Package Management

Installing software is one of the few things that genuinely differs between distro families. Which command you use depends on which family you are on (see Chapter 1):

The commands below map 1:1 across the three families. All package actions need root on every distro — sudo is how you get there (Chapter 5).

Search for a package

$ apt search tmux                  # Ubuntu
$ dnf search tmux                  # Fedora
$ pacman -Ss tmux                  # Arch

On Arch, the pattern is a substring match, so tmux also matches packages that merely mention tmux. Use anchors for an exact name:

$ pacman -Ss "^tmux$"
extra/tmux 3.7-1
    Terminal multiplexer

Show information about a package

$ apt show htop                   # Ubuntu
$ dnf info htop                   # Fedora
$ pacman -Si htop                 # Arch

Install a package

$ sudo apt install htop           # Ubuntu
$ sudo dnf install htop           # Fedora
$ sudo pacman -S htop             # Arch

Install several packages at once:

$ sudo apt install htop tmux git

Update the package lists

Ubuntu and Fedora keep a local index of available packages; refresh it first:

$ sudo apt update                 # Ubuntu
$ sudo dnf makecache              # Fedora

Arch has no separate step — -Sy both refreshes and installs. Prefer a full -Syu (refresh + upgrade) so the system stays consistent:

$ sudo pacman -Syu                # Arch

Upgrade installed packages

$ sudo apt upgrade                # Ubuntu
$ sudo dnf upgrade                # Fedora
$ sudo pacman -Syu                # Arch

On Ubuntu, apt full-upgrade also handles package removals when needed for a clean upgrade.

Remove a package

$ sudo apt remove htop            # Ubuntu
$ sudo dnf remove htop            # Fedora
$ sudo pacman -R htop             # Arch

On Ubuntu, purge also removes configuration files. On Arch, -Rns also removes unneeded dependencies and configuration:

$ sudo apt purge htop             # Ubuntu
$ sudo pacman -Rns htop           # Arch

List installed packages

$ apt list --installed | less     # Ubuntu
$ dnf list installed | less       # Fedora
$ pacman -Q | less                # Arch

Clean up unused packages

$ sudo apt autoremove             # Ubuntu: remove orphaned dependencies
$ sudo dnf autoremove             # Fedora
$ sudo pacman -Rns $(pacman -Qdtq)   # Arch: remove orphaned deps (d=dep, t=unneeded)

Graphical alternative: Ubuntu Software Center / GNOME Software on Ubuntu, GNOME Software or Discover on Fedora, and pamac/octopi on Arch provide the same operations graphically.

A warning: always use the distro’s package manager rather than installing random scripts or binaries from the web. The package manager tracks files and updates, and checks integrity — a manual install bypasses all of that.