Install EPEL Repository on CentOS or RHEL or Amazon Linux

EPEL 7 packages assume that the ‘optional’ repository (rhel-7-server-optional-rpms for servers)  and therefore the ‘extras’ repository (rhel-7-server-extras-rpms for servers) area unit enabled. You’ll do that with subscription-manager repos –enable rhel-7-server-optional-rpms –enable rhel-7-server-extras-rpms.

Table of Contents

In this article, I will take you through the steps to Install and Enable EPEL Repository on RHEL/CentOS 7/8. E PEL is a very commonly used repository for package installation on RHEL/CentOS Based Servers. Although EPEL Repository is created and managed by Fedora Community but it is very frequently used on other Linux Servers as well. You can find all the commonly available packages in EPEL repository hence it is always suggested to install this repository in your Server. Here we will look into the steps to install and Enable EPEL repository on RHEL/CentOS Based Servers.

EPEL repository is a community-driven repository of software packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and its derivatives like CentOS, Amazon Linux, and Oracle Linux. The EPEL repository provides additional packages that are not included in the default RHEL or CentOS repositories. These packages are frequently newer versions of software or applications not found in the default repositories. In this blog post, we will discuss how to install the EPEL repository on CentOS, RHEL, or Amazon Linux.

The EPEL group maintains a high-quality set of additional packages by creating and managing it.

This EPEL repository can be used by other Linux Distributions:

You will be needing an Internet connection on your Linux Server/Host/Node where you want to install the EPEL repo. You will be needing sudo/root access

We’ll see the how-to Install EPEL Repository on CentOS or RHEL or Amazon Linux.

You can install EPEL by running yum install epel-release. The package is enclosed within the CentOS Extras repository, enabled by default.

Download EPEL Repo

EPEL repository is a community-driven repository of software packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and its derivatives like CentOS, Amazon Linux, and Oracle Linux. The EPEL repository provides additional packages that are not included in the default RHEL or CentOS repositories. These packages are frequently newer versions of software or applications not found in the default repositories. In this blog post, we will discuss how to install EPEL repository on CentOS, RHEL, or Amazon Linux.

Thanks for reading this blog, you’ll also like other articles.

Install Redis on Amazon Linux or CentOS

Install MySQL8 on CentOS or Amazon Linux

How to execute script or command on reboot or startup in Linux

Install PIP in Amazon Linux or RHEL or CentOS

Step By Step Method for installing Nagios in Amazon Linux

EPEL repository is part of special groups within the fedora group, it creates & maintains additional packages for Enterprise Linux, mainly CentOS, RHEL, Scientific Linux, Oracle Linux. E PEL stands for Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux & provides packages that are not available with the default repositories.

Recommended Read: Examples on how to use YUM command in Linux

Also Read: Scheduling CRON Jobs with Crontab for Beginners

There are two methods using which we can install the EPEL repository on the Linux system,

1- Using the packages from default repositories

2- Using rpm package

1- Using the packages from the default repositories

# yum install epel-release

# dnf install epel-release

This command will work most of the times but I have faced an issue with some versions where this might not work. So if this does not work for you, then you can use the second method.

2- Using RPM packages

# yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-6.noarch.rpm

# yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-7.noarch.rpm

# subscription-manager repos –enable “rhel-*-optional-rpms” –enable “rhel-*-extras-rpms” –enable “rhel-ha-for-rhel-*-server-rpms”

# yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm

# ARCH=$( /bin/arch )

# dnf config-manager –set-enabled PowerTools

Check repository

# yum repolist

# dnf repolist epel

If you think we have helped you or just want to support us, please consider these:-

TheLinuxGURUS are thankful for your continued support.

The full form of EPEL is Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux. It is software package repository for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and CentOS. The EPEL repository is made available by the Fedora team. They provide free and open source packages that are not available in the official package repository of RHEL and CentOS to extend the functionalities of these operating systems. E PEL packages are of very high quality and very stable.

To find out more about EPEL packages, go to the official website of EPEL at https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/EPEL

In this article, I will show you how to add and use EPEL package repository on CentOS 7. Let’s get started.

Availability of EPEL Repository

At the time of this writing, EPEL packages are available for RHEL 6 or CentOS 6, and RHEL 7 or CentOS 7. The other versions are obsolete and are no longer available for download.

EPEL Package repository for RHEL 7 and CentOS 7 is called EPEL 7. E PEL 7 has packages built for Intel or AMD 64-bit (x86_64), Power PC 64-Bit (PPC64), Power PC 64-bit Little Endian (PPC64LE), and Adirondack Architectural Heritage 64-bit (AARCH64) CPU architectures.

Sadly, no support for 32-bit systems.

If you want 32-bit support on the EPEL repository, then you will have to use EPEL 6 on RHEL 6 or CentOS 6, as RHEL 7 and CentOS 7 don’t have any 32-bit version available.

Enabling EPEL Package Repository on CentOS 7

On CentOS 7, EPEL 7 package repository can be enabled easily.

If you have CentOS 7 extras repository enabled, then all you have to do is install the epel-release package to enable EPEL 7 repository on CentOS 7.

You can also install EPEL 7 package from the official website of EPEL to enable EPEL 7 repository on CentOS 7.

I am going to show you both ways to enable EPEL 7 package repository on CentOS 7.

Installing epel-release from CentOS 7 Extras:

As you can see, I have extras repository enabled.

The required package should be installed and EPEL repository should be enabled.

As you can see from the marked section of the screenshot below, EPEL repository is enabled.

=extras epel-release

Installing EPEL 7 from the Official Website of EPEL:

EPEL repository should be installed.

As you can see, it’s enabled.

Searching for Packages in the EPEL Repository

= =epel QUERY

NOTE: Here, QUERY is the package that you want to search for. I searched for p7zip on EPEL repository.

As you can see, the packages on the EPEL repository that matched the search QUERY is listed.

Installing Packages from the EPEL Repository

NOTE: Here, PACKAGE_NAME is the name of the package that you want to install.

The package should be installed.

Removing EPEL Repository from CentOS 7

EPEL repository should be completely removed from your CentOS 7 machine.

As you can see, epel repository is no longer available.

So that’s how you install and use EPEL repository on CentOS 7. Thanks for reading this article.

The EPEL repository is a separate package repository that is utilized to install packages for frequently used software. Fedora developers wanted to use the packages they maintain on RHEL/CentOS; that’s how they got the idea to develop the EPEL repository. The purpose of this repository was to make the software more accessible on Enterprise Linux compatible distributions.

What is the EPEL repository?

At this moment, EPEL supports RHEL 7, and RHEL 8. Modules for Perl, Python, Ruby gems, and other extras for various programming languages exist in the EPEL packages list. It also includes other programs such as ImageMagick, etckeeper, GraphicsMagick, Chromium browser builds, etc.

The motivation behind the EPEL repository’s development

CentOS is the most effortless distribution in terms of EPEL repository installation. Write out the below-given command to install EPEL’s latest release on your CentOS system.

dnf epel-release

Enter “y” to permit the EPEL installation to continue.

Now utilize this command to verify if the EPEL is correctly installed on your system or not:

List all the active packages present in this EPEL repository. In this way, it will be verified that this repository is enabled on your CentOS system or not.

= = list available

dnf = = list available

We have also provided you the syntax for installing any package that exists in the EPEL repository. Specify the “package name,” and you are all ready to begin its installation.

= package_name

dnf = package_name

For instance, we will search and install the “htop” package from the EPEL repository.

dnf =epel info

Conclusion

Fedora developers wanted to use the packages they maintain on RHEL/CentOS; that’s how they got the idea to develop the EPEL repository. E PEL is responsible for developing, managing, and maintaining a high-quality set of extra packages. Installing and enabling this repository will permit you to use standard tools such as dnf and yum to install dependencies and related packages. In this tutorial, you learned about the procedure of enabling and using the EPEL repository on your CentOS system.

Talha is a contributor at Linux Hint with a vision to bring value and do useful things for the world. He loves to read, write and speak about Linux, Data, Computers and Technology.

EPEL Repository for Amazon Linux

Install and enable EPEL for Amazon Linux 2 and Amazon Linux one.

Install & Enable EPEL repository for Amazon Linux 2

sudo yum install -y https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-7.noarch.rpm
sudo yum-config-manager —enable epel

EPEL repository is installed already on the Amazon Linux, but you must enable it.

Confirm the installation and refresh the repo list

$ sudo yum repolist

Demo output on CentOS Linux release 7. 1810 (Core)

If you’re using totally different supported distribution you’ll install the EPEL repo with the subsequent method.

EPEL Repository for RHEL Linux

Install and enable EPEL for RHEL 9/8/7/6 OS.

Install & Enable EPEL repository for RHEL 9

sudo dnf install -y https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm
sudo dnf config-manager —set-enabled epel

Install & Enable EPEL repository for RHEL 8

Enable both the EPEL and CodeReady Builder repositories. The CodeReady Builder repository contains development tools required by many EPEL packages.

sudo dnf install -y https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm
sudo dnf config-manager —set-enabled rhui-codeready-builder-for-rhel-8-rhui-rpms

Install & Enable EPEL repository for RHEL 7

sudo yum install -y https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-6.noarch.rpm
sudo yum-config-manager —enable epel

What is EPEL

EPEL is known as Extra Package for Enterprise Linux. It is a Fedora created special package group which creates and maintains extra packages required by the Enterprise Linux Servers which includes RHEL/CentOS based Servers as well. E PEL based packages never replaces or conflict with other core packages. More information on Fedora Documentation.

Prerequisites

a) You need to have a running RHEL/CentOS 7/8 System.

b) You should have yum tool installed in your Server. You can check Top 22 YUM command examples in RedHat/CentOS 7 to know more about yum command.

Update Your Server

Before installing any new package in your Server it is always a good practice to first check for any latest updates by using yum update -y command as shown below. This will download and install all the available updates from enabled yum repository. Since I already have installed the latest updates so it is not able to find any new updates.

Install and Enable EPEL Repository

Since EPEL itself is a repository so most probably you only need to run yum install epel-release -y command to simply install and enable epel repository. It should be smoothly installed without looking for any dependency.

Verify EPEL Package Installation

-q : query about the package

-a : Query all installed packages.

Check EPEL Repository Packages

Once EPEL repository is installed, you can now check for available packages in the repository by using below yum command. You can search any package from epel repository by disabling all the other repositories using —disablerepo option and enabling only EPEL repository by using —enablerepo option as you can see below. Here we are searching package python36 from EPEL Repository.

Use EPEL Repository to Install Packages

You can also install the packages from EPEL repository using below yum command. Here we are installing python36-docker package from EPEL Repository by disabling all other repositories and enabling only epel repository by using yum —disablerepo=»*» —enablerepo=»epel» install python36-docker -y command as shown below.

—disablerepo: Disable specific repositories by an id or a glob. More on yum command Page.

—enablerepo: Enable additional repositories by an id or a glob. More on yum command Page.

Remove EPEL Repository from RHEL/CentOS 7/8 Server

Once you are done with EPEL Repository you can uninstall it by using yum remove epel-release -y command as shown below.

Googler: Best Tool for Google Search from Linux(RHEL/CentOS 7/8) Command Line or Terminal.

11 Best Python OS Module Examples on Linux

How to Properly Search PHP Modules Using YUM tool in Linux(RHEL/CentOS 7/8)

Solved: ModuleNotFoundError: No module named ‘requests’ in Python 3

Solved: FATAL: Authentication Helper Program /usr/lib/squid/basic_ncsa_auth:
No Such File or Directory

How to Install and Configure Squid Proxy Server on RHEL/CentOS 7/8

EPEL Repository for CentOS

Install and enable EPEL for Centos 9/8/7/6 OS.

Install & Enable EPEL repository for CentOS 9

Install & Enable both the EPEL and PowerTools repositories. The PowerTools repository contains development tools required by many EPEL packages.

sudo dnf install -y https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm
sudo dnf config-manager —set-enabled PowerTools

Install & Enable EPEL repository for CentOS 7

sudo yum install -y epel-release
sudo yum-config-manager —enable epel

Install & Enable EPEL repository for CentOS 6

$ sudo yum install epel-release -y

Linux Command to List enabled repositories

If you have downloaded EPEL rpm file manually, then install it with the below command:

yum install ./epel-release-latest-*.noarch.rpm