urpmi

Urpmi is a command-line package management tool for RPM-based Linux distributions, originally developed for Mandrake Linux and later adopted by Mandriva and its successors, including Mageia and related forks. It handles installation, upgrade, removal, and querying of software packages, performing automatic dependency resolution to maintain a consistent system state. Urpmi works with software repositories described in configuration files and retrieves metadata from remote mirrors to determine installable packages and their dependencies.

Urpmi relies on the liburpmi library to perform dependency resolution and package selection. It supports multiple repositories, signature verification for package integrity, and can operate in batch or scripted modes for automated administration. The tool maintains a local database of installed packages and available updates, enabling system-wide operations and consistent upgrades across configured repositories.

In the Mandriva family, urpmi is commonly used from the command line, and it also has graphical front-ends such as rpmdrake that provide a GUI alternative. Mageia and other Mandriva-derived distributions continue to employ urpmi as part of their core package-management workflow, offering a familiar interface for package management across different releases and forks.

Typical usage includes installing packages, removing packages, and upgrading software from configured repositories. Related utilities in the urpmi ecosystem include urpmq for querying package information, urpmf for locating packages by file or feature, and urpme for removing packages. Overall, urpmi provides a centralized, scriptable approach to managing RPM packages with automated dependency handling in its supported distributions.