This is a text-only version of the following page on https://raymii.org:
---
Title       : 	Remove unused CentOS/Red Hat kernels
Author      : 	Remy van Elst
Date        : 	18-01-2014
URL         : 	https://raymii.org/s/snippets/Remove_Old_CentOS_RHEL_Kernels.html
Format      : 	Markdown/HTML
---



This small article will show you how to remove unused kernels in Red Hat or
CentOS. This is sometimes necessary because the /boot partition can fill up.

[Are you running Ubuntu and want to clean up kernels? See this article:
https://raymii.org/s/snippets/Remove _Old_ Ubuntu_Kernels.html][1]

<p class="ad"> <b>Recently I removed all Google Ads from this site due to their invasive tracking, as well as Google Analytics. Please, if you found this content useful, consider a small donation using any of the options below. It means the world to me if you  show your appreciation and you'll help pay the server costs:</b><br><br> <a href="https://github.com/sponsors/RaymiiOrg/">GitHub Sponsorship</a><br><br> <a href="https://pcbway.com/g/e7yQRg">PCBWay referral link (You get $5, I get $20 after you've placed an order)</a><br><br> <a href="https://www.digitalocean.com/?refcode=7435ae6b8212">Digital Ocea referral link  ($200 credit for 60 days. Spend $25 after your credit expires and I'll get $25!)</a><br><br> </p>


You can check which kernels you have installed using the `rpm -q kernel`
command:

    
    
    $ rpm -q kernel
    kernel-2.6.18-348.16.1.el5
    kernel-2.6.18-348.18.1.el5
    kernel-2.6.18-371.el5
    kernel-2.6.18-371.1.2.el5
    kernel-2.6.18-371.3.1.el5
    

As you can see this is a CentOS 5 box.

In the `yum-utils` package there is the `package-cleanup` command. This command,
among other things, lets you remove older kernels very simple. First install it:

    
    
    yum install yum-utils
    

With the following command you can clean up all old kernels and keep just two.
The current one and the previous one:

    
    
    package-cleanup --oldkernels --count=2
    

The Fedora Documentation has more info and various good examples on the
`package-cleanup` command: [https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-
US/Fedora/14/html/Software _Management_ Guide/ch07s03.html][3]

   [1]: https://raymii.org/s/snippets/Remove_Old_Ubuntu_Kernels.html
   [2]: https://www.digitalocean.com/?refcode=7435ae6b8212
   [3]: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora/14/html/Software_Management_Guide/ch07s03.html

---

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