options] module list [--all] [module_name...]
Lists all module streams, their profiles and states (enabled, disabled, default).
dnf [options] module list --enabled [module_name...]
Lists module streams that are enabled.
dnf [options] module list --disabled [module_name...]
Lists module streams that are disabled.
dnf [options] module list --installed [module_name...]
List module streams with installed profiles.
dnf [options] module info <module-spec>...
Print detailed information about given module stream.
dnf [options] module info --profile <module-spec>...
Print detailed information about given module profiles.
dnf [options] module repoquery <module-spec>...
List all available packages belonging to selected modules.
dnf [options] module repoquery --available <module-spec>...
List all available packages belonging to selected modules.
dnf [options] module repoquery --installed <module-spec>...
List all installed packages with same name like packages belonging to selected
modules.
Provides Command
dnf [options] provides <provide-spec>
Finds the packages providing the given <provide-spec>. This is useful when one
knows a filename and wants to find what package (installed or not) provides this
file. The <provide-spec> is gradually looked for at following locations:

The <provide-spec> is matched with all file provides of any available package:

$ dnf provides /usr/bin/gzip

gzip-1.9-9.fc29.x86_64 : The GNU data compression program
Matched from:
Filename : /usr/bin/gzip
Then all provides of all available packages are searched:

$ dnf provides "gzip(x86-64)"

gzip-1.9-9.fc29.x86_64 : The GNU data compression program
Matched from:
Provide : gzip(x86-64) = 1.9-9.fc29
DNF assumes that the <provide-spec> is a system command, prepends it with
/usr/bin/, /usr/sbin/ prefixes (one at a time) and does the file provides search
again. For legacy reasons (packages that didn’t do UsrMove) also /bin and /sbin
prefixes are being searched:

$ dnf provides zless

gzip-1.9-9.fc29.x86_64 : The GNU data compression program
Matched from:
Filename : /usr/bin/zless
If this last step also fails, DNF returns “Error: No Matches found”.

This command by default does not force a sync of expired metadata. See also
Metadata Synchronization.

Reinstall Command
dnf [options] reinstall <package-spec>...
Installs the specified packages, fails if some of the packages are either not
installed or not available (i.e. there is no repository where to download the same
RPM).
Remove Command
dnf [options] remove <package-spec>...
Removes the specified packages from the system along with any packages depending on
the packages being removed. Each <spec> can be either a <package-spec>, which
specifies a package directly, or a @<group-spec>, which specifies an (environment)
group which contains it. If clean_requirements_on_remove is enabled (the default),
also removes any dependencies that are no longer needed.
dnf [options] remove --duplicates
Removes older versions of duplicate packages. To ensure the integrity of the system
it reinstalls the newest package. In some cases the command cannot resolve
conflicts. In such cases the dnf shell command with remove --duplicates and upgrade
dnf-shell sub-commands could help.
dnf [options] remove --oldinstallonly
Removes old installonly packages, keeping only latest versions and version of
running kernel.

There are also a few specific remove commands remove-n, remove-na and remove-nevra
that allow the specification of an exact argument in the NEVRA format.

Remove Examples
dnf remove acpi tito
Remove the acpi and tito packages.
dnf remove $(dnf repoquery --extras --exclude=tito,acpi)
Remove packages not present in any repository, but don’t remove the tito and acpi
packages (they still might be removed if they depend on some of the removed
packages).
Remove older versions of duplicated packages (an equivalent of yum’s package-
cleanup –cleandups):

dnf remove --duplicates

Repoinfo Command
An alias for the repolist command that provides more detailed information like dnf
repolist -v.
Repolist Command
dnf [options] repolist [--enabled|--disabled|--all]
Depending on the exact command lists enabled, disabled or all known repositories.
Lists all enabled repositories by default. Provides more detailed information when
-v option is used.
This command by default does not force a sync of expired metadata. See also
Metadata Synchronization.

Repoquery Command
dnf [options] repoquery [<select-options>] [<query-options>] [<package-file-spec>]
Searches available DNF repositories for selected packages and displays the
requested information about them. It is an equivalent of rpm -q for remote
repositories.
dnf [options] repoquery --querytags
Provides the list of tags recognized by the --queryformat repoquery option.

There are also a few specific repoquery commands repoquery-n, repoquery-na and
repoquery-nevra that allow the specification of an exact argument in the NEVRA
format (does not affect arguments of options like –whatprovides <arg>, …).

Select Options
Together with <package-file-spec>, control what packages are displayed in the
output. If <package-file-spec> is given, limits the resulting set of packages to
those matching the specification. All packages are considered if no <package-file-
spec> is specified.

<package-file-spec>
Package specification in the NEVRA format (name[-[epoch:]version[-release]]
[.arch]), a package provide or a file provide. See Specifying Packages.
-a, --all
Query all packages (for rpmquery compatibility, also a shorthand for repoquery ‘*’
or repoquery without arguments).
--arch <arch>[,<arch>...], --archlist <arch>[,<arch>...]
Limit the resulting set only to packages of selected architectures (default is all
architectures). In some cases the result is affected by the basearch of the running
system, therefore to run repoquery for an arch incompatible with your system use
the --forcearch=<arch> option to change the basearch.
--duplicates
Limit the resulting set to installed duplicate packages (i.e. more package versions
for the same name and architecture). Installonly packages are excluded from this
set.
--unneeded
Limit the resulting set to leaves packages that were installed as dependencies so
they are no longer needed. This switch lists packages that are going to be removed
after executing the dnf autoremove command.
--available
Limit the resulting set to available packages only (set by default).
--disable-modular-filtering
Disables filtering of modular packages, so that packages of inactive module streams
are included in the result.
--extras
Limit the resulting set to packages that are not present in any of the available
repositories.
-f <file>, --file <file>
Limit the resulting set only to the package that owns <file>.
--installed
Limit the resulting set to installed packages only. The exclude option in the
configuration file might influence the result, but if the command line option
--disableexcludes is used, it ensures that all installed packages will be listed.
--installonly
Limit the resulting set to installed installonly packages.
--latest-limit <number>
Limit the resulting set to <number> of latest packages for every package name and
architecture. If <number> is negative, skip <number> of latest packages. For a
negative <number> use the --latest-limit=<number> syntax.
--recent
Limit the resulting set to packages that were recently edited.
--repo <repoid>
Limit the resulting set only to packages from a repository identified by <repoid>.
Can be used multiple times with accumulative effect.
--unsatisfied
Report unsatisfied dependencies among installed packages (i.e. missing requires and
and existing conflicts).
--upgrades
Limit the resulting set to packages that provide an upgrade for some already
installed package.
--userinstalled
Limit the resulting set to packages installed by the user. The exclude option in
the configuration file might influence the result, but if the command line option
--disableexcludes is used, it ensures that all installed packages will be listed.
--whatdepends <capability>[,<capability>...]
Limit the resulting set only to packages that require, enhance, recommend, suggest
or supplement any of <capabilities>.
--whatconflicts <capability>[,<capability>...]
Limit the resulting set only to packages that conflict with any of <capabilities>.
--whatenhances <capability>[,<capability>...]
Limit the resulting set only to packages that enhance any of <capabilities>. Use
--whatdepends if you want to list all depending packages.
--whatobsoletes <capability>[,<capability>...]
Limit the resulting set only to packages that obsolete any of <capabilities>.
--whatprovides <capability>[,<capability>...]
Limit the resulting set only to packages that provide any of <capabilities>.
--whatrecommends <capability>[,<capability>...]
Limit the resulting set only to packages that recommend any of <capabilities>. Use
--whatdepends if you want to list all depending packages.
--whatrequires <capability>[,<capability>...]
Limit the resulting set only to packages that require any of <capabilities>. Use
--whatdepends if you want to list all depending packages.
--whatsuggests <capability>[,<capability>...]
Limit the resulting set only to packages that suggest any of <capabilities>. Use
--whatdepends if you want to list all depending packages.
--whatsupplements <capability>[,<capability>...]
Limit the resulting set only to packages that supplement any of <capabilities>. Use
--whatdepends if you want to list all depending packages.
--alldeps
This option is stackable with --whatrequires or --whatdepends only. Additionally it
adds all packages requiring the package features to the result set (used as
default).
--exactdeps
This option is stackable with --whatrequires or --whatdepends only. Limit the
resulting set only to packages that require <capability> specified by –
whatrequires.
--srpm
Operate on the corresponding source RPM.
Query Options
Set what information is displayed about each package.

The following are mutually exclusive, i.e. at most one can be specified. If no
query option is given, matching packages are displayed in the standard NEVRA
notation.

-i, --info
Show detailed information about the package.
-l, --list
Show the list of files in the package.
-s, --source
Show the package source RPM name.
--changelogs
Print the package changelogs.
--conflicts
Display capabilities that the package conflicts with. Same as --qf "%{conflicts}.
--depends
Display capabilities that the package depends on, enhances, recommends, suggests or
supplements.
--enhances
Display capabilities enhanced by the package. Same as --qf "%{enhances}"".
--location
Show a location where the package could be downloaded from.
--obsoletes
Display capabilities that the package obsoletes. Same as --qf "%{obsoletes}".
--provides
Display capabilities provided by the package. Same as --qf "%{provides}".
--recommends
Display capabilities recommended by the package. Same as --qf "%{recommends}".
--requires
Display capabilities that the package depends on. Same as --qf "%{requires}".
--requires-pre
Display capabilities that the package depends on for running a %pre script. Same as
--qf "%{requires-pre}".
--suggests
Display capabilities suggested by the package. Same as --qf "%{suggests}".
--supplements
Display capabilities supplemented by the package. Same as --qf "%{supplements}".
--tree
Display a recursive tree of packages with capabilities specified by one of the
following supplementary options: --whatrequires, --requires, --conflicts,
--enhances, --suggests, --provides, --supplements, --recommends.
--deplist
Produce a list of all direct dependencies and what packages provide those
dependencies for the given packages. The result only shows the newest providers
(which can be changed by using –verbose).
--nvr
Show found packages in the name-version-release format. Same as --qf "%{name}-%
{version}-%{release}".
--nevra
Show found packages in the name-epoch:version-release.architecture format. Same as
--qf "%{name}-%{epoch}:%{version}-%{release}.%{arch}" (default).
--envra
Show found packages in the epoch:name-version-release.architecture format. Same as
--qf "%{epoch}:%{name}-%{version}-%{release}.%{arch}"
--qf <format>, --queryformat <format>
Custom display format. <format> is the string to output for each matched package.
Every occurrence of %{<tag>} within is replaced by the corresponding attribute of
the package. The list of recognized tags can be displayed by running dnf repoquery
--querytags.
--recursive
Query packages recursively. Has to be used with --whatrequires <REQ> (optionally
with --alldeps, but not with --exactdeps) or with --requires <REQ> --resolve.
--resolve
resolve capabilities to originating package(s).
Examples
Display NEVRAs of all available packages matching light*:

dnf repoquery 'light*'

Display NEVRAs of all available packages matching name light* and architecture
noarch (accepts only arguments in the “<name>.<arch>” format):

dnf repoquery-na 'light*.noarch'

Display requires of all lighttpd packages:

dnf repoquery --requires lighttpd

Display packages providing the requires of python packages:

dnf repoquery --requires python --resolve

Display source rpm of ligttpd package:

dnf repoquery --source lighttpd

Display package name that owns the given file:

dnf repoquery --file /etc/lighttpd/lighttpd.conf

Display name, architecture and the containing repository of all lighttpd packages:

dnf repoquery --queryformat '%{name}.%{arch} : %{reponame}' lighttpd

Display all available packages providing “webserver”:
dnf repoquery --whatprovides webserver
Display all available packages providing “webserver” but only for “i686”
architecture:

dnf repoquery --whatprovides webserver --arch i686

Display duplicate packages:

dnf repoquery --duplicates

Display source packages that require a <provide> for a build:

dnf repoquery --disablerepo="*" --enablerepo="*-source" --arch=src --whatrequires

<provide>
Repo-Pkgs Command
dnf [options] repo-pkgs
Deprecated alias for the Repository-Packages Command.
Repository-Packages Command
The repository-packages command allows the user to run commands on top of all
packages in the repository named <repoid>. However, any dependency resolution takes
into account packages from all enabled repositories. The <package-file-spec> and
<package-spec> specifications further limit the candidates to only those packages
matching at least one of them.

The info subcommand lists description and summary information about packages
depending on the packages’ relation to the repository. The list subcommand just
prints lists of those packages.

dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> check-update [<package-file-spec>...]

Non-interactively checks if updates of the specified packages in the repository are
available. DNF exit code will be 100 when there are updates available and a list of
the updates will be printed.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> info [--all] [<package-file-spec>...]
List all related packages.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> info --installed [<package-file-
spec>...]
List packages installed from the repository.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> info --available [<package-file-
spec>...]
List packages available in the repository but not currently installed on the
system.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> info --extras [<package-file-specs>...]
List packages installed from the repository that are not available in any
repository.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> info --obsoletes [<package-file-
spec>...]
List packages in the repository that obsolete packages installed on the system.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> info --recent [<package-file-spec>...]
List packages recently added into the repository.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> info --upgrades [<package-file-spec>...]
List packages in the repository that upgrade packages installed on the system.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> install [<package-spec>...]
Install all packages in the repository.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> list [--all] [<package-file-spec>...]
List all related packages.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> list --installed [<package-file-
spec>...]
List packages installed from the repository.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> list --available [<package-file-
spec>...]
List packages available in the repository but not currently installed on the
system.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> list --extras [<package-file-spec>...]
List packages installed from the repository that are not available in any
repository.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> list --obsoletes [<package-file-
spec>...]
List packages in the repository that obsolete packages installed on the system.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> list --recent [<package-file-spec>...]
List packages recently added into the repository.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> list --upgrades [<package-file-spec>...]
List packages in the repository that upgrade packages installed on the system.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> move-to [<package-spec>...]
Reinstall all those packages that are available in the repository.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> reinstall [<package-spec>...]
Run the reinstall-old subcommand. If it fails, run the move-to subcommand.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> reinstall-old [<package-spec>...]
Reinstall all those packages that were installed from the repository and
simultaneously are available in the repository.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> remove [<package-spec>...]
Remove all packages installed from the repository along with any packages depending
on the packages being removed. If clean_requirements_on_remove is enabled (the
default) also removes any dependencies that are no longer needed.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> remove-or-distro-sync [<package-
spec>...]
Select all packages installed from the repository. Upgrade, downgrade or keep those
of them that are available in another repository to match the latest version
available there and remove the others along with any packages depending on the
packages being removed. If clean_requirements_on_remove is enabled (the default)
also removes any dependencies that are no longer needed.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> remove-or-reinstall [<package-spec>...]
Select all packages installed from the repository. Reinstall those of them that are
available in another repository and remove the others along with any packages
depending on the packages being removed. If clean_requirements_on_remove is enabled
(the default) also removes any dependencies that are no longer needed.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> upgrade [<package-spec>...]
Update all packages to the highest resolvable version available in the repository.
dnf [options] repository-packages <repoid> upgrade-to <package-nevr-specs>...
Update packages to the specified versions that are available in the repository.
Upgrade-to is a deprecated alias for the upgrade subcommand.
Search Command
dnf [options] search [--all] <keywords>...
Search package metadata for keywords. Keywords are matched as case-insensitive
substrings, globbing is supported. By default lists packages that match all
requested keys (AND operation). Keys are searched in package names and summaries.
If the “–all” option is used, lists packages that match at least one of the keys
(an OR operation). In addition the keys are searched in the package descriptions
and URLs. The result is sorted from the most relevant results to the least.
This command by default does not force a sync of expired metadata. See also
Metadata Synchronization.

Shell Command
dnf [options] shell [filename]
Open an interactive shell for conducting multiple commands during a single
execution of DNF. These commands can be issued manually or passed to DNF from a
file. The commands are much the same as the normal DNF command line options. There
are a few additional commands documented below.

config [conf-option] [value]

Set a configuration option to a requested value. If no value is given it prints the
current value.
repo [list|enable|disable] [repo-id]
list: list repositories and their status
enable: enable repository
disable: disable repository
transaction [list|reset|solve|run]
list: resolve and list the content of the transaction
reset: reset the transaction
run: resolve and run the transaction
Note that all local packages must be used in the first shell transaction subcommand
(e.g. install /tmp/nodejs-1-1.x86_64.rpm /tmp/acpi-1-1.noarch.rpm) otherwise an
error will occur. Any disable, enable, and reset module operations (e.g. module
enable nodejs) must also be performed before any other shell transaction subcommand
is used.

Swap Command
dnf [options] swap <remove-spec> <install-spec>

Remove spec and install spec in one transaction. Each <spec> can be either a
<package-spec>, which specifies a package directly, or a @<group-spec>, which
specifies an (environment) group which contains it. Automatic conflict solving is
provided in DNF by the –allowerasing option that provides the functionality of the
swap command automatically.
Update Command
dnf [options] update
Deprecated alias for the Upgrade Command.
Updateinfo Command
dnf [options] updateinfo [--summary|--list|--info] [<availability>] [<spec>...]
Display information about update advisories.

Depending on the output type, DNF displays just counts of advisory types (omitted
or --summary), list of advisories (--list) or detailed information (--info). When
the -v option is used with --info, the information is even more detailed.

<availability> specifies whether advisories about newer versions of installed

packages (omitted or --available), advisories about equal and older versions of
installed packages (--installed), advisories about newer versions of those
installed packages for which a newer version is available (--updates) or advisories
about any versions of installed packages (--all) are taken into account. Most of
the time, --available and --updates displays the same output. The outputs differ
only in the cases when an advisory refers to a newer version but there is no
enabled repository which contains any newer version.

Note, that --available tooks only the latest installed versions of packages into
account. In case of the kernel packages (when multiple version could be installed
simultaneously) also packages of the currently running version of kernel are added.

To print only advisories referencing a CVE or a bugzilla use --with-cve or --with-

bz options. When these switches are used also the output of the --list is altered -
the ID of the CVE or the bugzilla is printed instead of the one of the advisory.

If given and if neither ID, type (bugfix, enhancement, security/sec) nor a package
name of an advisory matches <spec>, the advisory is not taken into account. The
matching is case-sensitive and in the case of advisory IDs and package names,
globbing is supported.

Output of the --summary option is affected by the autocheck_running_kernel

configuration option.
Update-Minimal Command
dnf [options] update-minimal
Deprecated alias for the Upgrade-Minimal Command.
Upgrade Command
dnf [options] upgrade
Updates each package to the latest version that is both available and resolvable.
dnf [options] upgrade <package-spec>...
Updates each specified package to the latest available version. Updates
dependencies as necessary.
dnf [options] upgrade <package-nevr-specs>...
Upgrades packages to the specified versions.
dnf [options] upgrade @<spec>...
Alias for the dnf module update command.
If the main obsoletes configure option is true or the --obsoletes flag is present,
dnf will include package obsoletes in its calculations. For more information see
obsoletes.

See also Configuration Files Replacement Policy.

Upgrade-Minimal Command
dnf [options] upgrade-minimal
Updates each package to the latest available version that provides a bugfix,
enhancement or a fix for a security issue (security).
dnf [options] upgrade-minimal <package-spec>...
Updates each specified package to the latest available version that provides a
bugfix, enhancement or a fix for security issue (security). Updates dependencies as
necessary.
Update-To Command
dnf [options] update-to <package-nevr-specs>...
Deprecated alias for the Upgrade Command.
Upgrade-To Command
dnf [options] upgrade-to <package-nevr-specs>...
Deprecated alias for the Upgrade Command.
Specifying Packages
Many commands take a <package-spec> parameter that selects a package for the
operation. The <package-spec> argument is matched against package NEVRAs, provides
and file provides.

<package-file-spec> is similar to <package-spec>, except provides matching is not

performed. Therefore, <package-file-spec> is matched only against NEVRAs and file
provides.

<package-name-spec> is matched against NEVRAs only.

Globs
Package specification supports the same glob pattern matching that shell does, in
all three above mentioned packages it matches against (NEVRAs, provides and file
provides).

The following patterns are supported:

*
Matches any number of characters.
?
Matches any single character.
[]
Matches any one of the enclosed characters. A pair of characters separated by a
hyphen denotes a range expression; any character that falls between those two
characters, inclusive, is matched. If the first character following the [ is a ! or
a ^ then any character not enclosed is matched.
{}
Matches any of the comma separated list of enclosed strings.
NEVRA Matching
When matching against NEVRAs, partial matching is supported. DNF tries to match the
spec against the following list of NEVRA forms (in decreasing order of priority):

name-[epoch:]version-release.arch
name.arch
name
name-[epoch:]version-release
name-[epoch:]version
Note that name can in general contain dashes (e.g. package-with-dashes).

The first form that matches any packages is used and the remaining forms are not
tried. If none of the forms match any packages, an attempt is made to match the
<package-spec> against full package NEVRAs. This is only relevant if globs are
present in the <package-spec>.

<package-spec> matches NEVRAs the same way <package-name-spec> does, but in case
matching NEVRAs fails, it attempts to match against provides and file provides of
packages as well.

You can specify globs as part of any of the five NEVRA components. You can also
specify a glob pattern to match over multiple NEVRA components (in other words, to
match across the NEVRA separators). In that case, however, you need to write the
spec to match against full package NEVRAs, as it is not possible to split such spec
into NEVRA forms.

Specifying Exact Versions of Packages

Commands accepting the <package-nevr-spec> parameter need not only the name of the
package, but also its version, release and optionally the architecture. Further,
the version part can be preceded by an epoch when it is relevant (i.e. the epoch is
non-zero).

Specifying Provides
<provide-spec> in command descriptions means the command operates on packages
providing the given spec. This can either be an explicit provide, an implicit
provide (i.e. name of the package) or a file provide. The selection is case-
sensitive and globbing is supported.

Specifying Groups
<group-spec> allows one to select (environment) groups a particular operation
should work on. It is a case insensitive string (supporting globbing characters)
that is matched against a group’s ID, canonical name and name translated into the
current LC_MESSAGES locale (if possible).

Specifying Modules
<module-spec> allows one to select modules or profiles a particular operation
should work on.

It is in the form of NAME:STREAM:VERSION:CONTEXT:ARCH/PROFILE and supported partial

forms are the following:

NAME
NAME:STREAM
NAME:STREAM:VERSION
NAME:STREAM:VERSION:CONTEXT
all above combinations with ::ARCH (e.g. NAME::ARCH)
NAME:STREAM:VERSION:CONTEXT:ARCH
all above combinations with /PROFILE (e.g. NAME/PROFILE)
In case stream is not specified, the enabled or the default stream is used, in this
order. In case profile is not specified, the system default profile or the
‘default’ profile is used.

Specifying Transactions
<transaction-spec> can be in one of several forms. If it is an integer, it
specifies a transaction ID. Specifying last is the same as specifying the ID of the
most recent transaction. The last form is last-<offset>, where <offset> is a
positive integer. It specifies offset-th transaction preceding the most recent
transaction.

Package Filtering
Package filtering filters packages out from the available package set, making them
invisible to most of dnf commands. They cannot be used in a transaction. Packages
can be filtered out by either Exclude Filtering or Modular Filtering.

Exclude Filtering
Exclude Filtering is a mechanism used by a user or by a DNF plugin to modify the
set of available packages. Exclude Filtering can be modified by either includepkgs
or excludepkgs configuration options in configuration files. The --disableexcludes
command line option can be used to override excludes from configuration files. In
addition to user-configured excludes, plugins can also extend the set of excluded
packages. To disable excludes from a DNF plugin you can use the --disableplugin
command line option.

To disable all excludes for e.g. the install command you can use the following
combination of command line options:

dnf --disableexcludes=all --disableplugin="*" install bash

Modular Filtering
Please see the modularity documentation for details on how Modular Filtering works.

With modularity, only RPM packages from active module streams are included in the
available package set. RPM packages from inactive module streams, as well as non-
modular packages with the same name or provides as a package from an active module
stream, are filtered out. Modular filtering is not applied to packages added from
the command line, installed packages, or packages from repositories with
module_hotfixes=true in their .repo file.

Disabling of modular filtering is not recommended, because it could cause the

system to get into a broken state. To disable modular filtering for a particular
repository, specify module_hotfixes=true in the .repo file or use
--setopt=<repo_id>.module_hotfixes=true.

To discover the module which contains an excluded package use dnf module provides.

Metadata Synchronization
Correct operation of DNF depends on having access to up-to-date data from all
enabled repositories but contacting remote mirrors on every operation considerably
slows it down and costs bandwidth for both the client and the repository provider.
The metadata_expire (see dnf.conf(5)) repository configuration option is used by
DNF to determine whether a particular local copy of repository data is due to be
re-synced. It is crucial that the repository providers set the option well, namely
to a value where it is guaranteed that if particular metadata was available in time
T on the server, then all packages it references will still be available for
download from the server in time T + metadata_expire.

To further reduce the bandwidth load, some of the commands where having up-to-date
metadata is not critical (e.g. the list command) do not look at whether a
repository is expired and whenever any version of it is locally available to the
user’s account, it will be used. For non-root use, see also the --cacheonly switch.
Note that in all situations the user can force synchronization of all enabled
repositories with the --refresh switch.

Configuration Files Replacement Policy

The updated packages could replace the old modified configuration files with the
new ones or keep the older files. Neither of the files are actually replaced. To
the conflicting ones RPM gives additional suffix to the origin name. Which file
should maintain the true name after transaction is not controlled by package
manager but is specified by each package itself, following packaging guideline.

Files
Cache Files
/var/cache/dnf
Main Configuration
/etc/dnf/dnf.conf
Repository
/etc/yum.repos.d/