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Linux Package Managers Compared: APT, DNF, Pacman and Zypper (linuxblog.io)

submitted 2 weeks ago by cm0002@lemmy.zip to c/linux@programming.dev

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If you’ve hopped between Linux distributions as much as I have, you know that each major family of distros introduces you to a different package manager. At first, it can feel a bit daunting (apt on Debian/Ubuntu, dnf on RHEL/Fedora, pacman on Arch, and zypper on openSUSE), but these tools all serve the same purpose of installing and updating software.

After using Linux for years (across everything from Debian to Arch-based systems), I’ve grown comfortable with all of them. Even niche distros like Slackware, Gentoo, and Void. In this post, I’ll break down the major package managers, how they differ, and what it’s like to use each one. We’ll also touch on the universal package formats (Snap and Flatpak) that aim to work across distributions, and lastly mention a few niche package management systems. Let’s dive in!

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[–] thingsiplay@beehaw.org 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Also most users don't even have to use a package manager directly, as there are GUI frontends that manages all of this with mouse clicks. In that case, the underlying package manager doesn't even matter, only the repositories you access to, do. I use easy to remember aliases and when I need some more features, i just look them up quickly. That does all the job I need for the most part.

[–] caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

KDE's Discover is pretty magical. In Plasma 6, you don't even need to install a bunch of separate plugins for it. Except I think they still make you sign off on Flathub (but give you instructions on how to do it)

[–] entwine@programming.dev 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Discover is probably the worst app in the entire KDE suite. It's the only aspect of the Linux desktop that frustrates me, and I'm nearing 10 years of full time Linux desktop usage.

Oh, you accidentally opened Discover? Now you gotta sit and twiddle your thumbs while it updates/downloads a bunch of stuff very slowly with no way to interrupt it. It also locks the system package manager, so you literally cannot do anything else package management related until Discover slowly decides to finish doing something you never asked it to do.

[–] caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 weeks ago

Huh. I cannot personally relate to anything you've said there. Maybe we're using different versions? The only issue I've had with package managers (aside from Flatpak file access, snap... just everything to do with snaps, and Pacman acting like it's never heard of any of my mirrors if I haven't updated in a couple of weeks, and official Nvidia drivers breaking my xorg.conf in half) is wiping out my entire desktop suite through Synaptic back in the day (entirely my own fault).
I suppose there are worse ways to learn to read the "these packages will be removed section".

[–] thingsiplay@beehaw.org 2 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

But Discover on an Arch based system (EndeavourOS) isn't that great. It only supports Flatpak, not the system packages.

[–] caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

Huh? Well... I do prefer updating via the command line. I guess what I was seeing in Discover was just Flatpaks and stuff.

[–] SinTan1729@programming.dev 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

IIRC, it can work with pacman using packagekit-qt, but it's not recommended.