When using yum-cron, you might want to receive email notifications when updates are applied. Here is how you enable these notifications for CentOS. This article assumes a properly configured mail service.

Installing yum-cron

Install yum-cron using the yum package manager:

yum install yum-cron

Configure yum-cron

Modify the /etc/sysconfig/yum-cron file and add your email address to the MAILTO line.

MAILTO=email@address.com

Be sure to read up on the other settings in this file. You can disable automatic updates and only have the system send the notification.

Start yum-cron

Start the service, and enable it to automatically start on system boot.

chkconfig yum-cron on
service yum-cron start

That’s all you need to do. If you don’t receive an email, make sure your mail daemon is configured and working properly.