When you install a Linux system, probably one of the first tasks you do is installing a program. If you are using a system you don’t know, here you can find what is the default package manager in your Linux system and how to use it.

When using the following commands, you may need to use “sudo” or be a root user.

Table of Contents

apt (Debian/Ubuntu)

  • Update repositories 
    apt update
  • Upgrade installed packages 
    apt upgrade
  • Search a package in repositories 
    apt search <search term>
  • Install a package 
    apt install <package name>
  • Uninstall a package 
    apt remove <package name>
  • Remove unneeded dependencies 
    apt autoremove
  • List upgradable packages 
    apt list --upgradable
  • List installed packages 
    apt list --installed

pacman (Arch Linux, Manjaro, EndevourOS)

  • Update repositories 
    pacman -Sy
  • Upgrade installed packages 
    pacman -Su
    • Add --noconfirm to automatically answer yes to prompts.
  • Update repos and then upgrade installed packages 
    pacman -Syu
  • Search a package in repositories 
    pacman -Ss <search term>
  • Install a package 
    pacman -S <package name>
  • Uninstall a package 
    pacman -R <package name>
# add --nosave to remove config files
  • Install a pakage file 
    pacman -U package.pkg.tar.xz
  • List unneeded dependencies 
    pacman -Qdt
  • List upgradable packages 
    pacman -Qu
  • List installed packages 
    pacman -Q
  • Remove cache (downloaded packages) 
    paccache -r
    • -k <number>: keep at least <number> versions of every package (default: 3).

apk (Alpine Linux)

  • Update repositories 
    apk update
  • Upgrade installed packages 
    apk upgrade
  • Search a package in repositories 
    apk search <search term>
  • Install a package 
    apk add <package name>
  • Uninstall a package 
    apk del <package name>

dnf (Fedora/CentOS/Oracle Linux)

  • Update repositories 
    dnf check-update
  • Upgrade installed packages (also updates repositories) 
    dnf upgrade
  • Search a package in repositories 
    dnf search <search term>
  • Install a package 
    dnf install <package name>
  • Uninstall a package 
    dnf remove <package name>

yum (Amazon Linux/Fedora/CentOS/Oracle Linux)

  • Update repositories 
    yum check-update
  • Upgrade installed packages (also updates repositories) 
    yum upgrade
  • Search a package in repositories 
    yum search <search term>
  • Install a package 
    yum install <package name>
  • Uninstall a package 
    yum erase <package name>

zypper (OpenSUSE)

  • Update repositories 
    zypper refresh
  • Upgrade installed packages 
    zypper update
  • Search a package in repositories 
    zypper search <search term>
  • Install a package 
    zypper install <package name>
  • Uninstall a package 
    zypper remove <package name>

pkg (FreeBSD)

  • Update repositories 
    pkg update
  • Upgrade installed packages 
    pkg upgrade
  • Search a package in repositories 
    pkg search <search term>
  • Install a package 
    pkg install <package name>
  • Uninstall a package 
    pkg remove <package name>

emerge (Gentoo)

  • Update repository 
    emerge --sync
  • Upgrade installed packages 
    emerge --update @world
# add --ask to ask confirmation before upgrade
# add --deep to include dependencies
  • Search a package in repository 
    emerge --search <search term>
# add --searchdesc to search through the descriptions
  • Install a package 
    emerge <package name>
  • Uninstall a package 
    emerge --deselect <package name>