For full documentation and more commands see DNF Command Reference
install a package:
$ sudo dnf --refresh install <package_name>
remove a package:
$ sudo dnf remove <package_name>
search repositories for a package:
$ sudo dnf search <package_name>
Note: 'dnf search' will work with partial names as well
cleanup any files and packages left in cache and to remove repository metadata:
$ sudo dnf clean all ; dnf clean all
update your Rock system:
$ sudo dnf --refresh upgrade
update your Rolling system:
$ sudo dnf --refresh distro-sync
autoremove
removes packages installed as dependencies that are no longer required by currently installed programs.
Be careful and pay attention when using
dnf autoremove. It is absolutely possible that this may remove something you don't want to remove. It is a good idea to keep a list of packages that were autoremoved so you know what to re-install if this happens.
Note: You can find autoremoved packages in/var/log/dnf.log
check-update
checks for updates, but does not download or install the packages
downgrade
reverts to the previous version of a package
info
provides basic information about the package including name, version, release, and description
reinstall
reinstalls the currently installed package
repolist
list enabled repositories
dnf in=dnf install
dnf ri=dnf reinstall
dnf dg=dnf downgrade
dnf rm=dnf remove
dnf up=dnf upgrade
dnf dsync=dnf distro-sync
--allowerasing
Allow erasing of installed packages to resolve dependencies. This option could be used as an alternative to the yum swap command where packages to remove are not explicitly defined. Use carefully, know what you are doing or you can break your system.
-b, --best
Try the best available package versions in transactions. Specifically during dnf upgrade, which by default skips over updates that can not be installed for dependency reasons, the switch forces DNF to only consider the latest packages. When running into packages with broken dependencies, DNF will fail giving a reason why the latest version can not be installed
--disable, --set-disabled
Disable specified repositories (automatically saves). The option has to be used together with the config-manager command (dnf-plugins-core)
--disablerepo=<repoid>
Disable specific repositories by an id or a glob. This option is mutually exclusive with --repo.
--downloadonly
Download the resolved package set without performing any rpm transaction (install/upgrade/erase).
--enable, --set-enabled
Enable specified repositories (automatically saves). The option has to be used together with the config-manager command (dnf-plugins-core)
--enablerepo=<repoid>
Enable additional repositories by an id or a glob
--exclude=<package_name>
Exclude certain packages from transaction
--nobest
Set best option to False, so that transactions are not limited to best candidates only
-y, --assumeyes
Automatically answer yes for all questions
$ dnf --help
and
$ man dnf
The help menu takes about a minute to a minute and a half to read. The man page takes about 3-5 minutes.
Both are meant to be available for users to refer to as they use their system and need to find quickly how to do something.
There are also wiki pages and docs about dnf: Using the DNF software package manager, Fedora wiki page, and DNF Command Reference.