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Configuring and Managing Software in Linux Cheat Sheet by

Commands for configuration and management of software in Linux (Debian/Ubuntu and RHEL/Rocky/Alma/CentOS)

Instal­lation, Update & Removal (Debian / Ubuntu)

Command
Purpose
 
apt install
Install package
 
apt remove
Remove package
 
apt purge
Remove package and config­uration
 
apt autoremove
Remove unused depend­encies
 
apt update
Update package index
 
apt upgrade
Update installed packages
 
apt full-u­pgrade
Upgrade including dependency changes
 
dpkg -i
Install local 
.deb
package
 
dpkg -r
Remove package
 
dpkg -l
List installed packages

Repository Management (Debian)

Command
Purpose
 
apt update
Refresh reposi­tories
 
add-ap­t-r­epo­sitory
Add repository
 
/etc/a­pt/­sou­rce­s.list
Main repository file
`/etc/­apt­/so­urc­es.l­ist.d/
Additional reposi­tories
 

Instal­lation, Update & Removal (RHEL)

Command
Purpose
 
dnf install
Install package
 
dnf remove
Remove package
 
dnf update
Update packages
 
dnf upgrade
Upgrade packages
 
dnf search
Search packages
 
dnf info
Package inform­ation
 
dnf list installed
Installed packages
 
rpm -i
Install RPM
 
rpm -e
Remove RPM
 
rpm -q
Query package

Repository Management (RHEL)

Command
Purpose
 
dnf repolist
List reposi­tories
 
dnf config­-ma­nager
Manage reposi­tories
 
/etc/y­um.r­ep­os.d/
Repository files

Package Exclusions

Command
Purpose
 
dnf update --exclude=PKG
Skip package update
 
apt-mark hold PKG
Prevent package upgrades
 
apt-mark unhold PKG
Allow upgrades again
PKG is a placeh­older for an actual package name
  

Basic Config­ura­tions of Common Services

Command
Purpose
 
systemctl start
Start service
 
systemctl stop
Stop service
 
systemctl restart
Restart service
 
systemctl reload
Reload config­uration
 
systemctl enable
Enable at boot
 
systemctl disable
Disable at boot
 
systemctl status
View service status

Sandboxed Applic­ations

Technology
Descri­ption
Snap
Canonical package format
Flatpak
Desktop applic­ation packaging
AppImage
Portable applic­ation

Software Config­uration

Location
Purpose
 
/etc
System config­uration
 
/etc/d­efault
Default service settings
 
/etc/s­ysc­onfig
RHEL config­uration
 
/usr/s­har­e/doc
Docume­ntation

Altern­atives

Command
Purpose
 
update­-al­ter­natives --config NAME
Select default program
`updat­e-a­lte­rna­tives --display NAME
Show available altern­atives
 
altern­atives --config NAME
RHEL equivalent
NAME is a placeh­older for actual package names
                       
 

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  • Published: 5th August, 2026

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