Yum Extender NG – A Graphical Front-end Tool For YUM/DNF

Yum or DNF is a command-line package management utility for RPM-based Linux systems, such as Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), CentOS, AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux. However, for those who prefer a graphical user interface, there are a few GUI front-ends available for Yum/dnf. These front-ends provide a user-friendly interface for package management tasks, including installation, removal, and updates of software packages. Yum Extender NG or Yumex-ng is one such front-end for Yum/dnf, which provides an intuitive interface for managing packages in a user-friendly way. In this guide, I will explain what is Yum Extender NG and walk you through the steps to install and use Yumex-ng in Linux.

What is Yum Extender NG?

Yum Extender NG, also known as Yumex-ng, is a graphical user interface (GUI) for the popular Yum/DNF package manager used in RPM-based Linux distributions. The Yumex-ng provides an intuitive interface that allows users to easily install, remove, and manage software packages on their system.

Yum Extender NG is just an upgraded and rewritten version of old Yum extender (or yumex) with a more modern look and feel using gtk4/libadwaita. The NG in Yum Extender NG denotes Next Gen.

Yumex-ng makes the process of installing, removing, upgrading and updating packages much easier via a simple, yet fully functional graphical user interface.

Yumex-ng is designed to simplify the package management process for users who may not be comfortable using the command line interface of Yum/dnf. With Yumex-ng, users can browse and search for software packages, view detailed information about each package, and easily install or remove them with just a few mouse clicks.

One of the notable features of Yumex-ng is its ability to handle dependencies automatically. When a user selects a package to install, Yumex will automatically detect and install any dependencies required by that package. This can save a lot of time and effort compared to manually installing each package and its dependencies separately.

Yumex-ng also provides filtering and sorting options, allowing users to quickly find the software they need based on various criteria such as package name, category, repository, and more. Users can also customize the view of their package list by selecting which columns to display and sorting the packages in ascending or descending order.

Another useful feature of Yumex-ng is its support for multiple repositories. Users can easily add and manage additional software repositories, which can be helpful if they need to install software that is not available in their system's default repositories.

Yumex-ng is also highly customizable, with many options for tweaking the interface and behavior of the application. Users can customize the font and color scheme, enable or disable certain features, and even customize the command line options used by Yumex-ng when running in the background.

Yumex-ng is a free, opensource program written using Python programming language. It can be used on any Linux distributions that supports yum/dnf package managers.

Install Yum Extender NG / Yumex-ng in Fedora Linux

I have tested the following steps on latest Fedora 38 desktop. I hope this will work on other RPM-based systems as well.

Yum Extender NG, or Yumex-ng, can be installed via a third-party Copr repository.

Add the Yumex-ng copr repository using command:

$ sudo dnf copr enable timlau/yumex-ng

Install Yumex using command:

$ sudo dnf install yumex

If the old yumex-dnf package is installed, it will automatically remove it from your system. That's it. Yum Extender has been installed. Let us go ahead and see how to use it.

How to Use Yum Extender NG?

Yum Extender NG usage is very simple and straight forward. Open Yumex from the dash or menu.

This will launch the yumex-ng graphical user interface (GUI), allowing you to manage your system's packages.

You can also launch yumex-ng from the command line by entering the following command:

$ sudo yumex

Here it is the default interface of Yumex-ng.

With yumex-ng installed and configured, you can now start using it to manage your system's packages. Browse through the available packages, select the ones you want to install or update, and click on the 'Apply' button to make the changes.

Filter Packages

By default, Yumex-ng will show only the installed packages. The installed packages will be shown in green color. If you want to show all other packages, click the "Select Package filters" icon on the top left of the Yumex-ng interface.

Now you can select either Updates to display the packages that need to be updated or All (both installed and not-installed) from filters section. I am going to list all packages.

Now choose any non-installed package and click the "Apply" button to install it.

Display Flatpaks

With the new version, you can also browse the installed flatpak applications as well.

To display flatpak apps, click the "Flatpaks" section on the top. If you have installed any flatpak applications, they will be shown here. If not, you will just see an empty screen.

To install new a flatpak app, click the + (plus) button and follow the on-screen instructions. Before installing flatpaks, you should have added a remote repository as described in the Flatpak installation guide.

Queue Section

This section shows the list of applications marked for installation, updation and deletion.

View Repositories

To view the repositories, click the three horizontal bar icon and select Preferences option.

Navigate to the Repositories section, where you can enable or disable repositories.

Conclusion

Overall, Yumex-ng is an user-friendly package management tool that can greatly simplify the process of installing, removing, and managing software packages on a RPM-based Linux system. Whether you're a new user who is still learning the basics or an experienced Linux veteran, Yumex-ng is definitely worth checking out. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can quickly and easily install and configure yumex-ng on your Linux system and start using it to manage your packages with ease.