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.TH "RPMDB" "8" "2026\-08\-31" "RPM 6.1.0"
.PP
.SH NAME
rpmdb \- RPM Database Tool
.PP
.SH SYNOPSIS
\fBrpmdb\fR [options] {\fB\-\-initdb\fR|\fB\-\-rebuilddb\fR}
.PP
\fBrpmdb\fR [options] {\fB\-\-verifydb\fR}
.PP
\fBrpmdb\fR [options] {\fB\-\-exportdb\fR|\fB\-\-importdb\fR}
.PP
.SH DESCRIPTION
The \fBrpmdb\fR is used for \fBrpm\fR database maintenance operations.\&
.PP
.SH OPERATIONS
\fB\-\-initdb\fR
.RS 4
Create a new database if one doesn'\&t already exist.\& An
existing database is not overwritten.\&
.PP
.RE
\fB\-\-rebuilddb\fR
.RS 4
Rebuild database from the installed package headers.\&
Rebuilding discards any unreadable (corrupt) headers
from the database, but also compacts the database in
case it has grown large over time.\&
.PP
Can also be used to convert between different \fBrpmdb\fR
formats.\&
.PP
.RE
\fB\-\-verifydb\fR
.RS 4
Perform a low\-level integrity check on the database.\&
Rarely useful, for system health \fBrpm \-\-verify \-a\fR is a far more
meaningful operation.\&
.PP
.RE
\fB\-\-exportdb\fR
.RS 4
Export the database in header\-list format, suitable
for transporting to another host or database type.\&
The data is output to standard output.\&
.PP
.RE
\fB\-\-importdb\fR
.RS 4
Imports a database from a header\-list format as created
by \fB\-\-exportdb\fR.\& The data is read from standard input.\&
.PP
.RE
.SH OPTIONS
See \fBrpm\-common\fR(8) for the options common to all \fBrpm\fR executables.\&
.PP
.SH CONFIGURATION
There are several configurables affecting the rpmdb operations,
but in particular the following (see \fBrpm\-config\fR(5) for details):
.PD 0
.IP \(bu 4
\fB%_dbpath\fR
.IP \(bu 4
\fB%_db_backend\fR
.PD
.PP
.SH EXIT STATUS
On success, 0 is returned, a nonzero failure code otherwise.\&
.PP
.SH EXAMPLES
\fBrpmdb \-\-initdb \-\-dbpath /tmp/testdb\fR
.RS 4
Initialize a new database in \fI/tmp/testdb\fR directory.\&
.PP
.RE
\fBrpmdb \-\-rebuilddb\fR
.RS 4
Rebuild the system rpmdb.\&
.PP
.RE
\fBrpmdb \-\-verifydb \-\-root /mnt\fR
.RS 4
Verify the system database of a system image mounted
at \fI/mnt\fR.\&
.PP
.RE
\fBrpmdb \-\-exportdb > /tmp/headers\fR
.RS 4
Export the system database to \fI/tmp/headers\fR file.\&
.PP
.RE
\fBrpmdb \-\-importdb \-\-define "_db_backend ndb" \-\-dbpath /tmp/newdb < /tmp/headers\fR
.RS 4
Import contents of \fI/tmp/headers\fR header list to a (new)
\fBndb\fR\-format database in \fI/tmp/newdb\fR.\&
.PP
.RE
.SH OPTIONS
See \fBrpm\-common\fR(8) for the options common to all operations.\&
.PP
.SH SEE ALSO
\fBpopt\fR(3), \fBrpm\fR(8), \fBrpm\-common\fR(8)
.PP
\fBrpmdb \-\-help\fR \- as \fBrpm\fR(8) supports customizing the options via popt
aliases it'\&s impossible to guarantee that what'\&s described in the
manual matches what'\&s available.\&
.PP
\fBhttp://www.\&rpm.\&org/\fR