rpmDatei

rpmDatei is the term for a package file used by the RPM Package Manager (RPM), a widely adopted packaging system in many Linux distributions. Files typically have the .rpm extension and are used to distribute software, including applications, libraries, and system components. RPM-based systems include Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, and derivatives, among others.

An rpmDatei contains two main parts: a header with metadata and a payload with the actual files. The header stores information such as package name, version, release, epoch, architecture, license, summary, and description, as well as dependency data like provides, requires, conflicts, and defaults. The payload is a compressed archive, usually a cpio archive, that carries the installed files. The payload may be compressed using gzip, bzip2, or xz. Packages can be cryptographically signed to verify integrity and source.

Managing rpmDateien on RPM-based systems is typically done through front-end package managers such as DNF or YUM, or directly with the rpm command. Common operations include installing a package (rpm -ivh or dnf install package.rpm), upgrading (rpm -Uvh), removing (rpm -e package), querying information (rpm -qip package.rpm or rpm -qf /path/to/file), and verifying signatures (rpm --checksig package.rpm). Verification of already installed packages can also be performed (rpm -V package).

RpmDateien are often produced from source code via a spec file and the rpmbuild tool, producing binary RPMs that conform to packaging guidelines and declare dependencies to be resolved at install time. Compatibility is determined by the package’s arch field and repository metadata, so architecture mismatches prevent installation.