Wiki - https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/SwitchToDnf5
This is a proposed Change for Fedora Linux.
This document represents a proposed Change. As part of the Changes
process, proposals are publicly announced in order to receive
community feedback. This proposal will only be implemented if approved
by the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee.
== Summary ==
Change the default package manager from dnf to dnf5.
== Owner ==
* Name: [[User:jkolarik| Jan Kolarik]]
* Email: jkola...@redhat.com
* Name: [[User:jmracek| Jaroslav Mracek]]
* Email: jmra...@redhat.com
== Detailed Description ==
This proposal will implement several topics, which are outlined below.
=== Provider of the dnf command ===
This change proposes to switch the current provider of the
/usr/bin/dnf symlink from dnf to dnf5. Currently, the symlink target
is /usr/bin/dnf-3, provided by the dnf sub-package, python3-dnf. Upon
implementation of this change, the symlink will point to
/usr/bin/dnf5, provided by the dnf5 package.
=== Prepare the upgrade path ===
The dnf5 package, serving as the new provider of the /usr/bin/dnf
symlink, will obsolete the dnf package starting with Fedora 41. Upon
the release of this dnf5 package, upgrading the system or installing
dnf5 will replace the existing dnf package on the system.
Additionally, the dnf5 package will provide a /usr/bin/yum symlink for
backwards compatibility and the dnf-automatic command will be
obsoleted.
=== Feature parity with dnf ===
We aim to cover the majority of use cases available in the existing
dnf package. However, there are some features that may not be
implemented in time. Nevertheless, we plan to deliver them at a later
stage.
Plugins
The progress of implementing plugins to match the current set from the
dnf-plugins-core package is tracked
[https://github.com/rpm-software-management/dnf5/issues/389 upstream].
Among the missing plugins, we still plan to implement:
* debuginfo-install plugin
* reposync plugin
Modularity
As support for modularity was retired in Fedora 39, dnf5 currently
only implements a basic feature set for listing and enabling/disabling
modules.
=== Background service support ===
A new daemonized service, dnf5daemon, utilizing the D-Bus interface,
is prepared for clients as a sub-package. This will serve as an
alternative or replacement for the PackageKit layer. Integration of
dnf5daemon support into the default Fedora user interface, GNOME
Software, is currently in progress
=== Documentation of API changes ===
The public interface has undergone significant changes to enhance the
user experience and remove unused and obsolete code components. To
facilitate user migration to the new CLI and API interfaces, a
[https://dnf5.readthedocs.io/en/latest/changes.html guide] was
prepared covering all differences compared to the interface provided
by the existing dnf package, along with examples of typical use cases.
=== Deployment tasks ===
During the deployment of the dnf5 package manager as the new default,
several adjustments need to be made both to the infrastructure and the
dnf5 package itself. Some of these adjustments are detailed [[#Release
engineering|below]]. To ensure synchronization and address all
necessary changes, we've established an upstream tracking
[https://github.com/rpm-software-management/dnf5/issues/1057 issue].
== Feedback ==
As this is the second iteration of such a proposal, we've gathered a
lot of feedback from various sources during the first attempt to
accept this change.
=== FESCo inputs ===
A [https://pagure.io/fesco/issue/3039 ticket] discussing the reasons
why the contingency mechanism was invoked for the first attempt of the
proposal was opened by FESCo. It includes a list of items that are
either incomplete or in progress.
Below is a list of issues from the ticket that are still unresolved or
require clarification on their current status. Other items not
mentioned below are considered completed.
Switch in ELN
This should not block the proposal, as the current plan is to target
RHEL 11. Integration can occur there after the proposal is implemented
for Fedora 41.
Aligning configuration with the current state in dnf
All overrides to match the current state of dnf configuration will be
provided to the Fedora release project, see [[#Apply downstream
configuration overrides|below]].
System upgrade and offline transactions
The implementation work has been completed and is already present
upstream. We anticipate extensive testing during the summer, and we
also plan to organize testing days for this purpose.
Dropping the Snapper plugin
In dnf5, we've adopted a new approach for implementing functionality
that was previously handled by the Snapper plugin in dnf.
We're introducing the Actions plugin, which offers more capabilities
than the Snapper plugin, including support for running external
applications before or after transactions and interacting with the
dnf5
