14.4. Configuring yum
By default,
yum is configured through /etc/yum.conf. The following is an example of a typical /etc/yum.conf file:
[main] cachedir=/var/cache/yum keepcache=0 debuglevel=2 logfile=/var/log/yum.log distroverpkg=redhat-release tolerant=1 exactarch=1 obsoletes=1 gpgcheck=1 plugins=1 metadata_expire=1800 [myrepo] name=RHEL 5 $releasever - $basearch baseurl=http://local/path/to/yum/repository/ enabled=1
A typical
/etc/yum.conf file is made up of two types of sections: a [main] section, and a repository section. There can only be one [main] section, but you can specify multiple repositories in a single /etc/yum.conf.
14.4.1. [main] Options
The
[main] section is mandatory, and there must only be one. For a complete list of options you can use in the [main] section, refer to man yum.conf.
The following is a list of the most commonly-used options in the
[main] section.
-
cachedir - This option specifies the directory where
yumshould store its cache and database files. By default, the cache directory ofyumis/var/cache/yum. -
keepcache=<1 or 0> - Setting
keepcache=1instructsyumto keep the cache of headers and packages after a successful installation.keepcache=1is the default. -
reposdir=<absolute path to directory of .repo files> - This option allows you to specify a directory where
.repofiles are located..repofiles contain repository information (similar to the[repository]section of/etc/yum.conf).yumcollects all repository information from.repofiles and the[repository]section of the/etc/yum.conffile to create a master list of repositories to use for each transaction. Refer to Section 14.4.2, “[repository]Options” for more information about options you can use for both the[repository]section and.repofiles.Ifreposdiris not set,yumuses the default directory/etc/yum.repos.d. -
gpgcheck=<1 or 0> - This disables/enables GPG signature checking on packages on all repositories, including local package installation. The default is
gpgcheck=0, which disables GPG checking.If this option is set in the[main]section of the/etc/yum.conffile, it sets the GPG checking rule for all repositories. However, you can also set this on individual repositories instead; i.e., you can enable GPG checking on one repository while disabling it on another. -
assumeyes=<1 or 0> - This determines whether or not
yumshould prompt for confirmation of critical actions. The default ifassumeyes=0, which meansyumwill prompt you for confirmation.Ifassumeyes=1is set,yumbehaves in the same way that the command line option-ydoes. -
tolerant=<1 or 0> - When enabled (
tolerant=1),yumwill be tolerant of errors on the command line with regard to packages. This is similar to theyumcommand line option-t.The default value for this istolerant=0(not tolerant). -
exclude=<package name/s> - This option allows you to exclude packages by keyword during installation/updates. If you are specifying multiple packages, this is a space-delimited list. Shell globs using wildcards (for example, * and ?) are allowed.
-
retries=<number of retries> - This sets the number of times
yumshould attempt to retrieve a file before returning an error. Setting this to 0 makesyumretry forever. The default value is 6.
