urpmi.update

Update all enabled media

$ urpmi.update -a

$ urpmi.update [medium1 medium2 ...]

$ urpmi.update [keyword]

$ urpmi.update e

urpmi.update

No direct parameters
    The urpmi.update command itself does not commonly accept direct command-line parameters. Its function is to update all configured media, and it typically operates without requiring specific arguments from the user.

The urpmi.update command is a utility used in Mandriva and Mageia Linux distributions to refresh and synchronize the local package database with the latest information available from configured URPMI software repositories. It fetches updated lists of packages, their versions, and dependencies, ensuring that the urpmi package manager has the most current metadata before any installation, upgrade, or removal operations.

Unlike commands like urpmi --auto-update, urpmi.update only updates the repository metadata; it does not download or install actual package files. It is a crucial first step before performing any system-wide updates or installing new software to ensure that the package manager is aware of the latest available versions and dependencies.

Requires root privileges to execute successfully.
An active internet connection is necessary to fetch data from remote repositories.
This command is specific to the URPMI package management system, primarily found in Mandriva and Mageia Linux; it is not available on Debian/Ubuntu (APT) or RHEL/Fedora (DNF/YUM) based distributions.
It only updates the local package index; it does not upgrade installed software.

The urpmi.update command essentially automates the process of refreshing package lists from all currently configured URPMI repositories (also known as 'media'). Internally, it iterates through each enabled medium and performs an update operation similar to running urpmi.addmedia --update <media_name> for every configured repository. This ensures that the local package database used by urpmi is fully synchronized with the contents of the remote repositories.

The repositories that urpmi.update synchronizes with are defined in the URPMI configuration files. The primary configuration file is typically located at /etc/urpmi/urpmi.cfg, with additional repository definitions often found in individual files within the /etc/urpmi/urpmi.d/ directory. Users can manage these repositories (add, remove, enable, disable) using commands like urpmi.addmedia and urpmi.removemedia.

The urpmi package management system, including utilities like urpmi.update, was originally developed for Mandrake Linux (later Mandriva Linux) as an alternative to RPM's native tools. It aimed to provide a more user-friendly and automated dependency resolution system. urpmi.update emerged as a convenient wrapper script to simplify the process of refreshing all repository metadata, a common task in system maintenance. It continues to be an integral part of Mageia Linux, a distribution forked from Mandriva.

urpmi(8), urpmi.addmedia(8), urpmi.removemedia(8), urpme(8), urpmq(8)