7.2.5 Verifying

 

Verifying a package compares information about files installed from a package with the same information from the original package. Among other things, verifying compares the size, MD5 sum, permissions, type, owner and group of each file.

rpm -V verifies a package. You can use any of the Package Selection Options listed for querying to specify the packages you wish to verify. A simple use is rpm -V foo which verifies that all the files in the foo package are as they were when they were originally installed. For example:

• To verify a package containing particular file:

  rpm -Vf /bin/vi
  

• To verify ALL installed packages:

  rpm -Va
  

• To verify an installed package against an RPM package file:

  rpm -Vp foo-1.0-1.i386.rpm
  

  This can be useful if you suspect that your RPM databases are corrupt.

If everything verified properly there will be no output. If there are any discrepancies they will be displayed. The format of the output is a string of 8 characters, a possible ``c'' denoting a configuration file, and then the file name. Each of the 8 characters denotes the result of a comparison of one attribute of the file to the value of that attribute recorded in the RPM database. A single ``.'' (period) means the test passed. The following characters denote failure of certain tests:

5

MD5 checksum

S

File size

L

Symbolic link

T

File modification time

D

Device

U

User

G

Group

M

Mode (includes permissions and file type)

If you see any output, use your best judgment to determine if you should remove or reinstall the package, or somehow fix the problem.