Google Chrome 127 failing to install on Amazon Linux 2 with "Error: Invalid version flag: or" when trying to resolve dependencies

Question

# The Problem
```
bash-4.2# yum install -y google-chrome-stable_current_x86_64.rpm --verbose
Loading "ovl" plugin
Loading "priorities" plugin
Config time: 0.011
rpmdb time: 0.000
ovl: Copying up (0) files from OverlayFS lower layer
Yum version: 3.4.3
Examining google-chrome-stable_current_x86_64.rpm: google-chrome-stable-127.0.6533.72-1.x86_64
Marking google-chrome-stable_current_x86_64.rpm to be installed
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package google-chrome-stable.x86_64 0:127.0.6533.72-1 will be installed
Checking deps for google-chrome-stable.x86_64 0:127.0.6533.72-1 - u
looking for ('(libcurl.so()(64bit) or libcurl-gnutls.so.4()(64bit) or libcurl-nss.so.4()(64bit) or libcurl.so.4()(64bit))', None, (None, None, None)) as a requirement of google-chrome-stable.x86_64 0:127.0.6533.72-1 - u
looking for ('(libgtk-3.so.0()(64bit) or libgtk-4.so.1()(64bit))', None, (None, None, None)) as a requirement of google-chrome-stable.x86_64 0:127.0.6533.72-1 - u
Error: Invalid version flag: or
```

# Steps to Reproduce
```
docker pull amazonlinux:2
docker run -it amazonlinux:2 bash
yum install -y wget
wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_x86_64.rpm
yum install -y google-chrome-stable_current_x86_64.rpm --verbose
```

# Additional notes
I pulled a google chrome stable package from a previous successful build (Google Chrome 126.0.6478.182), that installed just fine, but the latest from stable channel (Google Chrome 127.0.6533.72) fails to install

with amazonlinux:2023 it installs successfully

yum --version
- amazonlinux 2: `3.4.3` or `yum-3.4.3-158.amzn2.0.7.noarch`
- amazonlinux 2023: `4.14.0` or `dnf-0:4.14.0-1.amzn2023.0.5.noarch`

Didier_Durand · Answer

Hi,

If you look at Amazon Linux 2 FAQ at https://aws.amazon.com/amazon-linux-2/faqs/ you will see that its end of life was postponed from 2023 to June 2025.

```
Q. When will support for Amazon Linux 2 end?

Amazon Linux 2 end of support date (End of Life, or EOL) has been extended 
by two years from 2023-06-30 to 2025-06-30 to provide customers with ample 
time to migrate to the next version.
```

So, it is better to migrate to Linux 2023 if it doesn't represent too much effort since Chrome 127 works on it: you will anyway have to do it in less than a year now.

Best,

Didier

Stewart Smith · Answer

The error text is a bit hidden as `yum` isn't knowing what to do, so we can look at `rpm` itself. I've reproduced the relevant snippets below:

```
bash-4.2# rpm -ivh ./google-chrome-unstable-128.0.6613.7-1.x86_64.rpm
warning: ./google-chrome-unstable-128.0.6613.7-1.x86_64.rpm: Header V4 RSA/SHA512 Signature, key ID 9b30acf2: NOKEY
error: Failed dependencies:
        (libcurl.so()(64bit) or libcurl-gnutls.so.4()(64bit) or libcurl-nss.so.4()(64bit) or libcurl.so.4()(64bit)) is needed by google-chrome-unstable-128.0.6613.7-1.x86_64
        (libgtk-3.so.0()(64bit) or libgtk-4.so.1()(64bit)) is needed by google-chrome-unstable-128.0.6613.7-1.x86_64
.....
        rpmlib(RichDependencies) <= 4.12.0-1 is needed by google-chrome-unstable-128.0.6613.7-1.x86_64
```

This is telling you (in a not entirely obvious way) that Google is using features in a newer version of `rpm` than what is in Amazon Linux 2. The RichDependencies feature was introduced in `rpm` v4.13, while AL2 has `rpm` v4.11.

The `yum` and `dnf` package managers in AL2 and AL2023 respectively all sit on top of `rpm`, and in this case the features being used by this particular RPM package would need to be supported in both `rpm` and what sits above it (e.g. `yum`).

AFAIK Google does not list Amazon Linux 2 as a supported platform for Chrome, and so it does appear that they are now relying on newer functionality than is available on AL2.

Google Chrome 127 failing to install on Amazon Linux 2 with "Error: Invalid version flag: or" when trying to resolve dependencies

The Problem

Steps to Reproduce

Additional notes

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