Unix/Linux Package Management (apt, yum, dnf, brew, pacman)

Package managers across distributions: Debian/Ubuntu (apt), RHEL/Fedora (yum/dnf), macOS (brew), Arch (pacman). Installation, removal, repository management.

Unix Commands
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Package managers by platform with description, common commands, configuration files and notes: apt, yum, dnf, Homebrew, pacman and dpkg.

Use it when

You need the install, update or search command for a Linux or macOS package manager.
You are writing cross-distribution setup instructions.

Watch out for

Command names and defaults differ by distribution and version; yum is replaced by dnf on current Fedora and RHEL.
Installing packages needs privileges (sudo) and trust in the repository.

The data

Managers

Name

Platform

Description

Common commands

Config files

Notes

apt (Advanced Package Tool)

Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint

High-level package manager for Debian-based systems. Handles dependency resolution, repository management, and package installation/removal.

Apt update	Apt upgrade	Apt install <pkg>	Apt remove <pkg>	Apt purge <pkg>	Apt search <term>	Apt list installed	Apt show <pkg>
Update package index from repositories	null	null	null	null	null	null	null
null	Upgrade all upgradable packages	null	null	null	null	null	null
null	null	Install package and dependencies	null	null	null	null	null
null	null	null	Remove package, keep config files	null	null	null	null
null	null	null	null	Remove package and config files	null	null	null
null	null	null	null	null	Search package descriptions	null	null
null	null	null	null	null	null	List all installed packages	null
null	null	null	null	null	null	null	Show package details

/etc/apt/sources.list
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/
/etc/apt/apt.conf.d/

Use apt-get for scripts (stable output), apt for interactive use. sudo apt update before install/upgrade. apt full-upgrade handles distribution upgrades. .deb files can be installed via dpkg -i but dependencies aren't resolved automatically.

yum (Yellowdog Updater Modified)

RHEL, CentOS, Fedora (legacy)

Legacy package manager for RHEL-based systems. Being replaced by dnf but still widely used on older systems.

Yum check update	Yum update	Yum install <pkg>	Yum remove <pkg>	Yum search <term>	Yum info <pkg>	Yum list installed	Yum clean all
Check for available updates	null	null	null	null	null	null	null
null	Update all packages	null	null	null	null	null	null
null	null	Install package	null	null	null	null	null
null	null	null	Remove package	null	null	null	null
null	null	null	null	Search packages	null	null	null
null	null	null	null	null	Show package info	null	null
null	null	null	null	null	null	List installed packages	null
null	null	null	null	null	null	null	Clean package cache

/etc/yum.conf
/etc/yum.repos.d/

yum is deprecated in favor of dnf (Yum's successor). Still present on CentOS 7, RHEL 7, and older Fedora. Uses RPM packages. Transactions are logged in /var/log/yum.log.

dnf (Dandified Yum)

Fedora, RHEL 8+, CentOS Stream, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux

Next-generation package manager for RPM-based distributions. Faster dependency resolution, cleaner API, better performance than yum.

Dnf check update	Dnf update	Dnf install <pkg>	Dnf remove <pkg>	Dnf search <term>	Dnf info <pkg>	Dnf autoremove	Dnf module list
Check for updates	null	null	null	null	null	null	null
null	Update all packages	null	null	null	null	null	null
null	null	Install package	null	null	null	null	null
null	null	null	Remove package	null	null	null	null
null	null	null	null	Search packages	null	null	null
null	null	null	null	null	Show package details	null	null
null	null	null	null	null	null	Remove orphaned dependencies	null
null	null	null	null	null	null	null	List module streams (Fedora/RHEL)

/etc/dnf/dnf.conf
/etc/yum.repos.d/
/etc/dnf/modules.d/

dnf is backward-compatible with yum commands. Uses libsolv for dependency resolution (faster). Module streams enable multiple versions of same software (e.g., nodejs:14, nodejs:16).

Homebrew (brew)

macOS, Linux (via Linuxbrew)

Missing package manager for macOS. Installs packages to /usr/local (or ~/.linuxbrew on Linux). Simple formula-based system. Community-maintained.

Brew update	Brew upgrade	Brew install <pkg>	Brew uninstall <pkg>	Brew search <term>	Brew info <pkg>	Brew list	Brew tap <repo>
Update Homebrew and formulae	null	null	null	null	null	null	null
null	Upgrade all installed packages	null	null	null	null	null	null
null	null	Install package	null	null	null	null	null
null	null	null	Remove package	null	null	null	null
null	null	null	null	Search formulae	null	null	null
null	null	null	null	null	Show package info	null	null
null	null	null	null	null	null	List installed packages	null
null	null	null	null	null	null	null	Add additional repository

/usr/local/Homebrew/Library/Taps/
~/.brew/ (Linuxbrew)
/usr/local/etc/brew.git

Installs from source by default (can use bottles = pre-built binaries). macOS GUI apps via brew install --cask. Linuxbrew requires build tools (gcc, make). Doesn't manage macOS system packages (use apt/dpkg in Linux subsystem).

pacman

Arch Linux, Manjaro

Simple, fast package manager for Arch Linux. Binary packages, minimal dependency handling, rolling release model.

Pacman sy	Pacman syu	Pacman s <pkg>	Pacman r <pkg>	Pacman rns <pkg>	Pacman ss <term>	Pacman qi <pkg>	Pacman ql <pkg>
Sync package databases	null	null	null	null	null	null	null
null	Full system upgrade	null	null	null	null	null	null
null	null	Install package(s)	null	null	null	null	null
null	null	null	Remove package	null	null	null	null
null	null	null	null	Remove package and deps	null	null	null
null	null	null	null	null	Search packages	null	null
null	null	null	null	null	null	Show package info	null
null	null	null	null	null	null	null	List package files

/etc/pacman.conf
/etc/pacman.d/
/etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist

Arch is rolling release: pacman -Syu updates everything. -Syy forces refresh. Use pacman -Q to query local DB. AUR (Arch User Repository) accessed via helpers like yay or paru (not official pacman).

dpkg

Debian, Ubuntu (low-level)

Low-level Debian package manager. Used by apt underneath. Handles .deb files directly without dependency resolution.

Dpkg i <file.deb>	Dpkg r <pkg>	Dpkg p <pkg>	Dpkg l	Dpkg l <pkg>	Dpkg s <file>	Dpkg c <file.deb>	Dpkg reconfigure <pkg>
Install .deb package	null	null	null	null	null	null	null
null	Remove package (keep config)	null	null	null	null	null	null
null	null	Purge package and config	null	null	null	null	null
null	null	null	List all installed packages	null	null	null	null
null	null	null	null	List files installed by package	null	null	null
null	null	null	null	null	Find which package owns file	null	null
null	null	null	null	null	null	List contents of .deb file	null
null	null	null	null	null	null	null	Re-run package config

/var/lib/dpkg/status
/var/lib/dpkg/available
/etc/apt/sources.list (for apt integration)

Use dpkg --force-all carefully. dpkg -i doesn't resolve dependencies (apt-get -f install fixes). dpkg-query provides more advanced querying. Configuration files stored in /etc and preserved on remove unless purged.

Fields

The shape of this dataset, read from the data itself: every column, its type and a real value. Agents can use this to plan a query without fetching the whole document.

Section	Field	Type	Example
managers	`name`	string	apt (Advanced Package Tool)
managers	`platform`	string	Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint
managers	`description`	string	High-level package manager for Debian-based sys…
managers	`common_commands`	array	[8 items]
managers	`config_files`	array	[3 items]
managers	`notes`	string	Use apt-get for scripts (stable output), apt fo…

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