In this article, you will learn how to install and activate the EPEL repository on RHEL-based Linux systems in order to install additional standard open-source software using YUM and DNF package managers.

What is EPEL

EPEL (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux) is a free and open-source community-driven repository project from the Fedora team that offers 100% high-quality supplementary software packages for Linux distributions such as RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux), CentOS Stream, AlmaLinux, and Rocky Linux.

The EPEL project is not affiliated with RHEL/CentOS, but it is developed for major Linux distributions by offering numerous open-source packages like networking tools, sysadmin tools, development tools, monitoring applications, and more. Most of the EPEL packages are managed by the Fedora repository.

Why Use the EPEL Repository?

1. Offers many open-source packages installable via Yum and DNF.
2. The Epel repo is fully open source and available at no cost.
3. It does not contain duplicate core packages and avoids compatibility problems.
4. All EPEL packages are maintained by the Fedora repository.

How to Install EPEL Repository on RHEL 9 Systems

To install the EPEL repository on any RHEL-based system, log into your server as a root user and execute the commands listed below based on your version.

Install EPEL Repo on RHEL 9

<code># subscription-manager repos --enable codeready-builder-for-rhel-9-$(arch)-rpms
# dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm</code>

Install EPEL Repo on CentOS Stream 9

<code># dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb
# dnf install epel-release epel-next-release</code>

Install EPEL Repo on AlmaLinux 9

<code># dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb
# dnf install epel-release</code>

How to Install EPEL Repository on RHEL 8 Systems

For installing the EPEL repository on RHEL 8-based systems, use:

Install EPEL Repo on RHEL 8

<code># subscription-manager repos --enable codeready-builder-for-rhel-8-$(arch)-rpms
# dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm</code>

Install EPEL Repo on CentOS Stream 8

<code># dnf config-manager --set-enabled powertools
# dnf install epel-release</code>

Install EPEL Repo on Rocky/AlmaLinux 8

<code># dnf config-manager --set-enabled powertools
# dnf install epel-release</code>

How to Install EPEL Repository on RHEL 7 Systems

Install EPEL Repo on RHEL 7

<code># 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-7.noarch.rpm</code>

Install EPEL Repo on CentOS 7

<code># yum install epel-release</code>

Install EPEL Repo on CentOS 6.x

<code># yum install epel-release</code>

How Do I Verify EPEL Repo?

Now refresh the software packages and confirm the installation of the EPEL repository by executing the following commands.

<code># yum update
# rpm -qa | grep epel</code>

You can also check if the EPEL repository is active by listing all enabled repositories using the command below.

<code># yum repolist</code>

To display the list of packages available in the EPEL repository, run the following command.

<code># dnf --disablerepo="*" --enablerepo="epel" list available
OR
# yum --disablerepo="*" --enablerepo="epel" list available</code>

Alternatively, you can use the following grep command to look for specific package names as shown.

<code># yum --disablerepo="*" --enablerepo="epel" list available | grep 'htop'
OR
# dnf --disablerepo="*" --enablerepo="epel" list available | grep 'monitorix'</code>

How Do I Use EPEL Repo to Install Packages?

After successfully installing the EPEL repository, you can install a package using the following command.

<code># dnf --enablerepo="epel" install <package_name>
OR
# yum --enablerepo="epel" install <package_name></package_name></package_name></code>

For example, to search and install a package called htop – an interactive Linux process-viewer, run the following command.

<code># yum --enablerepo=epel info htop</code>

Now, to install the Htop package, the command would be:

<code># yum --enablerepo=epel install htop</code>

Note: The EPEL configuration file resides under /etc/yum.repos.d/epel.repo.

Conclusion

In this guide, you learned how to install the EPEL repository on RHEL-based distributions. We encourage you to try it out and share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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