Master Linux Package Management: apt vs dnf Commands Explained

Searching for Packages

To locate a package, use dnf search <keyword> or apt search <keyword>. Both commands return matching package names and short descriptions. Regular expressions can narrow results, e.g., apt search ^zsh.

sudo dnf search zsh

sudo apt search zsh

Finding Which Package Provides a Command

When you know a command but not its package, dnf provides <command> or apt-file search <path> reveal the owning package.

sudo dnf provides pgrep

sudo apt-file search /usr/bin/pgrep

Installing Packages

Installation syntax is identical for both managers:

sudo apt install zsh

sudo dnf install zsh

RPM‑based distributions also support group installations, which bundle related applications. List available groups with dnf group list -v and install a group using dnf group install <group-name>. The shortcut @design-suite can be used to refer to a group.

sudo dnf group list -v

sudo dnf group install design-suite

Updating Packages

Both tools can upgrade installed software. apt upgrade updates packages based on a cached index, while dnf upgrade (or dnf update) refreshes metadata on each run and then upgrades.

sudo apt upgrade

sudo dnf upgrade

Removing Packages

To uninstall a package, use the remove subcommand. Apt keeps user configuration files by default; add purge to delete them as well. Neither manager removes files in the user’s home directory automatically.

sudo dnf remove zsh

sudo apt remove zsh

sudo apt purge zsh

Key Takeaways

Whether your distribution uses apt (Debian/Ubuntu) or dnf (Fedora/RHEL), the core operations—search, install, update, and remove—are very similar, making it easy to switch between them. Both provide advanced features such as repository management, but the basic commands covered here handle the majority of everyday package tasks.