Currently, dnf check-update produces output that is complex and difficult to parse programmatically. For example:

dnf check-update --refresh -yq | tail -n +2 | grep -E 'x86_64|i686|noarch|aarch64' | awk '{print $1, $2}'

This produces output like:

<package>.<arch> <new version>.<fedora version>

The output often includes extra information and requires multiple filtering and formatting steps to make it usable in scripts.

By comparison, apt list --upgradable produces structured and consistent output:

<package>/<repo> <new version> <arch> [upgradable from: <old version>]

Proposed improvement

Add an option (e.g., --simple-output or --upgradable) for dnf check-update that outputs only:

• Package name
• Old version
• New version

For example:

<package name> <old version> => <new version>

This should be consistent and machine-readable, similar to Pacman’s output, making it much easier to parse for automation and scripting.

Additional notes

• dnf5 already supports JSON output for some commands. Extending this feature to check-update would be a natural fit.
• A simple flag like --upgradable or --simple-output would significantly improve usability for developers and maintainers of automated tools.

Also I'm using Arch Linux, I requesting this feature because I'm maintaining a project, see zig-waybar-contrib. This will be good if added.