OpenSUSE Linux Rants

OpenSUSE Linux provides a command-line method of managing repositories and packages. This tool is called zypper. The following is a basic tutorial by example of how to use zypper.

Repository Management

To list repositories:

[1342][root@dev:/home/scott]$ zypper repos
#  | Alias             | Name                  | Enabled | Refresh
---+-------------------+-----------------------+---------+--------
1  | Enlightenment CVS | Enlightenment CVS     | Yes     | Yes
2  | OpenSUSE_11.1_ISO | OpenSUSE 11.1 ISO     | Yes     | No
3  | Packman           | Packman               | Yes     | Yes
4  | Window_Managers   | Window Managers       | Yes     | Yes
5  | XFCE4             | XFCE4                 | Yes     | Yes
6  | aterm             | aterm                 | Yes     | Yes
7  | home:danci1973    | home:danci1973        | Yes     | Yes
8  | home:dauphin      | home:dauphin          | Yes     | Yes
9  | home:jnelson-suse | home:jnelson-suse     | Yes     | Yes
10 | mozilla           | mozilla               | Yes     | Yes
11 | openSUSE 11.1-0   | openSUSE 11.1-0       | Yes     | Yes
12 | repo-debug        | openSUSE-11.1-Debug   | No      | Yes
13 | repo-non-oss      | openSUSE-11.1-Non-Oss | Yes     | Yes
14 | repo-source       | openSUSE-11.1-Source  | No      | Yes
15 | repo-update       | openSUSE-11.1-Update  | Yes     | Yes
[1402][root@dev:/home/scott]$

To add a repository (we’re going to use Packman as an example):

[1341][root@dev:/home/scott]$ zypper addrepo "http://packman.unixheads.com/suse/11.1/" Packman
Adding repository 'Packman' [done]
Repository 'Packman' successfully added
Enabled: Yes
Autorefresh: No
URI: http://packman.unixheads.com/suse/11.1/

[1341][root@dev:/home/scott]$ 

To turn on autorefresh, because it’s disabled by default (again, with Packman):

[1341][root@dev:/home/scott]$ zypper modifyrepo -r Packman
Autorefresh has been enabled for repository 'Packman'.
[1342][root@dev:/home/scott]$

To refresh a repo manually:

[1342][root@dev:/home/scott]$ zypper refresh -r Packman
Retrieving repository 'Packman' metadata [done]
Building repository 'Packman' cache [done]
Specified repositories have been refreshed.
[1342][root@dev:/home/scott]$

Leave out the “-r” and leave off the name of the repo if you want to refresh all of them.

To remove a repository:

[1337][root@dev:/home/scott]$ zypper rr Packman
Removing repository 'Packman' [done]
Repository 'Packman' has been removed.
[1337][root@dev:/home/scott]$ 

Package Management

To search for a package (id3v2, in this example):

[1224][root@dev:/home/scott]$ zypper search id3v2
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...

S | Name  | Summary                              | Type
--+-------+--------------------------------------+--------
  | id3v2 | A Command Line Editor for ID3V2 Tags | package
[1229][root@dev:/home/scott]$

To get information on a package (again, id3v2):

[1229][root@dev:/home/scott]$ zypper info id3v2
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...

Information for package id3v2:

Repository: openSUSE 11.1-0
Name: id3v2
Version: 0.1.11-77.60
Arch: x86_64
Vendor: openSUSE
Installed: No
Status: not installed
Installed Size: 79.0 K
Summary: A Command Line Editor for ID3V2 Tags
Description:
ID3 tags are found in MP3 files. They canstore information about what band recorded the song, the song name, and more.

ID3V1 tags are seriously deficient as to the kind of and length ofinformation that they can store. This is a tool for editing ID3V2tags in Linux.

[1333][root@dev:/home/scott]$ 

To install a package:

[1333][root@dev:/home/scott]$ zypper install id3v2
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...
Resolving package dependencies...

The following NEW package is going to be installed:
  id3v2

Overall download size: 30.0 K. After the operation, additional 79.0 K will be used.
Continue? [YES/no]:
Retrieving package id3v2-0.1.11-77.60.x86_64 (1/1), 30.0 K (79.0 K unpacked)
Retrieving: id3v2-0.1.11-77.60.x86_64.rpm [done]
Installing: id3v2-0.1.11-77.60 [done]
[1334][root@dev:/home/scott]$

To remove a package:

[1334][root@dev:/home/scott]$ zypper remove id3v2
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...
Resolving package dependencies...

The following package is going to be REMOVED:
  id3v2

After the operation, 79.0 K will be freed.
Continue? [YES/no]:
Removing id3v2-0.1.11-77.60 [done]
[1336][root@dev:/home/scott]$

These are some common zypper commands that will help you manage your repositories and packages from the command-line.