How to Install Yarn on Fedora

Yarn is a fast, reliable dependency manager for JavaScript projects that caches every package it downloads and ensures consistent installations across machines. Whether you are building React applications, containerized microservices with Docker on Fedora, or managing repositories through GitHub Desktop on Fedora, Yarn streamlines package installation and dependency resolution. By the end of this guide, you will have a working Yarn installation on Fedora Linux, understand the differences between Yarn Classic and Modern Yarn, and know how to manage JavaScript dependencies effectively.

Choose Your Yarn Installation Method

Fedora offers several ways to install Yarn, each with different trade-offs. The table below summarizes your options:

Method	Channel	Yarn Version	Updates	Best For
Fedora DNF	Fedora Repos	Classic (1.22.x)	Automatic via dnf upgrade	Most users who want simple, distro-integrated installation
Corepack	Official Yarn	Modern (4.x) or Classic	Manual via yarn set version	Developers who need per-project Yarn version control
NPM Global	npm registry	Classic (1.22.x)	Manual via npm update	Users already managing Node.js with NVM
Yarn Classic Repo	Yarn Classic	Classic (1.22.x)	Automatic via dnf upgrade	Users who prefer Yarn’s own package repository

Choose DNF or the Yarn Classic Repository if you maintain existing projects or prefer system-integrated updates. For new development with monorepos or per-project version control, Corepack with Modern Yarn 4.x offers Plug’n’Play and faster dependency resolution. If you already use NVM to manage Node.js versions, installing Yarn via npm keeps everything in one workflow.

Yarn Classic (1.x) is in maintenance mode, while Modern Yarn (4.x) receives active development. Both remain fully functional, so your choice depends on project requirements rather than one being universally better.

Install Yarn on Fedora via DNF

Fedora’s official repositories include yarnpkg, which provides Yarn Classic. This method requires no third-party repositories and integrates with your existing package management workflow.

Update System Packages

First, refresh your package cache and apply any pending updates to ensure you start with a clean, up-to-date system:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Install Yarn and Node.js

Next, install Yarn. The yarnpkg package depends on Node.js, so DNF installs both automatically:

sudo dnf install yarnpkg nodejs -y

Once the installation completes, verify that both Yarn and Node.js are accessible:

yarn --version
node --version

Expected output:

1.22.22
v22.20.0

These version numbers confirm that Yarn Classic and Node.js are ready to use. At this point, you can create JavaScript projects and manage dependencies with Yarn.

Install Modern Yarn via Corepack

Corepack is a Node.js tool for managing package manager versions on a per-project basis. This method installs Modern Yarn (version 4.x), which offers improved performance, better monorepo support, and the Plug’n’Play installation strategy.

Install Node.js and Enable Corepack

Fedora’s Node.js package does not include Corepack by default, so first install Node.js and Git (required for yarn init), then install Corepack globally via npm:

sudo dnf install nodejs git -y
sudo npm install -g corepack

Next, enable Corepack to activate the built-in Yarn and pnpm shims:

sudo corepack enable

Initialize a Project with Modern Yarn

Once Corepack is enabled, create a new project directory and initialize it with Yarn:

mkdir ~/my-project && cd ~/my-project
yarn init -2

The -2 flag initializes the project with Modern Yarn. As a result, Corepack downloads the appropriate Yarn version automatically on first use. Then, verify the installation:

yarn --version

Expected output for Modern Yarn:

4.12.0

With Corepack, each project specifies its Yarn version in package.json. Different projects can use different Yarn versions without conflicts. See the official Yarn installation documentation for advanced configuration.

Install Yarn via NVM and NPM

Node Version Manager (NVM) lets you install and switch between multiple Node.js versions. In particular, this approach is useful for developers who work on projects requiring different Node.js versions. After installing Node.js through NVM, you can then install Yarn globally via npm.

Install NVM

First, download and run the official NVM installation script:

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/master/install.sh | bash

The script installs NVM to ~/.nvm and adds configuration to your shell profile. To activate NVM in your current session without opening a new terminal, run:

source ~/.bashrc

Alternatively, open a new terminal window for the changes to take effect automatically.

Install Node.js and Yarn

Once NVM is active, install the latest LTS (Long Term Support) version of Node.js:

nvm install --lts

Expected output showing the installation process:

Installing latest LTS version.
Downloading and installing node v24.12.0...
Downloading https://nodejs.org/dist/v24.12.0/node-v24.12.0-linux-x64.tar.gz...
######################################################################## 100.0%
Computing checksum with sha256sum
Checksums matched!
Now using node v24.12.0 (npm v11.6.2)
Creating default alias: default -> lts/* (-> v24.12.0 *)

Next, install Yarn globally using npm:

npm install -g yarn

Finally, verify the installation:

yarn --version

Expected output:

1.22.22

When using NVM, Yarn is installed per Node.js version. If you switch to a different Node.js version with nvm use, you may need to reinstall Yarn for that version. For more information about managing Node.js versions, see the NVM documentation on GitHub.

Install Yarn Classic via Yarn Repository

Alternatively, the Yarn team maintains their own RPM repository for Fedora, CentOS, and RHEL systems. This method provides Yarn Classic directly from the upstream source.

Add the Yarn Repository

First, ensure Node.js is installed on your system:

sudo dnf install nodejs -y

Next, add the Yarn Classic repository to your system:

curl -sL https://dl.yarnpkg.com/rpm/yarn.repo | sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/yarn.repo

This command downloads the repository configuration and saves it to DNF’s repository directory. Additionally, the repository includes GPG key verification for package authenticity.

Install Yarn

With the repository configured, install Yarn using DNF:

sudo dnf install yarn -y

During the first installation, DNF imports the Yarn GPG key automatically. As a result, you will see output similar to:

Importing OpenPGP key 0x6963F07F:
 UserID     : "Yarn RPM Packaging "
 Fingerprint: 9A6F73F34BEB74734D8C69149CBBB5586963F07F
 From       : https://dl.yarnpkg.com/rpm/pubkey.gpg
The key was successfully imported.

Then, verify the installation:

yarn --version

Expected output:

1.22.22

Configure Yarn

Once Yarn is installed, you can customize its behavior through configuration settings. These settings apply to Yarn Classic (1.x); in contrast, Modern Yarn uses a different configuration format stored in .yarnrc.yml files.

Set the Global Binary Path

When you install packages globally with yarn global add, Yarn places executable scripts in a global bin directory. To run these executables from anywhere, you need to add this directory to your system’s PATH.

Add the following line to your ~/.bashrc file:

echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$(yarn global bin)"' >> ~/.bashrc

To apply the changes immediately without opening a new terminal, run:

source ~/.bashrc

Alternatively, open a new terminal window for the changes to take effect automatically.

Configure Cache Location

Yarn caches downloaded packages to speed up future installations. By default, the cache is stored in your home directory. You can customize the location with:

yarn config set cache-folder ~/custom-yarn-cache

This command stores Yarn’s cache in ~/custom-yarn-cache instead of the default location. To view your current configuration settings, run:

yarn config list

Manage Packages with Yarn

Yarn provides intuitive commands for managing project dependencies. This section covers the essential operations you will use in daily development.

Create a New Project

To start a new JavaScript project, create a directory and initialize it with Yarn:

mkdir ~/my-app && cd ~/my-app
yarn init

During initialization, Yarn prompts you for project details (name, version, description, entry point) and then generates a package.json file. For a quick setup with default values, use yarn init -y instead.

Add Dependencies

Use yarn add to install packages. This command adds the package to your package.json and downloads it to node_modules:

yarn add lodash

For development-only dependencies (testing frameworks, build tools), use the --dev flag:

yarn add jest --dev

Similarly, to install a specific version of a package:

yarn add lodash@4.17.21

Update Dependencies

The yarn upgrade command updates packages to their latest versions within the version ranges specified in package.json:

yarn upgrade lodash

Alternatively, to update all packages in your project:

yarn upgrade

For more control, use interactive upgrades that show available versions and let you choose which packages to update:

yarn upgrade-interactive

Remove Dependencies

The yarn remove command uninstalls a package and removes it from package.json:

yarn remove lodash

Install All Dependencies

When you clone an existing project, use yarn install (or simply yarn) to install all dependencies listed in package.json:

yarn install

This command reads the yarn.lock file to install exact versions, thereby ensuring consistent installations across machines and environments.

Run Scripts

You can also define scripts in your package.json to automate common tasks:

{
  "name": "my-app",
  "scripts": {
    "start": "node index.js",
    "test": "jest",
    "build": "webpack --mode production"
  }
}

Then, run a script with yarn run followed by the script name:

yarn run start

Alternatively, for common script names like start, test, and build, you can omit run:

yarn start
yarn test
yarn build

Troubleshoot Yarn

This section addresses common issues you may encounter when using Yarn on Fedora.

Permission Denied When Installing Global Packages

If you encounter permission errors when running yarn global add, the global installation directory may be owned by root:

error An unexpected error occurred: "EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/usr/local/share/.config'".

This error typically happens when Node.js was installed via sudo. First, check the current global directory:

yarn global dir

To resolve this, configure Yarn to use a user-owned directory instead:

yarn config set prefix ~/.yarn-global
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.yarn-global/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Dependency Conflicts

When different packages require incompatible versions of the same dependency, you may see warning messages during installation. In such cases, if a project requires a specific dependency version to resolve conflicts, add a resolutions field to your package.json:

{
  "resolutions": {
    "lodash": "4.17.21"
  }
}

After adding resolutions, reinstall dependencies:

yarn install

Network Timeouts

Slow or unstable network connections can cause timeout errors:

error An unexpected error occurred: "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/package: ETIMEDOUT".

To fix this, increase the network timeout and retry the installation:

yarn config set network-timeout 300000
yarn install

Note that the value is in milliseconds; 300000 equals 5 minutes.

Clear Cache to Fix Installation Issues

Sometimes corrupted cache entries can cause installation failures. In that case, clear the cache and reinstall:

yarn cache clean
yarn install

Verbose Output for Debugging

For detailed logging that helps identify issues, add the --verbose flag to any Yarn command:

yarn install --verbose

As a result, this displays additional information about what Yarn is doing at each step.

Remove Yarn from Fedora

The complete removal instructions depend on how you installed Yarn. Follow the section below that matches your installation method.

Remove Yarn Installed via DNF

If you installed Yarn from Fedora’s repositories or the Yarn Classic repository:

sudo dnf remove yarnpkg -y
sudo dnf autoremove -y

Alternatively, if you used the Yarn repository package (named yarn instead of yarnpkg):

sudo dnf remove yarn -y
sudo dnf autoremove -y

Optionally, remove the Yarn repository if you added it:

sudo rm /etc/yum.repos.d/yarn.repo

Finally, verify removal by checking that Yarn is no longer available:

yarn --version

Expected output after successful removal:

bash: yarn: command not found

Remove Yarn Installed via NPM

If instead you installed Yarn globally through npm, use the following command:

npm uninstall -g yarn

Then, verify removal:

yarn --version

Expected output after removal:

bash: yarn: command not found

Remove Yarn User Data

The following commands permanently delete Yarn’s cache and global configuration. This does not affect your project-specific node_modules folders or package.json files.

To remove Yarn’s cache and configuration files from your home directory:

rm -rf ~/.cache/yarn
rm -rf ~/.yarnrc
rm -rf ~/.yarn

Additionally, if you configured a custom global directory, remove it as well:

rm -rf ~/.yarn-global

Conclusion

You now have Yarn installed on Fedora Linux using the method best suited to your workflow. The DNF method provides simple, system-integrated package management, while Corepack offers per-project Yarn version control for teams that need consistency across environments. With Yarn configured, you can add dependencies, run scripts, and manage JavaScript projects efficiently. For a complete development environment, consider setting up Visual Studio Code on Fedora.