Chapter 3. Configuring YUM


The configuration information for YUM and related utilities is stored in the /etc/yum.conf file. This file contains a mandatory [main] section that you can use to set YUM options that have global effect.

3.1. Viewing the current YUM configurations

The [main] section in the /etc/yum.conf file contains only the settings that have been explicitly set. However, you can display all settings of the [main] section, including the ones that have not been set and which, therefore, use their default values.

Procedure

  • Display the global YUM configuration:

    # yum config-manager --dump
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3.2. Setting YUM main options

The /etc/yum.conf configuration file contains one [main] section. The key-value pairs in this section affect how YUM operates and treats repositories.

Procedure

  1. Edit the /etc/yum.conf file.
  2. Update the [main] section according to your requirements.
  3. Save the changes.

3.3. Enabling and disabling YUM plug-ins

In the YUM tool, plug-ins are loaded by default. However, you can influence which plug-ins YUM loads.

Warning

Disable all plug-ins only for diagnosing a potential problem. YUM requires certain plug-ins, such as product-id and subscription-manager, and disabling them causes Red Hat Enterprise Linux to not be able to install or update software from the Content Delivery Network (CDN).

Procedure

  • Use one of the following methods to influence how YUM uses plug-ins:

    • To enable or disable loading of YUM plug-ins globally, add the plugins parameter to the [main] section of the /etc/dnf/dnf.conf file.

      • Set plugins=1 (default) to enable loading of all YUM plug-ins.
      • Set plugins=0 to disable loading of all YUM plug-ins.
    • To disable a particular plug-in, add enabled=False to the [main] section in the /etc/dnf/plugins/<plug-in_name>.conf file.
    • To disable all YUM plug-ins for a particular command, append the --noplugins option to the command. For example, to disable YUM plug-ins for a single update command, enter:

      # yum --noplugins update
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    • To disable certain YUM plug-ins for a single command, append the --disableplugin=plugin-name option to the command. For example, to disable a certain YUM plug-in for a single update command, enter:

      # yum update --disableplugin=<plugin_name>
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    • To enable certain YUM plug-ins for a single command, append the --enableplugin=plugin-name option to the command. For example, to enable a certain YUM plug-in for a single update command, enter:

      # yum update --enableplugin=<plugin_name>
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3.4. Excluding packages from YUM operations

You can configure YUM to exclude packages from any YUM operation by using the excludepkgs option. You can define excludepkgs in the [main] or the repository section of the /etc/yum.conf file.

Note

You can temporarily disable excluding the configured packages from an operation by using the --disableexcludes option.

Procedure

  • Exclude packages from the YUM operation by adding the following line to the /etc/yum.conf file:

    excludepkgs=<package_name_1>,<package_name_2> ...
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    Alternatively, use global expressions instead of package names to define packages you want to exclude. For more information, see Specifying global expressions in yum input.

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