DNF
- Relevant to all editions of PCLinuxOS.
Since the beginning, PCLinuxOS has used the APT package manager with Synaptic as the graphical front-end to manage the RPM packages which make up the system. Whilst this has served us well for over 20 years it is no longer actively maintained and so may fail to meet our needs in the future. So we are gradually moving to use DNF as the package manager. Currently both package managers are working in parallel so users can choose which to use.
For those wishing to use DNF here is a table of the common APT commands and the equivalent DNF command:
| APT command | DNF command | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| apt-get update | dnf check-update | Update the package list |
| apt-get install <package> | dnf install <package> | Install package and it's dependencies |
| apt-get dist-upgrade | dnf distro-sync[1] | Apply all updates |
| apt-get remove <packages> | dnf remove <packages> | Remove package(s) |
Notes
[1] You can also use dnf upgrade to apply all updates. The difference is that upgrade will not change any packages which are newer than the version in the repository. This might be useful for developers/packagers who may have installed a newer version of a package and don't want it downgraded. Most users will want to use distro-sync which will keep their systems aligned with the versions in the repository.