How to Install an RPM Package on a WHM Server

This guide needs root access. Root is the main admin login. VPS and dedicated server owners have it.

What is an RPM package?

An RPM is a file that holds a program and the instructions to install it. It works on Linux systems such as CentOS, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux and Red Hat. It is like an installer you double-click on a computer, but you run it with a command.

Old WHM versions had an Install a RPM page in the Software menu. Newer versions do not. The command line works on all of them.

Before you start

Take a backup or a server snapshot.
Only install files from sources you trust. A bad package can harm your server.
Make sure the package fits your system version.

Steps

Log in to the server by SSH as root. SSH is a way to type commands on a server from your computer.
Go to a folder for downloads.
```
cd /root
```
This moves you to the root user's home folder.
Download the package if you do not have it yet. Replace the address with the real one.
```
wget https://example.com/package.rpm
```
This saves the file on the server.
Install it with yum, which also installs anything else it needs.
```
yum localinstall package.rpm -y
```
This installs the file and the extra parts it depends on. On newer systems, use dnf localinstall package.rpm -y.
Check that it is there.
```
rpm -qa | grep package
```
This lists installed packages that match the name.

Tip: You can also run rpm -ivh package.rpm. It installs the file but does not fetch missing parts for you.

Remove a package

yum remove package -y

This removes the program. Make sure nothing else needs it first.

Common problems

Failed dependencies means other parts are missing. Use yum localinstall to fix it.
Package already installed means you have it. Use yum update to upgrade.
A cPanel server may block some packages. cPanel keeps a list of excluded ones.

Quick recap

An RPM is an installer file for Linux.
Use yum localinstall file.rpm over SSH as root.
Back up first and trust the source.