How to test a rpm operation for potential conflicts before performing actual operation?

Environment

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

Issue

How to test a rpm operation for potential conflicts without actually performing the operation?

Resolution

Run the intended command with the --test options, the actual operation will not be performed, potential issues will be reported.

If there is no issue an Exit code of '0' will be returned.

# rpm --upgrade --test package.rpm
..
D: Exit status: 0

An Exit code other than '0' indicates an issue such as Failed dependencies, the debug messages will help troubleshooting the actual failed dependencies issue.

# rpm --upgrade --test package.rpm
..
error: Failed dependencies:
..
D: Exit status: 1

Notes:

• In the examples above the --upgrade operation is used, but other operations such as --install or --erase can be tested the same way.
• The -v or -vv options can be added, to display debugging information.
• Refer to How to download rpm packages manually from the Red Hat Customer Portal? to download the packages required for dependencies.

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