How to Install YUM: A Practical Guide for Beginners

Rationale:
YUM (Yellowdog Updater Modified) is one of the most widely used package managers for RPM-based Linux distributions such as CentOS, RHEL, and Fedora. If you find yourself working on a minimal setup or a custom Linux installation where YUM isn’t installed or has been removed, this guide will help you get it up and running quickly. Having YUM installed means you can easily install, update, and remove software packages without fuss.

Hook:
Imagine trying to install software on your Linux box with no package manager—painful, right? Let’s get yum working on your system in no time.

What is YUM?

YUM stands for Yellowdog Updater Modified. It handles software installation and updates by resolving dependencies automatically. Most RPM-based Linux distros come with yum pre-installed, but sometimes you might need to install it manually—especially on minimal installations or in custom Docker containers.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Install YUM

Step 1: Check if YUM is Already Installed

Open your terminal and run:

yum --version

If it returns a version number, congratulations! Yum is installed.

If the command is not found or you see an error like bash: yum: command not found, you need to install it.

Step 2: Identify Your Distribution and Use Package Manager Accordingly

• On CentOS or RHEL, yum is usually available by default.
• On Fedora (from Fedora 22 onwards), dnf has replaced yum but yum is still available as a wrapper.
• On some minimal installs, you might have rpm but not yum.

If yum is missing, you can try installing it using rpm directly or another method.

Step 3: Install YUM Using RPM (If Yum Missing)

Since yum itself is an RPM package, if you have rpm installed but no yum binary:

1. Download the necessary rpm files from a CentOS or RHEL mirror repository that matches your system version.

Example for CentOS 7:

wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/7/os/x86_64/Packages/yum-3.4.3-168.el7.centos.noarch.rpm
wget http://mirror.centos.org/centos/7/os/x86_64/Packages/python-iniparse-0.4-9.el7.noarch.rpm

Note: Yum depends on python-iniparse among others; be sure to download all required dependencies if they are missing.

1. Install them with rpm:

sudo rpm -Uvh python-iniparse-0.4-9.el7.noarch.rpm
sudo rpm -Uvh yum-3.4.3-168.el7.centos.noarch.rpm

This installs Yum without using Yum itself!

Step 4: Verify the Installation

Run:

yum --version

You should now see something like:

3.4.3

This confirms yum is successfully installed.

Bonus Tips

Using DNF Instead of Yum (Fedora / New RHEL Versions)

For newer Fedora or RHEL versions (8+), dnf replaces yum. You can install dnf using:

sudo rpm -Uvh https://download.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/releases/33/Everything/x86_64/os/Packages/d/dnf-4.x.x-x.fc33.noarch.rpm

(Replace URL/version accordingly.)

Then call packages with dnf, which has improved performance and features over yum.

Installing Software With Yum

Once installed, installing packages is simple:

sudo yum install nano

This command installs the text editor nano along with all dependencies automatically.

Summary Checklist:

• Check if yum exists (yum --version)
• If missing, use rpm to manually install Yum's RPM package(s)
• Download necessary dependencies before installing rpm -Uvh package.rpm
• Test again after installation

Installing yum manually might seem technical at first but once set up, managing packages becomes effortless!

Got questions about YUM or any Linux package managers? Drop a comment below!

Happy sysadmin-ing!
— Your Friendly Linux Guide