RPM files are specialized compressed archives, loosely based on the cpio archive format.
RPM Contents
- Metadata
- A list of capabilities the package provides
- A list of dependencies the package requires
- Packager, build date, license, summary, description, ...
- Changelog
- Checksum, path, file size, timestamp, and permissions for each file
- Digital signature
- Software
- Data
- Fonts
- Icons
- Game levels
- Sample data
- (etc)
- Documentation - including manpages, info documents, and files in /usr/share/doc
- Configuration files
- Setup scriptlets - short scripts run when software is installed/removed.
- Pre-install (pre) - executed before installation
- Post-install (post) - executed after installation
- Pre-uninstall (preun) - executed before installation
- Post-uninstall (postun) - executed after uninstallation
- Triggers - scripts executed when other packages are installed/removed (deprecated)
Source RPM (SRPM) Contents
- Metadata
- Source files
- Tarballs or zip archives
- Source files and data files
- Patches
- Spec file - containing build instructions