This is an original planning guide. It is not a vendor manual, an official standard, or legal advice. Example addresses use documentation ranges. Review every command before you paste it.
What this hour is for
apt, dnf, zypper, and pacman install software on different families. The translator shows an equivalent for a command you type. It does not run it. You still use the manager of the host in front of you.
An apt command on RHEL is the wrong page. A dnf command on Ubuntu is the wrong page. Read the hostname and the family before you copy anything.
Do not add a third-party repository from a translated line. 192.0.2.10/24 and example.com are documentation. They stay in the note.
The change you can finish
Apply nothing while you are writing the note. When the lab window opens, it is one change on the host named in the ticket. Read the draft, then the host, then decide.
Rollback is the file, the package version, or the snapshot you saved first. You do not invent a rollback after the only copy is gone.
- Confirm the host family.
- Type one command you mean.
- Read the translation for that family only.
- Reject a command for a different family.
- Do not run it during the reading.
- Stop.
Mistakes that outlive the command
apt vs dnf vs zypper vs pacman goes wrong in a small set of ways. The list is here so the ticket can forbid them before the window.
- The wrong family pasted.
- A repository added from the translation.
- Several managers used on one host.
- The command run during the reading.
Decisions to write down
One decision for apt vs dnf vs zypper vs pacman: The family matches the host. One command. No extra repository. Nothing was run yet. And the other families stay in the table.
Checks before you call it done
Confirm this before you call the change done: The family is written. The command is written. The translation matches that family. Nothing was run. And no repository was added. If one of those fails, stop.
| Family | Manager | Do not paste |
|---|---|---|
| Debian and Ubuntu | apt | dnf |
| RHEL and relatives | dnf | apt |
| SUSE | zypper | apt |
| Arch | pacman | apt |
# Use the manager this host has.
# Do not paste apt onto RHEL.
# Do not add a repository from a translation.Before you leave the host
apt vs dnf vs zypper vs pacman ends when the hostname in the prompt matches the hostname in the ticket. If it does not, you are on the wrong host. Stop. A command that succeeded on the wrong host is not progress.
The draft stays a draft until a person has read the names in it. A generator does not log into the host and does not know which disk is empty. You delete a line that names a host, a path, or an account you did not write down.
192.0.2.10/24, gateway 192.0.2.1, 198.51.100.0/24, 203.0.113.0/24, and 2001:db8::/32 are documentation. example.com is a documentation name. They belong in the note. They are not values you leave on a host because a draft included them.
prompt-for-this is a reminder that a secret is missing. It is not a password, a key, or a token you save in the ticket or in git. The real secret stays in the password store.
One change is the window. If two things move and the result is wrong, you will not know which one did it. The next change waits for its own page.
If the same step fails twice, stop for the day. The failure is the result. Adding a forum command beside a half-applied change produces a host nobody can rebuild. Restore the copy you took first.
A second person reads the hostname and the change aloud. If they cannot find them in the ticket, the note is not done. Silence is not agreement. Then leave the host alone.
This page is a planning guide. It is not a vendor manual, not an official standard, and not permission to touch a host you do not administer. You do not disable a firewall, AppArmor, or SELinux to make a check pass.
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