`dnf` doesn't install suggested anymore?

Ask Fedora Ask in English
1

https://discussion.fedoraproject.org/t/which-kind-of-dependencies-suggested-recommended-does-dnf-install/74111 says suggested packages should be installed by default.

~ cat /etc/dnf/dnf.conf 
# see `man dnf.conf` for defaults and possible options

[main]
gpgcheck=True
installonly_limit=3
clean_requirements_on_remove=True
best=False
skip_if_unavailable=True

So when installing neovim, dnf should fetch python3-neovim as well.

~ sudo dnf repoquery --tree --suggests neovim       
Last metadata expiration check: 0:23:19 ago on Fri 24 Jun 2022 09:54:23 AM +03.
neovim-0:0.7.0-1.fc36.x86_64
 \_ python3-neovim-0:0.4.3-4.fc36.noarch [4: python3.10dist(greenlet), neovim, python(abi) = 3.10, python3.10dist(msgpack) >= 0.5]
neovim-0:0.6.1-3.fc36.x86_64
 \_ python3-neovim-0:0.4.3-4.fc36.noarch [4: python3.10dist(greenlet), neovim, python(abi) = 3.10, python3.10dist(msgpack) >= 0.5]

But that doesn’t happen.

~ sudo dnf info python3-neovim --installed   
Error: No matching Packages to list
~ sudo dnf install neovim 
Last metadata expiration check: 0:25:41 ago on Fri 24 Jun 2022 09:54:23 AM +03.
Dependencies resolved.
==========================================================================================================================================================================
 Package                                     Architecture                        Version                                       Repository                            Size
==========================================================================================================================================================================
Installing:
 neovim                                      x86_64                              0.7.0-1.fc36                                  updates                              5.6 M
Installing dependencies:
 libtermkey                                  x86_64                              0.22-2.fc36                                   fedora                                29 k
 libtree-sitter                              x86_64                              0.20.6-1.fc36                                 updates                               96 k
 libvterm                                    x86_64                              0.2-3.fc36                                    fedora                                42 k
 luajit2.1-luv                               x86_64                              1.43.0.0-1.fc36                               updates                               72 k
 msgpack                                     x86_64                              3.1.0-9.fc36                                  fedora                                30 k
 unibilium                                   x86_64                              2.1.1-2.fc36                                  fedora                                36 k

Transaction Summary
==========================================================================================================================================================================
Install  7 Packages
2

Recommends / Supplements are considered weak dependencies.

Suggests / Enhances are hint.

https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/packaging-guidelines/WeakDependencies/#_introduction

1 Like
3

So the answer given by @ankursinha is wrong.

dnf by default installs weak-Recommends: dependencies, and ignores weak-Suggests:.

neovim starts with some not very clear errors if python3-neovim (which is ignored suggested) is not installed. Docs could also explain how to actually trigger dnf to install suggested.

4

No, that post is correct. The documentation is a bit confusing.

The definition at the beginning includes

They come in two strengths: “weak” and “hint”

Then later

Hints are by default ignored by dnf. They may be used by GUI tools to offer add-on packages that are not installed by default but might be useful in combination with the installed packages. The requirements of the main use cases of a package should not merely be referenced by hints but included by strong or weak dependencies.

neovim starts with some not very clear errors if python3-neovim (which is ignored suggested) is not installed.

Please file a bug for this, How to file a bug :: Fedora Docs

Thanks.

2 Likes
5

I am tired of filling bugs. I guess the ratio of positive feedback from this activity is much lower than the noise I get about bugs that will be closed with no attention because the new Fedora is released. The reporting process could also be automated with tools likeubuntu-bug or https://wiki.debian.org/reportbug but it is still a manual process.

6

In that context the documentation is wrong then to define hint dependencies as weak dependencies.