Like all Linux distros, it’s important to keep your AlmaLinux system up to date in order to make sure that you have the latest security updates and newest features. Updating the system usually involves simply upgrading all installed packages to their latest versions.
Since AlmaLinux is a fork of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, there are also system upgrades to a new version every few years, coinciding with the new RHEL releases. This type of update is a full system upgrade, and it’s different than simply keeping AlmaLinux up to date.
In this article, we’ll cover updating a AlmaLinux system on a per package basis and upgrading the entire operating system. This can be done via command line and GUI. Both methods will be shown in this guide, so you can pick whichever is easier for you.
In this tutorial you will learn:
- How to update AlmaLinux packages via command line
- How to update AlmaLinux packages via GNOME GUI
| Category | Requirements, Conventions or Software Version Used |
|---|---|
| System | AlmaLinux |
| Software | N/A |
| Other | Privileged access to your Linux system as root or via the sudo command. |
| Conventions |
# – requires given linux commands to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command$ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged user |
Update AlmaLinux packages via command line
Updates on the command line are done through dnf package manager, which checks official and configured repositories for updates to existing software, as well as packages newly included with the operating system.
Open a terminal and type the following command to check for updates on AlmaLinux. This will list all the packages on your system that have updates available.
# dnf check-update
To install all of the updates shown, simply execute:
# dnf update
If there’s a specific package that you want to update, without updating everything else, you can specify it by name:
# dnf update httpd
Or specify multiple packages:
# dnf update httpd firewalld
Update AlmaLinux packages via GUI
This section will show you how to update AlmaLinux via GUI. These instructions assume that you are using GNOME, the default desktop environment for AlmaLinux.
- Get started by opening the activities menu and clicking on the software app.
Open the software app in activities menu - Navigate to the updates tab and make sure you click the refresh icon to fetch new updates.
Click the updates tab and the refresh icon
- If updates are listed, you can select to install them by clicking the “download” button.
Closing Thoughts
In this guide, we saw the necessary steps to keep an AlmaLinux system up to date, from both command line and GUI. Remember that keeping your system up to date is important because it provides the latest security patches and bug fixes.