PackageKit Frequently Asked Questions

This page is for historical reference only. Much of this information does not apply to other releases beyond Fedora 9

Generic questions

• Please see http://www.packagekit.org/pk-faq.html for the most up to date list

Fedora specific questions

What's the status of GPG key import?

The decision to use PackageKit over pup or pirut in Fedora was taken only very late in the Fedora 9 planning process. At the time the decision was made, PackageKit had just branched for 0.2.x. 0.1.x was in bugfix and trivial fix mode, with no new features allowed. GPG key signing was pretty broken on F9 for a few months.

Now 0.2.x is in F9, and 0.3.x is in F10, and 0.4.x is in rawhide, all the GPG key issues are now fixed. Please open bugs if you have problems.

Why can't I install multiple packages with pkcon, gpk-install-package or system-install-packages?

If you use Fedora 10 or later, you can.

Why can't I install multiple packages with 0.1.x or 0.2.x?

We are looking for input on how the user interface should look like. Jump on the PackageKit mailing list if you have any ideas.

What about group installations ?

If you use Fedora 10 or later, this works. See the package collections section.

system-install-packages and gpk-install-file do not work when run as the root user!

GTK+ tools should not be run as root. Any GTK+ program run as the root user is a massive security hole -- GTK+ just isn't designed with this in mind. There are numerous attack vectors when running as root, and so we shouldn't be letting programs do such insane, insecure things.

PackageKit is fully compliant with PolicyKit, which offers easy authentication for regular user accounts to perform authorized system administration tasks like software installation. PolicyKit provides a dialog into which a user can provide the root password, and even hold this authorization permanently so the dialog is not required again later. Logging in as root is not necessary to install packages.

PackageKit won't work without NetworkManager

To continue using PackageKit without NetworkManager, edit /etc/PackageKit/PackageKit.conf and change the following value:

UseNetworkManager=false

PackageKit won't work with my proxy server

Short answer: If you set this in the "Network Proxy" capplet in GNOME then it should just work. If you need to make manual changes then change the values in /etc/PackageKit/PackageKit.conf

List of issues filed

• https://bugzilla.redhat.com/buglist.cgi?product=Fedora&version=9&component=gnome-packagekit&bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=NEEDINFO&bug_status=MODIFIED&short_desc_type=allwordssubstr&short_desc=&long_desc_type=allwordssubstr&long_desc=