How to Install Rocky Linux 8

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Rocky Linux is a CentOS clone created by Gregory Kurtzer, the founder of CentOS. Kurtzer announced the Rocky Linux project hours after the RHEL development team announced the end of support for CentOS 8 on December 31, 2021. The RHEL-based binary-compatible downstream version was released on June 21, 2021 Kurtzer named the cast after his late CentOS co-founder, tweeting, “Thinking back to the early days of CentOS… My co-founder Rocky McGaugh. He’s no longer with us, so as H/T for him, who has never seen the success that CentOS has become, I present to you… Rocky Linux.


Minimum system requirements for Rocky Linux

Here are the minimum system requirements to install Rocky Linux 8.5.

  • 2 GB of RAM or more
  • 20 GB or larger hard drive
  • 2 CPU / vCPU (1.1 GHz processor)
  • Internet connection (optional)
  • Bootable media (USB or DVD)

Related: What Is Rocky Linux And Should You Consider It?

Download Rocky Linux and create a USB drive

Follow these instructions to download Rocky Linux and create a bootable USB.

  1. Open your web browser and navigate to rockylinux.org/download.
  2. Click on Save file.
  3. Once the file is downloaded, create your bootable Rocky Linux USB drive from your machine. If you don’t know how to proceed, see below:
    1. Ways to Create Windows 11 Bootable USB
    2. How to Create a Bootable USB with Etcher on Linux
    3. How to Create and Boot From a Linux USB Drive on Mac

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Once the installation media has been created, you are ready to continue.

Rocky Linux Installation Instructions

Follow these instructions to successfully install Rocky Linux 8.5

  1. Insert the Rocky Linux bootable USB you created into your target PC/Laptop.
  2. Boot or reboot your machine to boot from the USB drive. Once the Rocky Linux splash screen appears, select Install Rocky Linux.
    Rocky Linux initial installation screen
  3. Click your preferred language when prompted and click Continue.
  4. In the Installation Summary window, select Install destination.
    Rocky Linux - Begin the installation.

    Choose your target hard drive and click Ended.

  5. To select Network and host name and connect to your network connection. Click on Ended.
    Rocky Linux - Select the installation source.  Choose your network and hostname.
  6. To select Install Source and choose your bootable Rocky Linux USB drive (if not already selected).
  7. To select Software selection and choose the desired base environment and additional software. Click on Ended once satisfied with your choices.
    Rocky Linux - Choose the software you want to install.
  8. To choose root password from Installation Summary the window. Enter and verify the desired password. Click on Ended.
  9. To select Create a user from Installation Summary the window. Enter the desired answers. Click on Ended.
    Rocky Linux - Create a new user.
  10. Please be patient while installing Rocky Linux on your laptop/PC.
  11. Once the installation is complete, click Restart the system. Remove the Rocky Linux bootable USB drive when prompted. hurry .
  12. .After the system restarts, click License Information to The initial setup the window.
  13. Read it License Agreementscroll down and tick I accept the license agreement. Click on Ended.
    Rocky Linux - Reboot and remove the USB drive when prompted.
  14. Click on Finish setup.


Rocky Linux Post Installation Procedures

You will have a few configuration steps to perform after first booting Rocky Linux.

  1. Log in to your Rocky Linux installation using the user (and password) you created earlier.
    Rocky Linux - Connect to your new Rocky Linux installation.
  2. After the system restarts, click License Information to The initial setup the window.
  3. Read it License agreementscroll down and tick I accept the license agreement. Click on Ended.
  4. Click on Finish setup.
  5. Login to your Rocky Linux installation.
    Rocky Linux - Connect to your new Rocky Linux installation.
  6. Choose the desired language in the welcome screen. Click on following.
  7. Repeat for the Typing screen. Click on following.
  8. At Private life screen, choose whether you want to enable or disable location services. Click on following.
    Rocky Linux - Choose which online accounts, if any, you want to add.
  9. Choose the online accounts you want to connect and enter your credentials, or click To jump.
  10. Click on Start using Rocky Linux.
    Rocky Linux - Click Start to start using Rocky Linux.
  11. Congratulations, you have successfully installed Rocky Linux 8 on your laptop/PC!


Whenever you install a new distro, your first order of action is to update your system to ensure that all security updates are applied, as well as software on OS updates . Launch your terminal and update your repositories with the following command (enter your root password if prompted):

# sudo yum check-update

After the yum check update complete, enter the following command to update your operating system and all installed software:

# sudo yum update

When the sudo update yum command completed, exit the terminal with the following command:

# exit

Increase Rocky Linux 8.5 DNF Speed

Dandified YUM, better known as DNF, is a software package manager for RPM-based Linux distributions that installs, updates, and removes packages. It was first introduced in Fedora 18 in a testable (i.e., technical preview) state, but it has been Fedora’s default package manager since Fedora 22. RPM (Red Hat Package Manager ) is also available as a package manager in Rocky Linux. Package managers allow Linux users to install, update, and remove software.


After installing, updating and upgrading your new Rocky 8.5 installation, it is recommended to increase your DNF speed. First save the dnf.conf file.

# sudo cp /etc/dnf/dnf.conf /etc/dnf/dnf.bak

Then modify the dnf.conf file:

# sudo nano /etc/dnf/dnf.conf

You can now increase DNF speed by adding parallel downloads by adding the following at the bottom of the dnf.conf file:

max_parallel_downloads=10

Note that 10 is the recommended setting for users to start with, but you can increase it to a different amount, such as 15, 20, etc. It is recommended to do this sparingly. To enable the fastest mirror, add this line below the max_parallel_downloads=10.

fastestmirror=True

Save update /etc/dnf.conf file and quit nano.

It is necessary to restart or restart all services, because these changes take effect immediately.

Migrating to Rocky Linux 8.5

Existing CentOS 8.5, Alma Linux 8.5, RHEL 8.5, or Oracle Linux 8.5 users can easily migrate to Rocky Linux using the following procedures.

First, download the Rocky Linux migration script. The safest way is to download the migration script via git.

Enter your terminal. Enter the following command to install git (enter the root password if prompted):

# sudo dnf install git

Next, clone the rocky-tools repository with the following command:

# sudo git clone https://github.com/rocky-linux/rocky-tools.git

You can also download the migration script via the curl command (although this is a less secure method):

# sudo curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rocky-linux/rocky-tools/main/migrate2rocky/migrate2rocky.sh -o migrate2rocky.sh

Now that you have the migration script, you can run it and start the migration. However, you must first give the owner permissions to execute the script file via the following command:

# sudo chmod u+x migrate2rocky.sh

Finally, we will run the script:

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# sudo ./migrate2rocky.sh -r

(Note that the ‘-r’ The option tells the script to install everything. Please wait while the migration script completes. When done, exit the terminal.

# exit

Rocky Linux is a rock-solid distro

Rocky Linux is a godsend for Linux enthusiasts, like me, who lament the loss of CentOS 8.0 and don’t like Fedora too much. The cast is the strongest I’ve seen as an introductory release. CentOS users upgrading to Rocky Linux will be pleasantly surprised by the distro’s familiar look. New Linux users will also have few problems navigating and browsing Rocky Linux.

The reaction from the Linux community has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive of the distribution. Shortly after the release of Rocky Linux, a subreddit, /r/RockyLinux was created and now has almost 6000 users.

Rocky Linux is really “the meow of the cat”. Rocky McGaugh would be proud.


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