Create a Backup list of all installed software on Linux

rpm -qa

OR

rpm -qa > /backup/installed-software.log

OR remove software version number (recommended):

rpm -qa --qf "%{NAME}\n" | sort > /backup/installed-software.log

How do I restore installed software from a backup List?

Restoring packages on rpm based distro As far as I know RPM based distro does not offers dpkg kind of facility. But, with a little shell scripting technique you can easily install all software programs:

LIST="$( cat /backup/installed-software.log )"

If you are using the yum command, type the following bash for loop to install all software:

for s in $LIST; do yum -y install $s; done

Or try out the following command (HT to gt):

rpmyum -y install $(cat /backup/installed-software.log)

A Note About RHEL version 4 If you are using RHEL/CentOS v4.x or older, enter:

for s in $LIST; do up2date -i $s; done

Alternatively, you can use the following up2date command:

up2date -i $(cat /backup/installed-software.log)