rpm erase or removal of rpms

[Bill Cunningham]

I have been trying to use rpm or dnf to remove some rpms. Most 
the ones I am concerned with are docker related, and or to do with go 
(golang). You certainly can't use wildcards with rpm erase. I have a 
list generated with the date these rpms were installed, but I am not 
THAT good with CLI and bash operations like cut, xargs, sed and so on to 
alter the list; and I wouldn't be sure how to pipe the list contents or 
redirect to rpm the text's content from the ascii text file, to erase 
these particular rpms. Is there a way to mass erase many files (with rpm 
switches or such) using rpm? Here is an example of what I have been 
trying to do, ex:

list.txt,

gcc-devel // example,

python-devel //example

rpm -e // would this list content be redirectable to rpm -e ?

cat list.txt

lists rpms,

rpm -e < cat list, or

cat list | rpm -e

do not work.

[Thomas Cameron]

On 5/23/22 15:53, Bill Cunningham wrote:
> I have been trying to use rpm or dnf to remove some rpms. Most the 
> ones I am concerned with are docker related, and or to do with go 
> (golang). You certainly can't use wildcards with rpm erase. I have a 
> list generated with the date these rpms were installed, but I am not 
> THAT good with CLI and bash operations like cut, xargs, sed and so on 
> to alter the list; and I wouldn't be sure how to pipe the list 
> contents or redirect to rpm the text's content from the ascii text 
> file, to erase these particular rpms. Is there a way to mass erase 
> many files (with rpm switches or such) using rpm? Here is an example 
> of what I have been trying to do, ex:
>
> list.txt,
>
> gcc-devel // example,
>
> python-devel //example
>
> rpm -e // would this list content be redirectable to rpm -e ?
>
> cat list.txt
>
> lists rpms,
>
> rpm -e < cat list, or
>
> cat list | rpm -e
>
> do not work.
>
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Write your list so that all the packages are on a single line, and just 
add rpm -e to the head of that line:

rpm -e foo bar baz

Or:

for i in `cat list`; do rpm -e $i

I would honestly probably use yum for this, though, since it takes care 
of dependencies and the like.

So if your list of packages is:

foo bar baz

I would just add "yum remove" to the beginning of the list:

yum -y remove foo bar baz

Thomas

[Bill Cunningham]

On 5/23/2022 5:12 PM, Thomas Cameron wrote:
> Write your list so that all the packages are on a single line, and 
> just add rpm -e to the head of that line:
>
> rpm -e foo bar baz
>
> Or:
>
> for i in `cat list`; do rpm -e $i

I see, thanks much Thomas, so this would then be kind of doing the 
work of grep. I have used cat and grep together with a pipe, which seems 
similar

cat list |grep "word"

And it seems to work.
> I would honestly probably use yum for this, though, since it takes 
> care of dependencies and the like.
>
> So if your list of packages is:
>
> foo bar baz
>
> I would just add "yum remove" to the beginning of the list:
>
> yum -y remove foo bar baz
>
> Thomas

It worked using this,

yum remove $(cat list)

I have never heard of 'command substitution'. seeing the $ has always 
made me think of variables, like such,

echo $PATH, to see a value.

Cheers.

[Roger Heflin]

Be careful with a "-y" on a dnf/yum remove.  I have seen yum/dnf determine
that a lot of packages need to go.  The protected multi-lib/packages may
stop a total disaster, but you could also remove a lot of packages you
don't want to remove and have to go back through the list and reinstall a
lot.

I have seen people do the removes's without the -y and watch screen fulls
of packages scroll by and still answer 'y', and destroy a system
(pre-protected-multi-lib).

For a non-automated one-of remove the additional safety gained by having to
answer y after seeing that what it wants to remove is a small price to pay.

On Mon, May 23, 2022 at 4:22 PM Thomas Cameron <
[e-mail]> wrote:
> On 5/23/22 15:53, Bill Cunningham wrote:
> > I have been trying to use rpm or dnf to remove some rpms. Most the
> > ones I am concerned with are docker related, and or to do with go
> > (golang). You certainly can't use wildcards with rpm erase. I have a
> > list generated with the date these rpms were installed, but I am not
> > THAT good with CLI and bash operations like cut, xargs, sed and so on
> > to alter the list; and I wouldn't be sure how to pipe the list
> > contents or redirect to rpm the text's content from the ascii text
> > file, to erase these particular rpms. Is there a way to mass erase
> > many files (with rpm switches or such) using rpm? Here is an example
> > of what I have been trying to do, ex:
> > list.txt,
> >
> >
> > gcc-devel // example,
> >
> > python-devel //example
> >
> > rpm -e // would this list content be redirectable to rpm -e ?
> >
> > cat list.txt
> >
> > lists rpms,
> >
> > rpm -e < cat list, or
> >
> > cat list | rpm -e
> >
> > do not work.
> >
> > users mailing list -- [e-mail]
> > To unsubscribe send an email to [e-mail]
> > Fedora Code of Conduct:
> > https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/code-of-conduct/
> > List Guidelines: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
> > List Archives:
>
> https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[e-mail]
> > Do not reply to spam on the list, report it:
> > https://pagure.io/fedora-infrastructure
>
> Write your list so that all the packages are on a single line, and just
> add rpm -e to the head of that line:
>
> rpm -e foo bar baz
>
> Or:
>
> for i in `cat list`; do rpm -e $i
>
> I would honestly probably use yum for this, though, since it takes care
> of dependencies and the like.
>
> So if your list of packages is:
>
> foo bar baz
>
> I would just add "yum remove" to the beginning of the list:
>
> yum -y remove foo bar baz
>
> Thomas
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[Roger Heflin]

rpm -e $(cat list)

On Mon, May 23, 2022 at 4:02 PM Bill Cunningham 
wrote:
>      I have been trying to use rpm or dnf to remove some rpms. Most
>
> the ones I am concerned with are docker related, and or to do with go
> (golang). You certainly can't use wildcards with rpm erase. I have a
> list generated with the date these rpms were installed, but I am not
> THAT good with CLI and bash operations like cut, xargs, sed and so on to
> alter the list; and I wouldn't be sure how to pipe the list contents or
> redirect to rpm the text's content from the ascii text file, to erase
> these particular rpms. Is there a way to mass erase many files (with rpm
> switches or such) using rpm? Here is an example of what I have been
> trying to do, ex:
>  list.txt,
>
>
> gcc-devel // example,
>
> python-devel //example
>
> rpm -e // would this list content be redirectable to rpm -e ?
>
> cat list.txt
>
> lists rpms,
>
> rpm -e < cat list, or
>
> cat list | rpm -e
>
> do not work.
>
> users mailing list -- [e-mail]
> To unsubscribe send an email to [e-mail]
> Fedora Code of Conduct:
> https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/code-of-conduct/
> List Guidelines: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
> List Archives:
> https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[e-mail]
> Do not reply to spam on the list, report it:
> https://pagure.io/fedora-infrastructure

[Bill Cunningham]

On 5/23/2022 5:22 PM, Roger Heflin wrote:
> rpm -e $(cat list)
>
> On Mon, May 23, 2022 at 4:02 PM Bill Cunningham 
>  wrote:
>     I have been trying to use rpm or dnf to remove some rpms. Most
> the ones I am concerned with are docker related, and or to do with go
> (golang). You certainly can't use wildcards with rpm erase. I have a
> list generated with the date these rpms were installed, but I am not
> THAT good with CLI and bash operations like cut, xargs, sed and so
> on to
> alter the list; and I wouldn't be sure how to pipe the list
> contents or
> redirect to rpm the text's content from the ascii text file, to erase
> these particular rpms. Is there a way to mass erase many files
> (with rpm
> switches or such) using rpm? Here is an example of what I have been
> trying to do, ex:
>
>      list.txt,
>
>
> gcc-devel // example,
>
> python-devel //example
>
> rpm -e // would this list content be redirectable to rpm -e ?
>
> cat list.txt
>
> lists rpms,
>
> rpm -e < cat list, or
>
> cat list | rpm -e
>
> do not work.
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> users mailing list -- [e-mail]
> To unsubscribe send an email to [e-mail]
> Fedora Code of Conduct:
> https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/code-of-conduct/
> List Guidelines:
> https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
> List Archives:
> https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[e-mail]
> Do not reply to spam on the list, report it:
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>
>
> users mailing list [e-mail]
> To unsubscribe send an email [e-mail]
> Fedora Code of Conduct:https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/code-of-conduct/
> List Guidelines:https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
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[George N. White III]

On Mon, May 23, 2022 at 6:27 PM Roger Heflin  wrote:
> rpm -e $(cat list)

Even better: "dnf mark remove $(cat list)

dnf mark remove <package-spec>...
              Unmarks the specified packages as installed by user. Whenever
you as a user don't need a specific pack‐
              age you can mark it for removal. The package stays installed
on the system but  will  be  removed  when
              Autoremove  Command  or Remove Command along with
clean_requirements_on_remove configuration option set
              to True is executed. You should use this operation instead of
Remove Command if you're not sure whether
              the package is a requirement of other user installed packages
on the system.
> On Mon, May 23, 2022 at 4:02 PM Bill Cunningham 
> wrote:
> >      I have been trying to use rpm or dnf to remove some rpms. Most
> >
> > the ones I am concerned with are docker related, and or to do with go
> > (golang). You certainly can't use wildcards with rpm erase. I have a
> > list generated with the date these rpms were installed, but I am not
> > THAT good with CLI and bash operations like cut, xargs, sed and so on to
> > alter the list; and I wouldn't be sure how to pipe the list contents or
> > redirect to rpm the text's content from the ascii text file, to erase
> > these particular rpms. Is there a way to mass erase many files (with rpm
> > switches or such) using rpm? Here is an example of what I have been
> > trying to do, ex:
> >  list.txt,
> >
> >
> > gcc-devel // example,
> >
> > python-devel //example
> >
> > rpm -e // would this list content be redirectable to rpm -e ?
> >
> > cat list.txt
> >
> > lists rpms,
> >
> > rpm -e < cat list, or
> >
> > cat list | rpm -e
> >
> > do not work.
> >
> > users mailing list -- [e-mail]
> > To unsubscribe send an email to [e-mail]
> > Fedora Code of Conduct:
> > https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/code-of-conduct/
> > List Guidelines: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
> > List Archives:
> > https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[e-mail]
> > Do not reply to spam on the list, report it:
> > https://pagure.io/fedora-infrastructure
>
> users mailing list -- [e-mail]
> To unsubscribe send an email to [e-mail]
> Fedora Code of Conduct:
> https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/code-of-conduct/
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[Todd Zullinger]

Hi,

Bill Cunningham wrote:
> I have been trying to use rpm or dnf to remove some rpms.

I'd use dnf.  It provides a much wider safety net.

You can do this with rpm as well, but it requires greater care.
> Here is
> an example of what I have been trying to do, ex:
>
> list.txt,
>
> gcc-devel // example,
>
> python-devel //example
>
> rpm -e // would this list content be redirectable to rpm -e ?
>
> cat list.txt
>
> lists rpms,
>
> rpm -e < cat list, or
>
> cat list | rpm -e
>
> do not work.

Indeed, rpm doesn't take the list of packages on stdin.  You
can use a number of techniques here (we all develop our
favorite habits, but knowing "there is more than one way to
do it"™ is always handy.

Here's how I setup a test:

$ printf '%s\n' gcc-devel python-devel >/tmp/list

$ cat /tmp/list
    gcc-devel
    python-devel

You could use xargs:

$ xargs sudo dnf remove </tmp/list

This will display the 'dnf remove' output, showing you what
it would do.  Then it will exit immediately because there is
no way for it to read the 'Is this ok [y/N]:' prompt.  You
can run it again with the '-y' option.

Another way to feed the list to dnf (or rpm) is to use
command substitution:

$ sudo dnf remove $(cat /tmp/list)

Bash¹ has a shortcut for that cat usage which is slightly
faster:

$ sudo dnf remove $(< /tmp/list)

¹ Other shells likely have this is something similar, but
  I'm not familiar with them offhand

A for loop works too, but that doesn't work very well when
there are interdependent packages in the list (particularly
with rpm, but even with dnf it can cause problems).  It's
also a _lot_ slower to run the rpm or dnf command multiple
times instead of once.

That's just two ways to go about it.  Hopefully they help.

[Barry]

> On 23 May 2022, at 23:03, Todd Zullinger  wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> Bill Cunningham wrote:
> > I have been trying to use rpm or dnf to remove some rpms.
>
> I'd use dnf.  It provides a much wider safety net.

I have always assumed that using rpm -e will mess up dnf.
so I never use rpm for any operation that modifies the system.
I think I shot off a foot a decade or so ago doing that.
> You can do this with rpm as well, but it requires greater care.
> > Here is
> > an example of what I have been trying to do, ex:
> > list.txt,
> >
> >
> > gcc-devel // example,
> >
> > python-devel //example
> >
> > rpm -e // would this list content be redirectable to rpm -e ?
> >
> > cat list.txt
> >
> > lists rpms,
> >
> > rpm -e < cat list, or
> >
> > cat list | rpm -e
> >
> > do not work.
>
> Indeed, rpm doesn't take the list of packages on stdin.  You
> can use a number of techniques here (we all develop our
> favorite habits, but knowing "there is more than one way to
> do it"™ is always handy.
>
> Here's how I setup a test:
>
> $ printf '%s\n' gcc-devel python-devel >/tmp/list
>
> $ cat /tmp/list
>    gcc-devel
>    python-devel
>
> You could use xargs:
>
> $ xargs sudo dnf remove </tmp/list
>
> This will display the 'dnf remove' output, showing you what
> it would do.  Then it will exit immediately because there is
> no way for it to read the 'Is this ok [y/N]:' prompt.  You
> can run it again with the '-y' option.
>
> Another way to feed the list to dnf (or rpm) is to use
> command substitution:
>
> $ sudo dnf remove $(cat /tmp/list)
>
> Bash¹ has a shortcut for that cat usage which is slightly
> faster:
>
> $ sudo dnf remove $(< /tmp/list)
>
> ¹ Other shells likely have this is something similar, but
>  I'm not familiar with them offhand
>
> A for loop works too, but that doesn't work very well when
> there are interdependent packages in the list (particularly
> with rpm, but even with dnf it can cause problems).  It's
> also a _lot_ slower to run the rpm or dnf command multiple
> times instead of once.
>
> That's just two ways to go about it.  Hopefully they help.
>
> -- 
> Todd
> _______________________________________________
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[Samuel Sieb]

On 5/24/22 14:28, Barry wrote:
> > On 23 May 2022, at 23:03, Todd Zullinger  wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > Bill Cunningham wrote:
> > > I have been trying to use rpm or dnf to remove some rpms.
> >
> > I'd use dnf.  It provides a much wider safety net.
>
> I have always assumed that using rpm -e will mess up dnf.
> so I never use rpm for any operation that modifies the system.
> I think I shot off a foot a decade or so ago doing that.

It won't mess up dnf.  dnf uses the rpm database, so it will know that 
the package isn't there.  However, you won't have any history to track 
that you made the change.  And if you force a removal, then dnf will 
likely be unhappy about missing dependencies at some point in the future.