What Is a .rpm File? .rpm Format, MIME & How to Open

Quick facts

Extension.rpm

File typeRPM Package

MIME typeapplication/x-redhat-package-manager

CategoryData & Text

Charset—

Compressible—

Format familyrpm

What is .rpm

What is a .rpm file?

A .rpm file is a RPM Package — Red Hat package manager software package.

In the mime-db registry it maps to application/x-redhat-package-manager. When serving .rpm over HTTP, set the Content-Type header as shown in Developer info below.

Related entities: it maps to application/x-redhat-package-manager — and is delivered over HTTP via the Content-Type header.

How to open .rpm files

Use dnf or rpm to open and edit .rpm files.
Any text editor (Notepad, VS Code) can inspect the raw content as text.

Developer info

When served over HTTP, responses should set the following header:

Content-Type: application/x-redhat-package-manager

Common software that reads/writes .rpm:

dnfrpm7-Zip

Relation chain

.rpmextension of

format

rpmserved as

mime type

application/x-redhat-package-managersent via header

http header

Related extensions

Related MIME types

application/x-redhat-package-manager

.rpm

Common uses

Configuration files
Data interchange between systems
API request and response payloads
Logs and data exports

How to edit .rpm files

Open the file with dnf, make your changes and save.
Most editors preserve the original formatting and encoding — avoid changing the charset.

How to create .rpm files

Create a new file and save it with the .rpm extension, or export this format from dnf.

Frequently asked questions

What programs can open .rpm files?

Common options include dnf, rpm, 7-Zip. You can also open many of these files with built-in viewers or a browser.

How do I create a .rpm file?

Create a new file in any text editor or the app that owns the format and save it with the .rpm extension.

What is the relationship between .rpm and the application/x-redhat-package-manager MIME type?

application/x-redhat-package-manager is the media type identifier used for .rpm files during network transfer (for example in the HTTP Content-Type header).

Sources & standards

Updated 2026-09-13

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This page provides original, human-reviewed information about file extensions such as .rpm, the File Extension Reference and related concepts. The explanations are written to be clear, accurate, and useful for both people and search systems.

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