Amazon Linux 2023 is the latest upgraded version for Amazon Linux 2 users. However, users cannot directly upgrade from AWS Linux 2 to AL2023, which means they either have to opt for a clean installation or switch to some other Linux.
However, personally, I don’t think one should go again for AWS Linux 2023 instead they must look for other options such as AlmaLinux, Rocky, or Ubuntu.
I am saying this because Amazon Linux 2023 is based on Fedora but not with all packages available to install on Fedora through its repo. Instead, AWS developers will only supply stable ones with long-term support.
It sounds nice!! Right? But only if you want a well-stable OS with the packages that are available through the system repository of Amazon, however, not good for all because you are going to miss a few things, like EPEL.
What is EPEL?
We all know EPEL stands for Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux which is basically a community-driven repository and not officially by RedHat. That’s why you won’t have EPEL enabled by default in RHEL and other Linux Os based on it such as AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux.
The purpose of using EPEL is to get the additional software packages unavailable through the RHEL ‘s BaseOS and Appstream repositories. The Fedora Project maintains the EPEL repository and is designed to be compatible with major RHEL-based distributions like CentOS, Oracle Linux, and Amazon Linux 2.
The packages of EPEL are typically maintained by volunteers and cover a wide range of categories, including development tools, libraries, server applications, utilities, and more. This repository follows strict guidelines to ensure the stability, security, and compatibility of the included packages with the base distribution. It is trusted by many users, system administrators, and organizations as a reliable source of supplementary software packages for their RHEL-based systems.
Can we install EPEL on Amazon Linux 2023?
The answer is NO, we cannot add EPEL repository in the latest Amazon Linux 2023 because unlike Amazon Linux 2 which is based on CentOS 7 and has a high level of compatibility with its packages, AWS 2023 Linux doesn’t offer that. Although AL2023 is based on upstream Fedora Linux distribution along with other specific packages from other non-Fedora Linux upstream such as kernel, however, AL2023 is compatible with everything out there for Redhat, hence, AL2023 doesn’t support EPEL or EPEL-like repositories and we cannot add them.
Also, there is also no “Amazon-extra-packages” available for AL2023. Instead, the higher-level software packages like language runtime will be supplied by Amazon developers as major/minor package updates. Moreover, you don’t need that because all of the packages available through it can be installed directly using the AL2023 system repository.
Therefore, if your project highly depends upon EPEL then it is recommended to use Alamlinux, Rocky, or Oracle. Alternatively, you can directly download and install desired RPM packages that are available through
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