How to Install an RPM Package in Linux: A Complete Guide

Installing RPM packages is a fundamental skill for anyone working with Red Hat-based Linux distributions. Whether you're managing a web server, setting up a development environment, or deploying software dependencies, understanding how RPM installation works — and the different ways to approach it — puts you in control of your system.

What Is an RPM Package?

RPM stands for Red Hat Package Manager (sometimes called RPM Package Manager recursively). It's both a file format and a package management system originally developed by Red Hat. An .rpm file bundles together compiled software, configuration files, metadata, and installation scripts into a single distributable unit.

RPM is the native package format for distributions including RHEL, CentOS, Fedora, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, and openSUSE. If you're running Debian, Ubuntu, or Mint, RPM is not your native format — those systems use .deb packages and apt.

The Three Main Methods to Install RPM Packages

1. Using rpm (The Low-Level Command)

The rpm command is the most direct method. It interacts with packages without automatically resolving dependencies.