A quick, no‑fluff walkthrough for getting .rpm files onto Ubuntu 22.04 without breaking your system. It shows how to convert RPMs with alien, fix any missing dependencies, and even try the experimental apt‑install shortcut. Real‑world pitfalls like architecture mismatches and buggy installer scripts are called out so you know when to abort. By the end you’ll be able to install a vendor‑provided driver or utility that only ships as an RPM, all while keeping Ubuntu’s package management happy.

Install RPM Packages on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS – A No‑Nonsense Guide

If you’ve ever grabbed a .rpm from a vendor’s website and tried to shove it onto Ubuntu, you know the frustration. This short guide shows how to get that RPM working without tearing your system apart. By the end you’ll have a reliable way to convert and install those stubborn packages.

Why an RPM might show up on Ubuntu

Most software for Red Hat‑based distros still ships as .rpm files. I ran into this when a hardware vendor released a driver update only in RPM format; apt refused to touch it, leaving my machine half‑functional. Converting the package is usually safer than trying to force‑install it with unknown tools.

Method 1 – Convert with alien

alien is a tried‑and‑tested utility that rewrites an RPM into a .deb file Ubuntu can understand. It’s not perfect, but for most pure‑user applications it does the job.

1. Install alien

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install alien
   

   You need alien itself from Ubuntu’s repositories; otherwise you’re back at square one.

2. Convert the RPM

   sudo alien -k yourpackage.rpm
   

   The -k flag tells alien to keep the original version number, which helps with later upgrades. After this step you’ll see a file like yourpackage.deb in the same directory.

3. Install the newly created .deb

   sudo dpkg -i yourpackage.deb
   

   dpkg actually places the files on disk. If any dependencies are missing, the next command will clean them up.

4. Fix missing dependencies

   sudo apt-get -f install
   

   The -f (fix) option asks apt to resolve whatever libraries the converted package needs. This is why you run it after dpkg; otherwise you’ll get “dependency problems” errors.

Pro tip: Run alien --scripts yourpackage.rpm first if you suspect the RPM contains post‑install scripts that need tweaking. Sometimes those scripts reference Red Hat paths that don’t exist on Ubuntu.

Method 2 – Use apt with native .rpm support (experimental)

Ubuntu 22.04’s apt can handle some RPMs directly, but it’s a thin wrapper around dpkg and still relies on the same dependency resolution. If you want to give it a try:

sudo apt install ./yourpackage.rpm

Place the RPM in your current directory and prepend ./. Apt will attempt to unpack it; if it fails, fall back to alien.

Things to watch out for

• Architecture mismatches – An x86_64 RPM won’t work on an ARM machine. Alien will convert the package, but the binaries remain incompatible.
• Broken scripts – Some RPMs run complex installer scripts that assume a Red Hat environment. Those may fail silently or leave stray files.
• Security – Converting doesn’t magically make the software trustworthy. Verify checksums or signatures before you start.

That’s it. You’ve turned an annoying .rpm into something Ubuntu actually likes.