As we'll see in a moment, RPM can read more than one rpmrc file, and each file can contain nearly thirty different types of entries. This can make it difficult to determine what values RPM is actually using.
Luckily, there's an option that can be used to help make sense of it all. The --showrc option displays the value for each of the entries. The output is divided into two sections:
The architecture and operating system values define the architecture and operating system that RPM is running on. These values define the environment for both building and installing packages. They also define which architectures and operating systems are compatible with each other.
The rpmrc values define many aspects of RPM's operation. These values range from the path to RPM's database, to the name of the person listed as having built the package.
Here's an example of --showrc's output:
# rpm --showrc
ARCHITECTURE AND OS: build arch : i386 build os : Linux install arch : i486 install os : Linux compatible arch list : i486 i386 compatible os list : Linux RPMRC VALUES: builddir : /usr/src/redhat/BUILD buildroot : (not set) cpiobin : cpio dbpath : /var/lib/rpm defaultdocdir : /usr/doc distribution : (not set) excludedocs : (not set) ftpport : (not set) ftpproxy : (not set) messagelevel : (not set) netsharedpath : (not set) optflags : -O2 -m486 -fno-strength-reduce packager : (not set) pgp_name : (not set) pgp_path : (not set) require_distribution : (not set) require_icon : (not set) require_vendor : (not set) root : (not set) rpmdir : /usr/src/redhat/RPMS signature : none sourcedir : /usr/src/redhat/SOURCES specdir : /usr/src/redhat/SPECS srcrpmdir : /usr/src/redhat/SRPMS timecheck : (not set) tmppath : /var/tmp topdir : /usr/src/redhat vendor : (not set) #
As you can see, the --showrc option clearly displays the values RPM will use. --showrc can also be used with the --rcfile option, which makes it easy to see the effect of specifying a different rpmrc file.