The Zypper package manager

SUSE and openSUSE GNU/Linux's package management utility and command-line interface to the ZYpp system management library (libzypp).

TL;DR
Concepts
Repositories
Configuration
Gotchas
Distribution's release upgrade
Further readings
1. Sources

TL;DR

Default files:

Path	Description
`${HOME}/.zypper.conf`	User configuration file for Zypper
`/etc/zypp/zypper.conf`	Global configuration file for Zypper
`/etc/zypp/zypp.conf`	Configuration file for `libzypp`
`/etc/zypp/locks`	Package lock definitions
`/etc/zypp/repos.d`	Directory containing repository definition files (`*.repo`)
`/etc/zypp/services.d`	Directory containing service definition files (`*.service`)
`/usr/lib/zypp/commands`	Directory for zypper extensions
`/var/cache/zypp/raw`	Cache directory for downloaded, raw package metadata
`/var/cache/zypp/solv`	Cache directory for pre-parsed package metadata (`*.solv`)
`/var/cache/zypp/RPMS`	Cache directory for downloaded packages
`/var/cache/zypp/packages`	Cache directory for installed packages
`/var/log/zypper.log`	Zypper's log file
`/var/log/zypp/history`	Installation history log file

Mark packages as automatically installed by adding them to /var/lib/zypp/AutoInstalled.
Mark packages as manually installed by removing them from that file or forcefully reinstalling them.

Command examples:

zypper help
zypper help 'command'

# ---

# Update caches.
zypper refresh
zypper ref --force 'updates' 'mozilla'

# Clean caches.
zypper clean --metadata
zypper clean --all 'packman'

# Clean up locks.
zypper cleanlocks

# ---

# Search for resolvables.
zypper search 'nmap'
zypper se -r 'repository' 'mariadb'
zypper se --type 'pattern' 'kde_plasma'

# List all patterns.
zypper se -t 'pattern'
zypper se -n 'patterns-*'

# Show all available versions of resolvables.
zypper se -s 'kernel-default'
zypper se --details 'boinc-client'

# Look up what package provides a file.
# 'what-provides' has been replaced by 'search -x --provides'
zypper se --provides '/usr/sbin/useradd'

# Display detailed information about resolvables.
zypper info 'workrave'
zypper if --type 'patch' 'libzypp'
zypper if -t 'pattern' 'lamp_server'

# Install resolvables.
zypper install -n 'parallel'
zypper in --no-confirm 'https://prerelease.keybase.io/keybase_amd64.rpm'
zypper in --no-recommends 'yast*ftp*' 'virtualbox-ose=2.0.6' '/root/ansible.rpm'

# Install from specific repositories.
# Requires the repo to be already added.
zypper in 'packman:libavdevice60'
zypper in -r 'packman' --download 'in-advance' 'libavdevice60'
zypper in -r 'https://repo.vivaldi.com/archive/vivaldi-suse.repo' 'vivaldi'

# Reinstall resolvables.
# This marks them as *manually* installed.
zypper in -f 'amdgpu-dkms'

# Install resolvables from source.
# The source packages *must* be available in the repositories one is using.
zypper source-install -d 'dbus-1'
zypper si 'dolphin-plugins'

# Check the dependencies of *installed* resolvables are satisfied.
zypper verify
zypper ve 'virtualbox' 'git-lfs'

# Uninstall resolvables.
zypper remove --clean-deps 'code'
zypper rm -u 'libreoffice' 'patterns-kde-kde_games'
zypper rm -ut 'pattern' 'games'
zypper in '!Firefox' '-htop'

# List available updates.
# By default, it shows only *installable* ones.
zypper list-updates
zypper lu --all

# Update installed resolvables.
zypper update
zypper up --download 'in-heaps' 'vivaldi-stable'

# List available patches.
# By default, it shows only *applicable* ones.
zypper list-patches
zypper lp --all

# Check whether there are applicable patches.
zypper patch-check
zypper pchk --with-optional

# Apply patches.
zypper patch

# Perform distribution upgrades.
zypper dist-upgrade
zypper dup --details --from 'factory' --from 'packman' --download 'as-needed' --remove-orphaned

# List unneded packages.
# E.g. older dependencies not used anymore.
zypper packages --unneeded
zypper pa --unneeded

# List installed resolvables.
zypper search --installed-only
zypper se -it 'pattern'

# List installed packages
zypper packages --installed-only
zypper pa -i

# List *manually* installed packages.
zypper packages --userinstalled
zypper pa -i | grep 'i+' | awk -F '|' '{print $3}' | sort -u

# List *automatically* installed packages.
zypper packages --autoinstalled

# Mark resolvables as *manually* installed.
zypper in -f 'zstd'
zypper in -f -t 'pattern' 'kde_plasma'
sed '/zstd/d' '/var/lib/zypp/AutoInstalled'

# Mark resolvables as *automatically* installed.
echo 'zstd' | tee -a '/var/lib/zypp/AutoInstalled'

# ---

# List repositories.
zypper repos
zypper lr -d --sort-by-priority

# Add repositories.
zypper addrepo --check --refresh --priority '90' 'https://repo.vivaldi.com/archive/vivaldi-suse.repo' 'vivaldi'
zypper ar -cfp '89' …

# Remove repositories.
zypper removerepo 'mozilla'
zypper rr '3'

# Rename repositories.
zypper renamerepo 'firefox' 'mozilla'
zypper nr '5' 'packman'

# Modify repositories.
# Disable with '-d'.
zypper modifyrepo -ef 'updates'
zypper mr -gp '98' '1' 'mozilla'
zypper mr -d 'packman' '4' 'https://repo.vivaldi.com/archive/vivaldi-suse.repo'
zypper mr -da

# ---

# Execute without user confirmation (non-interactively).
zypper --non-interactive …
zypper --non-interactive --auto-agree-with-licenses …

# Mark transactions in log files.
zypper --userdata 'comment-here' …

# Clean up installed kernel packages.
zypper purge-kernels --dry-run

# Clean up unneded packages.
# *Always* check what is being done.
# FIXME: flaky
zypper -q pa --unneeded \
| grep -E '^i\s+' | awk -F'|' '{gsub(" ", "", $0); print $3"="$4}' | sort -u \
| xargs zypper rm -uD

# Upgrade distribution's releases.
# Suggested to do this after:
# - all users logged off;
# - disabling the GUI (`systemctl stop 'display-manager.service'`).
sed -i 's|/15.5/|/$releasever/|g' '/etc/zypp/repos.d/'*'.repo' \
&& zypper ref \
&& zypper up \
&& zypper --releasever '15.6' ref \
&& zypper --releasever '15.6' dup \
&& reboot

Concepts

The set of packages installed on a system is denoted as the @System repository or System Packages.
In contrast to normal repositories, @System provides packages that can only be deleted.

Installed packages which do not belong to any available repository are denoted as unwanted, orphaned or dropped.

One can specify the location of packages or repositories using any type of URI supported by libzypp (e.g. local paths, ftp/https/other URI).
In addition, Zypper accepts openSUSE Build Service repositories in the addrepo command in the form of obs://project/platform URI.

Resource objects are called resolvables.
They might be packages, patches, patterns, products, or basically any kind of object with dependencies to other objects managed by libzypp.

If one does not request specific versions of resolvables during an action, Zypper's dependency solver will pick a reasonable one automatically.

Repositories

The lower the number given to their priority setting, the higher the precedence of that repository.
This means that a repository with priority 90 will have precedence on repositories with the default priority of 99.

Default (distribution) repositories, additional repositories.

Repositories of interest:

Name	Repos' URL keys	Repo files' URLs	Description
Mozilla	`https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/mozilla/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/` `https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/mozilla/openSUSE_Leap_$releasever/`	Tumbleweed	Bleeding edge versions of Firefox, Thunderbird and all things Mozilla
Packman (all)	`https://ftp.fau.de/packman/suse/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/` `https://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/misc/packman/suse/openSUSE_Leap_$releasever/`	Tumbleweed	The largest external repository of openSUSE packages
Vivaldi		All	A browser adapting to you, not the other way around.
KDE	`https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/Extra/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/` `https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/Frameworks/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/` `https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/Applications/KDE_Frameworks5_openSUSE_Tumbleweed/` `https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/Extra/openSUSE_Leap_15.6/`		Bleeding edge versions of framework, Plasma, applications and all things KDE

Configuration

Default global configuration file: /etc/zypp/zypp.conf.
An alternate config file can be set using the ZYPP_CONF=<PATH> environment variable.

See zypp configuration options for details.

Gotchas

Global options must be specified before the command name.
Command-specific options must be specified after the command name.

Zypper does not have for now a way to list the content of an installed package. Use rpm for this:

sudo rpm --query --list 'parallel'

Distribution's release upgrade

Tested on openSUSE Leap (15.5. to 15.6).

Suggested to do this after:

All users logged off;
Disabling the GUI (systemctl stop 'display-manager.service').

Procedure:

Make sure no repository has the release version hardcoded:

sudo sed -i 's|/15.5/|/$releasever/|g' '/etc/zypp/repos.d/'*'.repo'

Refresh the cache:
```
sudo zypper refresh
```
Update the current release's packages:
```
sudo zypper update
```
Refresh the cache again forcing the new release version:
```
sudo zypper --releasever '15.6' refresh
```

Upgrade the whole distribution to the new release:

sudo zypper --releasever '15.6' dist-upgrade

Reboot.

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