Distribution Specific Guides by Distribution: openSUSE

Although openSUSE is an excellent distribution in its core design, the project's adherence to certain FOSS principles prevent it from installing proprietary packages by default. This includes packages necessary to enable the proprietary Nvidia drivers through the Nvidia kernel modules. This limitation includes the Nvidia drivers specifically used with the Bumblebee graphics processor switching program. Fortunately, openSUSE provides optional repositories that contain the necessary packages. This article describes how to enable the the full capabilities …

Many Linux users install software from source using the steps ./configure, make, make install. This method is easy but unattractive because it bypasses the system's package management tools, and any software installed using this method doesn't allow for the management of the software with the package manager. A method almost as simple that allows the package manager to track the installation is to use the rpmbuild tool to create an rpm package …

This article describes how repositories are structured in openSUSE, as well as listing some of the useful repositories not enabled by default at installation, and how to manage repositories using both the zypper tool and the YaST "Software Repositories" module. Although, originally written as a supplement to the openSUSE 13.2 review, it applies to newer versions of openSUSE's regular release as well as openSUSE's rolling release, Tumbleweed.