Which DNF commands do you use to find and inspect packages?

dnf search finds packages by keyword, dnf info shows details, dnf list enumerates installed/available, and dnf provides tells you which package would supply a given file.

Before installing, you usually need to discover — these are read-only query commands against the repositories:

dnf search "web server"          # find candidates by topic
dnf info httpd                   # inspect before installing
dnf provides /var/www/html       # → httpd-filesystem
dnf list "*http*"                # everything matching a pattern

The standout is dnf provides: it answers "I need this file (or command) — what do I install to get it?" — even for files you don't have yet, since it queries the repo metadata. It accepts wildcards, e.g. dnf provides "*/httpd.conf".

Contrast with rpm -qf: rpm -qf works only on files already installed on your system; dnf provides searches the whole repository, including packages you haven't installed. Use the former to investigate the current system, the latter to plan what to install.

Go deeper:

• DNF command reference — search, info, list, and provides.