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DNF5-NEEDS-RESTARTING(8) dnf5 DNF5-NEEDS-RESTARTING(8)

NAME

dnf5-needs-restarting - Needs-restarting Command

SYNOPSIS

dnf5 needs-restarting [-p | --processes [-e | --exclude-services]] [-s | --services] [-r | --reboothint] [--json]

DESCRIPTION

The needs-restarting command determines whether the system should be rebooted to fully apply changes from package installations and upgrades. Without any options, dnf5 needs-restarting will report whether any important packages were installed or upgraded since boot. This set of important packages includes the kernel, systemd, each package listed here: <https://access.redhat.com/solutions/27943>, and any package marked with a reboot_suggested advisory.

The needs-restarting command will exit with code 1 if a reboot is recommended, or, when invoked with --services, if any systemd service needs restarting. If no action is recommended, needs-restarting will exit with code 0.

OPTIONS

List processes that need restarting. If the package that provides the executable running, or any of its dependencies, have been updated since the process started, then restarting the process will be recommended.

Used with the -p, --processes option and will filter out any processes that are handled by systemd services.

List systemd services that need restarting. If the package that provides the service, or any of its dependencies, have been updated since the service started, then restarting the service will be recommended. Note that this approach is quite aggressive to recommend a restart when one may not be strictly necessary.

Has no effect, kept for compatibility with DNF 4. "dnf4 needs-restarting -r" provides the same functionality as "dnf5 needs-restarting".

Request JSON output format for machine-readable results.


JSON OUTPUT

•
dnf5 needs-restarting --json

The command returns a JSON array containing a single object with the reboot hint information. The object contains the following fields:

  • type (string) - Type of output, always "reboot".
  • reboot_required (boolean) - Whether a reboot is required.
  • packages (array of strings) - List of packages that were updated since boot-up.
  • documentation (string) - Link to documentation explaining the reboot requirement.



•
dnf5 needs-restarting --services --json

The command returns a JSON array of objects, each describing a systemd service that needs restarting. Each object contains the following fields:

  • type (string) - Type of output, always "unit".
  • unit (string) - Name of the systemd service.



•
dnf5 needs-restarting --processes --json

The command returns a JSON array of objects, each describing a running process that needs restarting. Each object contains the following fields:

  • type (string) - Type of output, always "process".
  • pid (integer) - Process ID.
  • cmdline (array of strings) - Command line of the process.
  • package (string) - Package providing the executable.



The --json option can be combined with --exclude-services when using --processes to filter out processes managed by systemd services (e.g. dnf5 needs-restarting --processes --exclude-services --json).

For empty results for services or processes, the commands return []. For reboot hints, even if no reboot is recommended, the command returns a JSON array containing a single object with reboot_required set to false, an empty array of packages, and the documentation link.

Author

See AUTHORS.md in dnf5 source distribution.

Copyright

Contributors to the dnf5 project.

April 23, 2026