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DNF Package Manager, An Overview
Longtime PCLinuxOS users are probably aware that our distribution uses RPM packages but employs its own package management system called apt-rpm, which is a version of apt (Advanced Packaging Tool) modified to work with the RPM package manager. apt-rpm also integrates well with the Synaptic front end.
Since apt is no longer actively maintained, Texstar and the development team have discussed the possibility of DNF replacing apt (and its GUI front end, Synaptic). Although nothing official has been announced yet — and there is no time frame for when this change might occur — PCLinuxOS is gradually moving towards DNF as the package manager.
As part of this transition, Upgreyed and Texstar have developed a homegrown PCLinuxOS program: the DNF Package Manager. This new program is now included with all of the official 2025.08 ISOs — KDE Plasma, Xfce, and MATE — as the default package manager (rather than Synaptic). I wrote this article to provide an overview of DNF Package Manager, in case you would like to experiment with it.