What’s YUM?

Print anything with Printful



YUM is a package management application for Linux that adds, removes, and updates software. It works with many Linux distributions and manages dependencies. YUM can be accessed through graphical interfaces or command line. It also allows system-wide updates and custom repositories.

Yellow dog Updater Modified (YUM) is a package management application for computers running Linux operating systems. A package is usually a software application, but the term can also include other items such as documentation, source code, and extra levels for games. Package management is a term used to describe the processes of adding, removing, and updating software on a computer.

Yum was written for a Linux distribution called Yellowdog, but will work with many others that use the RedHat Package Manager (RPM) format for their packages. It is free software developed by Seth Vidal and released as open-source, which means people can access the code to help fix bugs or develop custom versions of the application. It comes bundled with many Linux distributions, but can also be downloaded separately from the yum website.

On these operating systems, yum is a standard way to manage software installation and removal. There are several graphical applications for users to easily add and remove packages; however, many are simply friendly interfaces with yum running underneath. These programs present the user with a list of available software and transmit the user’s selection for processing. It’s yum that actually downloads the packages and installs them in the background. Those familiar with the Linux command line may find it more convenient to type commands directly.

Packages are downloaded from collections called repositories, which can be online, on a network, and/or on installation media. If one package to install relies on the presence of another, this dependency can usually be resolved without the user needing to know the details. For example, a game installation may depend on specific software to play its music. The problem of resolving such dependencies can be handled by yum because it knows all the other packages available in the repository.

While it is primarily used to install new software, system-wide updates are also possible with yum. It has a function that determines which packages need to be changed to update the operating system to the latest version. Also, because he knows so many packages, the user has a huge range of software at his fingertips. By creating and managing a custom repository, network managers, such as a company’s IT support team, can easily control what software is available to install on their users’ computers.




Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN


Skip to content