RPMpaket

rpmpaket is the packaging format used by the RPM Package Manager (RPM). It is a binary package format used on RPM-based Linux distributions such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora, and CentOS. A rpmpaket contains prebuilt software along with metadata and scripts that control its installation and removal.

A rpmpaket file typically uses the .rpm extension. Its internal structure includes a header with tags such as NAME, VERSION, RELEASE, ARCH, SUMMARY, DESCRIPTION, LICENSE, and dependency information (Requires, Provides, Obsoletes, Conflicts). The payload is a cpio archive compressed by gzip, bzip2, or XZ, which contains the files to be installed. The package may include scriptlets (pre-, post-, preuninstall, and postuninstall) that run during installation or removal.

Building rpmpakets is done with rpmbuild using a spec file that defines how to obtain sources, apply patches, compile, and install into a temporary build root. The spec lists BuildRequires, Requires, license, summary, and provides a description of the build steps. A well-formed rpmpaket also records license terms and the package's intended purpose.

Management of rpmpakets is performed with the RPM tool (rpm), which installs, upgrades, and removes packages (rpm -i, -U, -e). It can verify packages (rpm -V) and query information (rpm -q, rpm -qf). In practice, higher-level managers such as DNF or YUM handle dependency resolution and repository installation of rpmpakets.

Security and distribution: rpmpakets can be signed with GPG to ensure authenticity. Repository metadata is signed, and RPM can verify signatures before installation. rpmpaket ecosystems rely on official repositories and build systems to maintain package quality and security.