AlmaLinux Package Management for BigBoy

Reference for dnf/rpm operations on AlmaLinux 10.2 (RHEL-compatible)

dnf Basics

Update package lists and system:

sudo dnf update                    # Update all installed packages
sudo dnf upgrade                   # Same as update (dnf alias)
sudo dnf check-update              # Check for available updates without installing

Search and install:

sudo dnf search <package>          # Search for a package
sudo dnf info <package>            # Show package details
sudo dnf install <package>         # Install a package
sudo dnf install -y <package>      # Install without confirmation prompt

Remove packages:

sudo dnf remove <package>          # Remove a package
sudo dnf autoremove                # Remove unused dependencies

List installed packages:

dnf list installed                 # All installed packages
dnf list installed | grep <name>   # Search installed packages

Repository management:

sudo dnf config-manager --enable <repo>   # Enable a repository
sudo dnf config-manager --disable <repo>  # Disable a repository
dnf repolist                               # List all enabled repos

Common Packages for BigBoy

Build essentials (for compiling NVIDIA driver):

sudo dnf groupinstall "Development Tools"
sudo dnf install kernel-headers kernel-devel gcc make

Utilities:

sudo dnf install vim git htop tmux curl wget
sudo dnf install btrfs-progs smartmontools

Network/firewall:

sudo dnf install firewalld           # Firewall daemon
sudo dnf install bind-utils          # dig, nslookup for DNS testing

rpm Direct Operations

Query installed packages:

rpm -qa | grep <package>            # List all matching installed packages
rpm -qi <package>                   # Show detailed info on an installed package
rpm -ql <package>                   # List files in an installed package

Install from .rpm file:

sudo dnf install ./package-file.rpm # Install local .rpm using dnf
sudo rpm -ivh ./package-file.rpm    # Install using rpm directly (older method)

Key Differences from Debian

Task	Debian/Ubuntu	AlmaLinux/RHEL
Update system	`apt update && apt upgrade`	`dnf update`
Install package	`apt install <pkg>`	`dnf install <pkg>`
Search package	`apt-cache search <pkg>`	`dnf search <pkg>`
Remove package	`apt remove <pkg>`	`dnf remove <pkg>`
Build tools	`build-essential`	`Development Tools` group
Kernel headers	`linux-headers-generic`	`kernel-headers` + `kernel-devel`
Clean cache	`apt clean`	`dnf clean all`

Troubleshooting

dnf is slow:

First run may cache metadata. Subsequent runs are faster.
Check /var/cache/dnf/ for stale cache: sudo dnf clean all then retry.

Broken dependencies:

sudo dnf check              # Check for dependency issues
sudo dnf distro-sync        # Resolve dependency conflicts

Downgrade a package:

sudo dnf downgrade <package>

For BigBoy Specifically

One-time setup after fresh AlmaLinux install:

sudo dnf update -y                                    # Update all packages
sudo dnf groupinstall -y "Development Tools"         # Build essentials
sudo dnf install -y kernel-headers kernel-devel      # Kernel dev for NVIDIA driver
sudo dnf install -y vim git htop curl wget           # Utilities
sudo dnf install -y firewalld                        # Firewall

Then proceed to NVIDIA driver installation (see alma-nvidia-driver.md).

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