= Creating a DNF Repository Mirror
Rowan Puttergill; Fedora Documentation Team
:revnumber: F42 and newer
:revdate: 2026-05-10
:category: Administration
:tags: How-to, DNF, Repositories, Mirror

[abstract]
A local DNF repository mirror lets you serve Fedora package updates from your own infrastructure.
This is useful for organisations managing multiple Fedora systems, restricted or metered network environments, or testing updates on a staging system before rolling them out to production.

== Prerequisites

=== Disk space

Use `dnf repoinfo` to check the size of each repository you plan to mirror:

[source,bash,console]
----
$ dnf repoinfo fedora updates
----

The `Repodate Info: Size` fields in the output show the total package size for each repository.
Run the same command for any additional repositories you want to mirror, using `dnf repolist` to see available repository IDs.

NOTE: Repository size grows throughout a release lifecycle as updates accumulate. The `updates` repository in particular grows steadily from release day until end-of-life. Budget additional headroom beyond the initial estimate. Repositories can grow by up to 30% or more over the lifecycle of a release, so plan accordingly. 

=== Installing dnf5-plugins

The `dnf reposync` command comes from the `dnf5-plugins` package:

[source,bash,console]
----
$ sudo dnf install dnf5-plugins
----

=== An HTTP server

A web server is required to serve the mirrored content to other systems.
This guide uses Apache httpd, but nginx works equally well.

[source,bash,console]
----
$ sudo dnf install httpd
$ sudo systemctl enable --now httpd
----

== Syncing the repository

Use `dnf reposync` to download repository content to a local directory.
The following example syncs the `fedora` and `updates` repositories:

[source,bash,console]
----
$ sudo dnf reposync --repo=fedora --repo=updates --download-path=/var/www/html/mirror
----

To limit the sync to specific architectures and avoid downloading packages you do not need:

[source,bash,console]
----
$ sudo dnf reposync --repo=fedora --repo=updates --download-path=/var/www/html/mirror --arch=x86_64 --arch=noarch
----

To remove packages from the local mirror that are no longer present in the remote repository:

[source,bash,console]
----
$ sudo dnf reposync --repo=fedora --repo=updates --download-path=/var/www/html/mirror --delete
----

The synced content is now accessible at `http://localhost/mirror/`, or whatever your server's hostname or IP address is.

NOTE: The first sync downloads the full repository and can take a long time depending on your connection. Later syncs only download new or changed packages.

== Configuring client systems

On each system that should use the local mirror, create a `.repo` file in `/etc/yum.repos.d/`.
For example, `/etc/yum.repos.d/local-mirror.repo`:

[source]
----
[local-fedora]
name=Local Fedora mirror
baseurl=http://mirror-server/mirror/fedora/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-fedora-$releasever-$basearch

[local-updates]
name=Local Fedora updates mirror
baseurl=http://mirror-server/mirror/updates/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-fedora-$releasever-$basearch
----

Replace `mirror-server` with the hostname or IP address of your mirror server.

To ensure clients use only the local mirror, disable the default Fedora repositories by setting `enabled=0` in `/etc/yum.repos.d/fedora.repo` and `/etc/yum.repos.d/fedora-updates.repo`.

== GPG verification

`dnf reposync` downloads repository metadata and packages including their signatures.
Clients use the Fedora GPG keys already present at `/etc/pki/rpm-gpg/` to verify packages, so no additional key configuration is required.

== Keeping the mirror current

Set up a systemd service and timer to sync the mirror automatically.

Create a service file at `/etc/systemd/system/dnf-mirror.service`:

[source]
----
[Unit]
Description=Sync DNF repository mirror

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=dnf reposync --repo=fedora --repo=updates --download-path=/var/www/html/mirror --delete
----

Create the timer at `/etc/systemd/system/dnf-mirror.timer`:

[source]
----
[Unit]
Description=Daily DNF repository mirror sync

[Timer]
OnCalendar=daily
Persistent=true

[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target
----

Enable and start the timer:

[source,bash,console]
----
$ sudo systemctl enable --now dnf-mirror.timer
----

Verify the timer is active:

[source,bash,console]
----
$ systemctl status dnf-mirror.timer
----