Like RPM macros and settings, popt aliases are defined in a cascading set of files. The official RPM aliases are defined in /usr/lib/rpm/rpmpopt-4.1 for rpm 4.1.

Note

Do not modify this file! The RPM system depends on this file for proper functioning. Incorrect changes might disable many options to the rpm command.

Store per-system popt aliases in /etc/popt. Store per-user aliases in $HOME/.popt (with a leading period).

Note

These files are shared by all applications that use popt.

For example, you can define an alias for rpm -qa that executes faster than the normal query all packages command, by turning off the tests for digest signature verification. To do so, add the following line to a file named .popt in your home directory:

rpm alias --qall -qa --nodigest --nosignature

Once you set up this alias, you can run the following command in place of rpm -qa:

$ rpm --qall

This should execute about one-third to one-half faster than the normal rpm -qa command.

Warning

Turning off the signature and digest tests means you are ignoring important information that pertains to the integrity of your system. That is why the alias shown here does not override the normal -qa option, and instead defines a new --qall option