Skip to content
Rocky Linux Community Docs
Rocky Linux
Docs networkNetwork
Search Rocky Linux

    Browse this documentation

    Roll back a dnf transaction on Rocky Linux 9 (tested)

    When to use it

    Section titled “When to use it”

    Installed the wrong package, the wrong version, or removed a dependency by accident? On Rocky, the first move is not “install it back” — it is looking at dnf’s transaction history. DNF records every install, removal and upgrade as a transaction with an ID, and undo can reverse one of them.

    Test scope

    Section titled “Test scope”

    What was actually executed here: installing tree, dnf history list, dnf -y history undo 1, dnf -y history undo 2 and dnf history info 1 in a rockylinux:9 container (Rocky 9.3, dnf 4.14.0). Rocky 9.8 ships dnf 4.20; column widths may differ and that version was not tested here. Everything else (how rollback behaves, failures when a version is unavailable) comes from the DNF documentation and is labelled as such. Raw log: plans/content-expansion/evidence/logs/rocky-dnf-history-rollback.log.

    What the transaction history looks like

    Section titled “What the transaction history looks like”

    Install a package to create something you can roll back:

    Terminal window
    dnf -y install tree
    rpm -q tree
    dnf history list
    ID     | Command line             | Date and time    | Action(s)      | Altered
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         1 | -y install tree          | 2026-10-18 13:22 | Install        |    1

    The ID is the number you pass to undo; Altered is how many packages the transaction touched.

    Reverse the transaction

    Section titled “Reverse the transaction”
    Terminal window
    dnf -y history undo 1
    rpm -q tree
    Removed:
      tree-1.8.0-10.el9.aarch64
    Complete!
    

    package tree is not installed

    undo reverses the transaction: transaction 1 installed exactly one package, so the undo removes that package. It does not restore a point-in-time snapshot — it only handles the packages in that transaction.

    The undo is itself a transaction

    Section titled “The undo is itself a transaction”
    ID     | Command line             | Date and time    | Action(s)      | Altered
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         2 | -y history undo 1        | 2026-10-18 13:22 | Removed        |    1
         1 | -y install tree          | 2026-10-18 13:22 | Install        |    1

    That is useful: the undo can be undone. If you reverse the wrong transaction, dnf history undo 2 puts it back. Transaction 1 never leaves the history.

    undo or rollback?

    Section titled “undo or rollback?”
    SituationUseWhy
    Just installed the wrong packagednf history undo <ID>Reverses only that transaction — smallest blast radius
    Several upgrades back-to-back and you want to go back as a wholednf history rollback <ID>Returns to the state after that transaction, reversing everything that came later
    You only want to see what a transaction diddnf history info <ID>Changes nothing — inspect before you decide

    Both commands only cover packages managed by DNF.

    What undo cannot bring back

    Section titled “What undo cannot bring back”

    Before starting services again, check at least three things:

    • Configuration files: /etc files created or overwritten by the package are not restored;
    • Service state: systemctl enable symlinks are not part of a DNF transaction;
    • Data directories: databases, application data and logs are untouched by undo.

    FAQ

    Section titled “FAQ”

    常见问题

    Can `dnf history undo` revert configuration file changes?

    No. undo only reverses the packages in the transaction (install/remove/upgrade); configuration files created or overwritten under /etc are not restored, and `systemctl enable` symlinks are not part of the transaction, so verify the configuration before starting services.

    Can the undo itself be undone?

    Yes. The undo is recorded as a new transaction (ID 2 in this test, action Removed); undoing ID 2 creates ID 3 (action Install) and reinstalls tree — as long as the package version can still be fetched.

    Why does undo fail with a missing package or version?

    Usually because a later upgrade replaced that version and the repository no longer offers it. undo then cannot reverse the transaction and DNF refuses it; run `dnf history info <ID>` to see which packages are involved, then fetch the version from a vault repository or handle it manually. rollback depends on the same version availability and is not a general cure.

    Next steps

    Section titled “Next steps”