20 DNF Commands Every Linux Administrator Should Know

Most people treat dnf as a drop-in replacement for yum and stop there. But that misses a lot of what makes DNF worth learning; automatic dependency resolution, transaction history with full undo support, module streams, and a plugin system that goes beyond what yum offered.

DNF (Dandified YUM) has been the default package manager on Fedora since Fedora 22 (2015) and on RHEL since RHEL 8 (2019). It is used across RHEL 8/9/10, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, CentOS Stream, and Fedora. If you’re still typing yum on any of these systems, it is usually linked or aliased to DNF anyway.

One important distinction for 2025/2026 is DNF5. DNF5 is a complete C++ rewrite of DNF and is now the default package manager on Fedora 41 and later, including Fedora 44, the current release.

On Fedora 41+, /usr/bin/dnf is a symlink to /usr/bin/dnf5 for backward compatibility, so the commands in this article still work. However, if you’re using Fedora 41 or later, writing dnf5 explicitly is recommended.

On the enterprise side, RHEL 9, Rocky Linux 9, AlmaLinux 9, and RHEL 10 still use DNF (dnf4) as the default package manager. DNF5 has not yet replaced DNF on these systems.

All examples below are tested on RHEL 9, Rocky Linux 9, and Fedora 44. A dedicated DNF5 section at the end of this article covers what changes on Fedora 41+.

Prerequisites: You need a working RHEL 8/9/10, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, or Fedora system. Most commands require sudo or root privileges; commands that don’t are noted accordingly.

1. Install a Package

sudo dnf install nginx

DNF automatically resolves and installs all required dependencies. You can also install multiple packages with a single command:

sudo dnf install git curl wget vim

To skip the confirmation prompt, use -y. This is especially useful in scripts:

sudo dnf install -y nginx

2. Remove a Package

sudo dnf remove nginx

This removes the package but does not automatically remove all of its dependencies. If you also want to remove packages that were installed as dependencies and are no longer required, use autoremove instead (see Example 8).

3. Update a Single Package

sudo dnf update nginx

In DNF, update and upgrade are equivalent. Both update packages and handle obsolete packages, so there is no practical difference between the two commands.

4. Update All Packages

sudo dnf update

This updates all installed packages to the latest versions available from your enabled repositories. Before making any changes, you can check whether updates are available:

sudo dnf check-update

check-update returns exit code 100 when updates are available and 0 when the system is up to date. This makes it useful in scripts and cron jobs.

5. Search for a Package

dnf search nginx

To search both package names and package descriptions, use:

dnf search all nginx

The results include the package name, architecture, and a short summary. You don’t need sudo for package searches.

6. Get Package Information

dnf info nginx

This displays details such as the version, release, architecture, installed size, source repository, summary, and description without installing the package.

To view information about a package that is already installed:

dnf info --installed nginx

7. List Installed Packages

dnf list --installed

To check whether a specific package is installed, filter the output with grep command:

dnf list --installed | grep nginx

To list packages available from your enabled repositories, whether installed or not:

dnf list --available

8. Remove Unused Dependencies

As you install and remove packages over time, some dependencies may no longer be needed. DNF can identify and remove these orphaned packages with autoremove:

sudo dnf autoremove

Run it periodically to keep your system clean. DNF only removes packages that were installed as dependencies and are no longer required by any installed package.

9. Clean the DNF Cache

DNF stores package metadata and downloaded RPMs in /var/cache/dnf. You can clean the cache if a repository is returning stale data or you’re running low on disk space:

sudo dnf clean all

To clean only the metadata while keeping downloaded packages:

sudo dnf clean metadata

After cleaning the metadata, the next dnf command downloads fresh metadata from all enabled repositories.

10. View Transaction History

DNF keeps a transaction history of package installations, updates, and removals. To view recent transactions:

dnf history

You may see output like this:

ID     | Command line                        | Date and time    | Action(s) | Altered
-------+-------------------------------------+------------------+-----------+--------
    12 | install nginx                       | 2026-08-14 09:31 | Install   |      3
    11 | update                              | 2026-08-12 14:05 | Upgrade   |     47
    10 | remove vim-enhanced                 | 2026-08-10 11:22 | Removed   |      1

Each transaction has a unique ID that you can use to inspect what happened. For example:

dnf history info 12

This shows the packages affected by transaction 12, along with additional transaction details.

11. Undo a Transaction

One of DNF’s most useful features is the ability to undo a previous transaction using its ID.

For example:

sudo dnf history undo 12

DNF attempts to reverse transaction 12. If the transaction installed three packages, those packages are removed. If it upgraded packages, DNF attempts to restore their previous versions.

You can also redo a transaction that was previously undone:

sudo dnf history redo 12

12. Downgrade a Package

If a newer package version causes problems, you can downgrade it to an older available version:

sudo dnf downgrade nginx

DNF selects the highest available version that is older than the currently installed version.

To install a specific version instead, specify the complete package version:

sudo dnf install nginx-1.24.0-1.el9.x86_64

13. Install a Local RPM File

If you’ve downloaded an RPM file manually, you can install it by passing its path directly to dnf install. Unlike rpm -i, DNF can resolve and install missing dependencies from your configured repositories:

sudo dnf install /tmp/package.rpm

14. List and Manage Repositories

To list all enabled repositories and their status:

dnf repolist

To see both enabled and disabled repositories:

dnf repolist --all

You can enable or disable a repository for a single command using --enablerepo and --disablerepo:

sudo dnf install --enablerepo=crb curl
sudo dnf update --disablerepo=epel

To permanently enable or disable a repository:

sudo dnf config-manager --enable crb
sudo dnf config-manager --disable epel

15. Add a New Repository

To add a repository using its URL:

sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo https://download.docker.com/linux/rhel/docker-ce.repo

Repository configuration files are stored in /etc/yum.repos.d/. After adding a repository, verify that it appears in the repository list:

dnf repolist

16. Install a Package Group

DNF supports package groups, which are collections of related packages that can be installed together. To see the available groups:

dnf group list

To install a group:

sudo dnf group install "Development Tools"

To remove a group:

sudo dnf group remove "Development Tools"

17. Work with Module Streams

Note: Module streams apply to RHEL 8/9, Rocky Linux, and AlmaLinux. Fedora retired modularity in Fedora 39, so on Fedora 40 and later, you install specific package versions directly from the repositories or use third-party repositories instead.

On RHEL 9 and Rocky Linux 9, DNF modules allow you to work with different versions of a package; for example, Node.js 18 or Node.js 20 without adding third-party repositories:

# List available module streams
dnf module list nodejs

# Enable a specific stream
sudo dnf module enable nodejs:20

# Install the module
sudo dnf module install nodejs:20

To switch to a different stream:

sudo dnf module reset nodejs
sudo dnf module enable nodejs:22
sudo dnf module install nodejs:22

On RHEL 10, module streams continue to be supported with an updated set of available streams. Run dnf module list on your system to see the current catalog.

18. Find Which Package Provides a File

When a command is missing, and you need to find out which package provides it, use dnf provides:

dnf provides /usr/bin/netstat
dnf provides */netstat

For example, the output may look like this:

net-tools-2.0-0.62.20160912git.el9.x86_64 : Basic networking tools
Repo        : baseos
Matched from:
Filename    : /usr/bin/netstat

This tells you that the net-tools package provides /usr/bin/netstat.

19. Reinstall a Package

If a package’s files are corrupted or accidentally deleted, you can reinstall the package without changing its version:

sudo dnf reinstall nginx

DNF downloads and reinstalls the same version that is currently recorded as installed.

20. Check and Verify Installed Packages

To check for broken dependencies across installed packages:

sudo dnf check

To verify the integrity of a specific package’s installed files against the RPM database, use:

rpm -V nginx

If everything is intact, the command produces no output. If you see any lines, they indicate files that differ from the original package. This can help identify accidental changes or corrupted files.

DNF vs YUM vs DNF5: Key Differences

DNF5 on Fedora 41 and Later

DNF5 is a ground-up rewrite of DNF in C++. It removes the Python dependency, processes metadata faster, uses less memory, and provides a cleaner, more consistent command-line interface.

DNF5 became the default package manager in Fedora 41, released in October 2024, and remains the default in later releases, including Fedora 44. On Fedora 41 and later, /usr/bin/dnf points to /usr/bin/dnf5, so the commands in this article continue to work as expected. However, using dnf5 explicitly is recommended going forward.

Most commands are the same in DNF and DNF5. Here are the differences worth knowing.

Install, Remove, and Update – Same Basic Syntax

sudo dnf5 install nginx
sudo dnf5 remove nginx
sudo dnf5 upgrade
sudo dnf5 upgrade nginx

With DNF5, upgrade is the preferred command for updating packages. update is still available as an alias, but upgrade is the canonical command.

Search and Info – Same Syntax

dnf5 search nginx
dnf5 info nginx

Repository Management – Slightly Different Flags

DNF5 includes config-manager as a built-in subcommand, so you don’t need a separate plugin for it.

To add a repository:

sudo dnf5 config-manager addrepo --from-repofile=https://download.docker.com/linux/rhel/docker-ce.repo

To enable or disable a repository:

sudo dnf5 config-manager setopt epel.enabled=1
sudo dnf5 config-manager setopt epel.enabled=0

Clean the Cache

To remove cached metadata and packages:

sudo dnf5 clean all

DNF5 uses check-upgrade as the preferred command instead of check-update. The older check-update command is still available as an alias.

What’s Not in DNF5 Yet

Module streams have only basic support in DNF5 on Fedora. Fedora retired modularity in Fedora 39, so this is generally not relevant to current Fedora releases.

On RHEL and Rocky Linux, DNF4 remains the default and provides full module stream support. DNF5 is not yet the default on RHEL 9, RHEL 10, Rocky Linux, or AlmaLinux, so use the standard dnf commands on those systems.

Quick Reference

Conclusion

DNF is much more than a replacement for yum. It gives you better dependency resolution, transaction history, package rollback, repository management, package groups, and tools for finding and troubleshooting packages.

For RHEL, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, and CentOS Stream, getting comfortable with dnf is an essential part of managing modern RPM-based systems. If you’re using Fedora 41 or later, you’ll also want to become familiar with DNF5 and its updated commands.

Once you know these commands, everyday package management becomes simpler, safer, and easier to troubleshoot whether you’re installing a single package or maintaining a production Linux server.

What’s the first DNF task you’d trust yourself to automate on a production server, and what’s the one you’d always run manually? Drop it in the comments the commands are simple, but knowing where to draw the line matters.