How to Install EPEL Repo on RHEL, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, CentOS Stream and Oracle Linux

EPEL (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux) adds community-maintained packages on top of the base Enterprise Linux repositories. The install path depends on your distribution and major version—RHEL uses Subscription Manager or a cloud provider's Red Hat Update Infrastructure (RHUI) together with CodeReady Linux Builder, Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux install epel-release from their distribution repositories and use CRB or PowerTools to satisfy dependencies, CentOS Stream 9 also uses EPEL Next, and Oracle Linux provides its own EPEL mirror packages.

EPEL packaging policy is designed to complement Enterprise Linux repositories rather than replace packages provided by the base distribution. EPEL is community-supported; Red Hat describes it as outside normal RHEL production support scope.

Tested on: Rocky Linux 10.2 (Red Quartz); kernel 6.12.0-211.16.1.el10_2.0.1.x86_64.

EPEL installation commands by distribution

Use this table as a map, then follow the detailed steps for your distribution.

The sections below walk through each row with verification commands you can run on your host.

What is the EPEL repository?

EPEL means Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux. The Fedora community maintains it, and it ships software that is not in the standard AppStream or BaseOS repositories—monitoring agents, network utilities, and development tools are common examples.

Packages are built for a specific Enterprise Linux major version. An EPEL 8 package expects EL8 libraries; EPEL 10 expects EL10. That is why installing the wrong epel-release build breaks dependency resolution even when the install command itself succeeds.

EPEL follows packaging guidelines intended to avoid replacing base distribution packages. In practice you should still read changelogs and test updates in a non-production environment, because community packages do not carry the same support contract as RHEL content.

Check your Linux distribution and version

Before you download a release RPM or enable a repository, confirm the Enterprise Linux major version and CPU architecture.

cat /etc/os-release

Sample output:

NAME="Rocky Linux"
VERSION="10.2 (Red Quartz)"
ID="rocky"
VERSION_ID="10.2"
PLATFORM_ID="platform:el10"

The PLATFORM_ID or VERSION_ID major number must match the EPEL branch you install. EPEL 8 on EL9—or EL10 packages on EL8—leads to metadata errors or unsatisfiable dependencies.

rpm -E %rhel prints the Enterprise Linux major version:

rpm -E %rhel

Sample output:

10

The result identifies the Enterprise Linux major version. Use it to confirm that you are installing the matching EPEL release package—for example, EPEL 10 on an EL10 host.

EPEL 10 repository configuration can also account for the Enterprise Linux minor version internally. Do not manually replace $releasever, $releasever_major, or $releasever_minor in the generated EPEL repository files.

Check architecture because repository paths include $basearch:

uname -m

Sample output:

x86_64

aarch64 and other architectures use the same EPEL branches but different mirror paths. If a package is missing, confirm it was built for your architecture in the EPEL branch you enabled.

Install EPEL repository on RHEL-based Linux

Pick the subsection that matches your distribution. Before installing software from EPEL, verify that the matching dependency repository—CodeReady Linux Builder, CRB, PowerTools, or the Oracle equivalent—is enabled. Repository commands in this guide use the dnf command with config-manager, repolist, and install.

The epel-release package itself can often be installed before the dependency repository is enabled, but EPEL packages may fail with unresolved dependencies until the required Enterprise Linux repository is available.

dnf install dnf-plugins-core

Install EPEL on RHEL 8, 9, and 10

Confirm that the host is registered with Red Hat Subscription Management:

subscription-manager identity

A registered system returns its system identity, name, organization, and organization ID.

List the currently enabled repositories:

subscription-manager repos --list-enabled

Do not treat Overall Status: Disabled from subscription-manager status as a registration failure when Simple Content Access is enabled—that output is normal on many current RHEL subscriptions.

Enable the CodeReady Linux Builder repository matching the RHEL major version and system architecture.

For RHEL 10:

subscription-manager repos \
  --enable "codeready-builder-for-rhel-10-$(arch)-rpms"

For RHEL 9:

subscription-manager repos \
  --enable "codeready-builder-for-rhel-9-$(arch)-rpms"

For RHEL 8:

subscription-manager repos \
  --enable "codeready-builder-for-rhel-8-$(arch)-rpms"

dnf repolist all | grep -i codeready

dnf config-manager --set-enabled codeready-builder-for-rhel-9-rhui-rpms

Install the Fedora EPEL release package for your major version with dnf so dependencies and GPG keys are handled in one transaction. For RHEL 10:

dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-10.noarch.rpm

Use epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm or epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm on RHEL 8 or RHEL 9 respectively. Fedora publishes updated builds at the same permalink pattern; you do not need a minor-version-specific filename such as epel-release-10-3.

Install EPEL on Rocky Linux

Rocky Linux 8 names the dependency repository powertools. Rocky Linux 9 and 10 use crb (CodeReady Builder).

Enable the dependency repository. On Rocky Linux 10:

dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb

On Rocky Linux 8 you would run dnf config-manager --set-enabled powertools instead.

Confirm CRB is available:

dnf repolist --enabled | grep -i crb

Sample output:

crb                       Rocky Linux 10 - CRB

Install epel-release from Rocky Extras:

dnf install epel-release

If DNF reports no match for epel-release, check that Extras is enabled:

dnf repolist all | grep -i extras

Enable it when needed:

dnf config-manager --set-enabled extras

Then retry dnf install epel-release.

Install EPEL on AlmaLinux

The pattern matches Rocky Linux: PowerTools on AlmaLinux 8, CRB on AlmaLinux 9 and 10.

Verify whether CRB or PowerTools is already enabled:

dnf repolist --enabled

Enable the dependency repository only when it is missing from that list. On AlmaLinux 9 or 10:

dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb

On AlmaLinux 8:

dnf config-manager --set-enabled powertools

Install the release package:

dnf install epel-release

Some AlmaLinux epel-release builds enable helper repositories during install. Still verify CRB or PowerTools explicitly with dnf repolist --enabled before you install packages that need development headers.

dnf install epel-release

Install EPEL on CentOS Stream

CentOS Stream is not identical to RHEL-compatible rebuilds. Fedora documents separate guidance for Stream 9.

On CentOS Stream 9, enable CRB, then install standard EPEL and EPEL Next:

dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb

dnf install epel-release epel-next-release

EPEL Next carries rebuilds tied to newer libraries on Stream. Do not install epel-next-release on RHEL, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, or Oracle Linux unless distribution documentation explicitly tells you to.

On CentOS Stream 10, enable CRB and install standard EPEL only:

dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb

dnf install epel-release

Install EPEL on Oracle Linux

Oracle Linux ships its own EPEL mirror rather than reusing the Rocky epel-release workflow.

Install the release package for your major version:

dnf install oracle-epel-release-el10

Use oracle-epel-release-el8 or oracle-epel-release-el9 on Oracle Linux 8 or 9.

Enable the Oracle CodeReady Builder repository matching your release.

Oracle Linux 10:

dnf config-manager --set-enabled ol10_codeready_builder

Oracle Linux 9:

dnf config-manager --set-enabled ol9_codeready_builder

Oracle Linux 8:

dnf config-manager --set-enabled ol8_codeready_builder

List the available Oracle EPEL repository IDs:

dnf repolist all | grep -i epel

Enable the exact ID shown on your host. For example:

dnf config-manager --set-enabled ol10_developer_EPEL

Minor-version-specific EPEL repository IDs can also appear, particularly on Oracle Linux 10, so inspect the locally configured IDs rather than assuming a fixed name.

Oracle's mirror contains selected EPEL packages. If dnf repoquery cannot find a package that exists on Fedora EPEL, it may simply not be mirrored on Oracle Linux. Oracle does not promise a complete byte-for-byte mirror of every Fedora EPEL package.

dnf repolist all | grep -i epel

Verify that EPEL is installed and enabled

After installation, confirm DNF sees the repository and the release package is on disk.

List enabled repositories:

dnf repolist --enabled

Filter for EPEL:

dnf repolist --enabled | grep -i epel

Sample output on Rocky Linux 10:

epel                      Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 10 - x86_64

Confirm the release RPM is installed:

rpm -q epel-release

Sample output on Rocky Linux 10.2:

epel-release-10-8.el10_2.noarch

On Oracle Linux, query the Oracle release package instead—for example rpm -q oracle-epel-release-el10.

Inspect repository metadata:

dnf repoinfo epel

Sample output:

Repo-id            : epel
Repo-name          : Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 10 - x86_64
Repo-status        : enabled
Repo-filename      : /etc/yum.repos.d/epel.repo

On Oracle Linux, expect repository IDs such as ol8_developer_EPEL, ol9_developer_EPEL, or ol10_developer_EPEL instead of plain epel.

Review the files the release package dropped:

ls -l /etc/yum.repos.d/

Sample output:

-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 1612 Jul 10 10:33 epel.repo
-rw-r--r--. 1 root root 1714 Nov 19  2025 epel-testing.repo

List all paths owned by the release package:

rpm -ql epel-release

Sample output:

/etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-EPEL-10
/etc/yum.repos.d/epel.repo
/etc/yum.repos.d/epel-testing.repo
/usr/bin/crb

On Oracle Linux, use rpm -ql oracle-epel-release-el10 (or the matching EL8/EL9 package name) instead.

Search and install packages from EPEL

Limit the search to EPEL so you know which packages come from that repository:

dnf --disablerepo='*' --enablerepo='epel' list available htop

Sample output:

Available Packages
htop.x86_64                         3.3.0-5.el10_0                          epel

Query a specific package name:

dnf repoquery --repoid=epel htop

Sample output:

htop-0:3.3.0-5.el10_0.x86_64

Install when you are satisfied with the version and origin:

dnf install htop

After installation, dnf info shows which repository supplied the package:

dnf info htop

Sample output for an installed package:

Name         : htop
Version      : 3.3.0
From repo    : epel

On systems using DNF 4, list installed packages associated with EPEL:

dnf repository-packages epel list --installed

Sample output:

Installed Packages
htop.x86_64                                      3.3.0-5.el10_0            @epel

On systems using DNF 5, the equivalent list-style command is documented in DNF 4 vs DNF 5:

dnf5 list --installed-from-repo=epel

On Oracle Linux, replace epel with the configured Oracle EPEL repository ID.

Enable or disable EPEL temporarily

You can scope EPEL to a single transaction without editing /etc/yum.repos.d/epel.repo:

dnf --enablerepo=epel install htop

Skip EPEL during an update while leaving the repository installed:

dnf --disablerepo=epel update

To disable EPEL by default but keep the configuration on disk:

dnf config-manager --set-disabled epel

Re-enable it later:

dnf config-manager --set-enabled epel

Temporary --enablerepo and --disablerepo flags affect only the current command. config-manager --set-disabled changes the persistent enabled= setting in the repo file. On Oracle Linux, substitute the configured developer_EPEL repository ID for epel in each command.

Troubleshoot common EPEL repository errors

No match for argument: epel-release

Confirm the distribution and Enterprise Linux major version:

cat /etc/os-release

rpm -E %rhel

On Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux, confirm that the extras repository is enabled because it provides the epel-release package:

dnf repolist all | grep -i extras

On RHEL, dnf install epel-release may return No match for argument because the package is not provided by the standard RHEL repositories. Install the matching release RPM from Fedora as shown in the RHEL section:

dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-10.noarch.rpm

Replace 10 with 8 or 9 for the corresponding RHEL major version. Also confirm that the RHEL BaseOS and AppStream repositories are enabled.

Fedora's official guidance uses the release RPM for RHEL, while Rocky Linux provides epel-release through Extras.

Package requires a dependency that cannot be installed

Enable the dependency repository for your major version:

Then run dnf install again.

Failed to download metadata for repo epel

Refresh metadata:

dnf clean metadata

Force DNF to refresh only the EPEL metadata:

dnf --refresh makecache --repo=epel

On Oracle Linux, replace epel with the configured Oracle EPEL repository ID.

Confirm that the Fedora mirror host resolves:

getent hosts mirrors.fedoraproject.org

Any valid address returned by getent confirms that the hostname resolves. No output indicates a DNS or name-service problem.

Inspect the repository and metalink configuration:

dnf repoinfo -v epel

If metadata refresh still fails, check DNS, proxy settings, TLS certificates, firewall rules, and system time. A curl -I request against a Fedora mirror may return redirects or other valid responses depending on your network path—it does not by itself prove that DNF can read EPEL metadata. Do not edit $releasever, $releasever_major, or $releasever_minor manually in epel.repo as a routine fix.

GPG key verification failed

For standard Fedora EPEL installations, confirm that the release RPM came from Fedora or your distribution's official repositories. Inspect the configured repository and GPG key:

grep -E '^\[|^gpgkey=|^gpgcheck=' /etc/yum.repos.d/epel*.repo

ls -l /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-EPEL-*

Reinstall the release package if the repository file or key is missing:

dnf reinstall epel-release

On Oracle Linux, inspect the files installed by the Oracle release package instead:

rpm -ql oracle-epel-release-el10

Then inspect the gpgkey= setting in the Oracle EPEL repository file returned by that command.

Do not permanently disable signature verification with gpgcheck=0.

Oracle uses its own release packages and developer_EPEL repositories, which mirror selected EPEL packages.

Package not found in EPEL

Not every Fedora package is ported to EPEL. Branches differ across EPEL 8, 9, and 10. Oracle's mirror is a subset. Packages are retired over time. Search with dnf --disablerepo='*' --enablerepo='epel' list available or dnf repoquery --repoid=epel instead of assuming parity with Fedora Rawhide or another EPEL major version.

Remove the EPEL repository

Before removing the repository configuration, review the installed packages associated with EPEL.

On systems using DNF 4:

dnf repository-packages epel list --installed

On systems using DNF 5:

dnf5 list --installed-from-repo=epel

On Oracle Linux, replace epel with the configured Oracle EPEL repository ID.

After reviewing the installed packages, remove the Fedora EPEL release package:

dnf remove epel-release

Removing epel-release disables access to the repository but does not uninstall packages previously installed from it. Blindly removing every package that originated from EPEL can break applications that depend on EPEL libraries.

On Oracle Linux, remove the matching Oracle release package instead:

dnf remove oracle-epel-release-el10

Use oracle-epel-release-el8 or oracle-epel-release-el9 for the corresponding Oracle Linux release.

Conclusion

Match the EPEL release package to your Enterprise Linux major version, enable CodeReady Linux Builder / CRB / PowerTools (or the Oracle equivalent) before you install dependent packages, and verify the repository with dnf repolist and dnf repoinfo before you rely on EPEL in production. Treat EPEL as community-maintained software and validate it against your support and change-management requirements.

For related repository work on RPM-based hosts, see download an RPM and dependencies with DNF when you need offline copies.