6 Finishing the upgrade #

Use zypper packages to check for orphaned and unneeded packages.

Orphaned Packages are no longer available in any of the configured package repositories. The can no longer get updated and become unsupported.

For a list of orphaned packages, run:

> zypper packages --orphaned

Unneeded packages are dependencies of packages that have been installed either explicitly by the user or implicitly as part a pattern or product, and that have been removed in the meantime. They are usually no longer needed and should be removed, too.

For a list of unneeded packages, run:

> zypper packages --unneeded

Tip

To avoid unneeded packages, use zypper rm with the --clean-deps option or YaST with Options › Clean up when deleting packages enabled.

You can combine both lists into one:

> zypper packages --orphaned --unneeded

Use these lists to determine which packages are still needed and which can be safely removed.

Warning: Do not remove packages you need

If packages get renamed, or removed from a pattern or product, zypper may no longer consider them explicitly installed and mark them as unneeded, even though they are still crucial for your installation.

Carefully review the list of packages you are removing.

To remove all orphaned and unneeded packages with a single command, run:

> sudo zypper rm $(zypper --no-refresh packages --orphaned --unneeded | gawk '{print $5}' | tail -n +5)

Exclude a single package or pattern from being uninstalled:

> sudo zypper rm $(zypper --no-refresh packages --orphaned --unneeded | gawk '{print $5}' | tail -n +5 | grep -v PACKAGE_TO_EXCLUDE)

Exclude multiple packages defined in a text file, separated by a newline:

> sudo zypper rm $(zypper --no-refresh packages --orphaned --unneeded | gawk '{print $5}' | tail -n +5 | grep -v -f /PACKAGES/TO/KEEP.txt)

Check for any *.rpmnew and *.rpmsave files. When an upgrade includes changes to a default configuration file that has been altered after package installation, instead of overwriting the file, one of these file types is created. While *.rpmnew contains the new default configuration and leaves your altered file untouched, *.rpmsave is a copy of your altered configuration that has been replaced by the new default file.

If you find any of these files, examine their content and merge desirable changes. You do not need to search the whole file system but only the /etc directory. Use the following command:

> find /etc/ -name "*.rpmnew" -o -name "*.rpmsave"