1 .TH "EMERGE" "1" "May 2011" "Portage VERSION" "Portage"
3 emerge \- Command\-line interface to the Portage system
7 [\fIoptions\fR] [\fIaction\fR] [\fIebuild\fR | \fItbz2file\fR | \fIfile\fR | \fI@set\fR | \fIatom\fR] ...
10 \fB\-\-sync\fR | \fB\-\-version\fR
13 \fB\-\-info\fR [\fIatom\fR]
16 \fB\-\-search\fR \fIsomestring\fR
19 \fB\-\-help\fR [\fB\-\-verbose\fR]
21 \fBemerge\fR is the definitive command\-line interface to the Portage
22 system. It is primarily used for installing packages, and \fBemerge\fR
23 can automatically handle any dependencies that the desired package has.
24 \fBemerge\fR can also update the \fBportage tree\fR, making new and
25 updated packages available. \fBemerge\fR gracefully handles updating
26 installed packages to newer releases as well. It handles both source
27 and binary packages, and it can be used to create binary packages for
29 .SH "EBUILDS, TBZ2S, SETS AND ATOMS"
30 \fBemerge\fR primarily installs packages. You can specify
31 packages to install in five possible ways: an \fIatom\fR,
32 a \fIset\fR, an installed \fIfile\fR, an \fIebuild\fR, or
37 An \fIebuild\fR must be, at a minimum, a valid Portage
38 package directory name without a version or category, such as
39 \fBportage\fR or \fBpython\fR.
40 Both categories and version numbers may be used in addition, such
41 as \fBsys\-apps/portage\fR or \fB=python\-2.2.1\-r2\fR.
43 ignores a trailing slash so that filename completion can be used.
44 The \fIebuild\fR may also be an actual filename, such as
45 \fB/usr/portage/app\-admin/python/python\-2.2.1\-r2.ebuild\fR.
46 \fBWARNING:\fR The implementation of \fBemerge /path/to/ebuild\fR is broken and
47 so this syntax shouldn't be used.
50 A \fItbz2file\fR must be a valid .tbz2 created with \fBebuild
51 <package>\-<version>.ebuild package\fR or \fBemerge \-\-buildpkg
52 [category/]<package>\fR or \fBquickpkg /var/db/pkg/<category>/<package>\fR.
55 A \fIfile\fR must be a file or directory that has been installed by one or
56 more packages. If an absolute path is not used, then it must begin with
57 either "./" or "../". For directories that are owned by multiple packages, all
58 owning packages will be selected. See the portageq(1) owners command if you
59 would like to query the owners of one or more files or directories.
62 A \fIset\fR is a convenient shorthand for a large group of
63 packages. Three sets are currently always available: \fBselected\fR,
64 \fBsystem\fR and \fBworld\fR. \fBselected\fR contains the user-selected
65 "world" packages that are listed in \fB/var/lib/portage/world\fR,
66 and nested sets that may be listed
67 in \fB/var/lib/portage/world_sets\fR. \fBsystem\fR refers to a set of
68 packages deemed necessary for your system to run properly. \fBworld\fR
69 encompasses both the \fBselected\fR and \fBsystem\fR sets. [See
70 \fBFILES\fR below for more information.] Other sets can exist depending
71 on the current configuration. The default set configuration is located
72 in the \fB/usr/share/portage/config/sets\fR directory. Note that a \fIset\fR
73 is generally used in conjunction with \fB\-\-update\fR. When used as
74 arguments to \fBemerge\fR sets have to be prefixed with \fB@\fR to be
75 recognized. Use the \fB\-\-list\-sets\fR action to display a list of
76 available package sets.
79 An \fIatom\fR describes bounds on a package that you wish to install.
80 \fISee ebuild(5) for the details on atom syntax.\fR For example,
81 \fB>=dev\-lang/python\-2.2.1\-r2\fR matches the latest available version of
82 Python greater than or equal to 2.2.1\-r2. Similarly,
83 \fB<dev\-lang/python\-2.0\fR matches the latest available version of Python
84 before 2.0. Note that in many shells you will need to escape characters such
85 as '<' and '='; use single\- or double\-quotes around the \fIatom\fR
86 to get around escaping problems.
90 If no action is specified, the action is to merge in the specified
91 packages, satisfying any dependencies that they may have. The
92 arguments can be \fIatoms\fR, \fIsets\fR, installed \fIfiles\fR,
93 \fIebuilds\fR, or \fItbz2s\fR.
94 \fBNote that you need to use the \-\-usepkg
95 option if you want to install a tbz2\fR. The packages are added
96 to the \fBworld\fR file at the end, so that they are considered for
100 Cleans up the system by examining the installed packages and removing older
101 packages. This is accomplished by looking at each installed package and separating
102 the installed versions by \fBslot\fR. Clean will \fBremove all but the most recently
103 installed version in each \fbslot\fR. Clean should not remove unslotted packages.
104 Note: Most recently installed means most \fBrecent\fR, not highest version.
107 Run package specific actions needed to be executed after the emerge process
108 has completed. This usually entails configuration file setup or other similar
109 setups that the user may wish to run.
111 .BR "\-\-depclean (-c)"
112 Cleans the system by removing packages that are not associated
113 with explicitly merged packages. Depclean works by creating the
114 full dependency tree from the @world set,
115 then comparing it to installed packages. Packages installed, but
116 not part of the dependency tree, will be uninstalled by depclean.
117 See \fB\-\-with\-bdeps\fR for behavior with respect to build time dependencies
118 that are not strictly required. Packages that are part of the world set will
119 always be kept. They can be manually added to this set with \fIemerge
120 \-\-noreplace <atom>\fR. As a safety measure, depclean will not remove any
121 packages unless *all* required dependencies have been resolved. As a
122 consequence, it is often necessary to run \fIemerge \-\-update \-\-newuse
123 \-\-deep @world\fR prior to depclean. Also note that
124 depclean may break link level dependencies, especially when the
125 \fB\-\-depclean\-lib\-check\fR option is disabled. Thus, it is
126 recommended to use a tool such as \fBrevdep-rebuild\fR(1)
127 in order to detect such breakage.
130 Inexperienced users are advised to use \fB\-\-pretend\fR with this
131 option in order to see a preview of which packages
132 will be uninstalled. Always study the list of packages
133 to be cleaned for any obvious mistakes. Note that packages listed in
134 package.provided (see \fBportage\fR(5)) may be removed by
135 depclean, even if they are part of the world set.
137 Depclean serves as a dependency aware
138 version of \fB\-\-unmerge\fR. When given one or more atoms, it will
139 unmerge matched packages that have no reverse dependencies. Use
140 \fB\-\-depclean\fR together with \fB\-\-verbose\fR to show reverse
143 .BR "\-\-deselect [ y | n ]"
144 Remove atoms and/or sets from the world file. This action is implied
145 by uninstall actions, including \fB-\-depclean\fR,
146 \fB-\-prune\fR and \fB-\-unmerge\fR. Use \fB-\-deselect=n\fR
147 in order to prevent uninstall actions from removing
148 atoms from the world file.
150 .BR "\-\-help " (\fB\-h\fR)
151 Displays help information for emerge. Adding one of the additional
152 arguments listed above will give you more specific help information
153 on that subject. The internal \fBemerge\fR help documentation is
154 updated more frequently than this man page; check it out if you
155 are having problems that this man page does not help resolve.
158 Produces a list of information to include in bug reports which aids the
159 developers when fixing the reported problem. \fBPlease include this
160 information when submitting a bug report.\fR Expanded output can be obtained
161 with the \fI\-\-verbose\fR option.
164 Displays a list of available package sets.
167 Transfers metadata cache from ${PORTDIR}/metadata/cache/ to
168 /var/cache/edb/dep/ as is normally done on the
169 tail end of an rsync update using \fBemerge \-\-sync\fR. This process
170 populates the cache database that portage uses for pre-parsed lookups of
171 package data. It does not populate cache for the overlays listed in
172 PORTDIR_OVERLAY. In order to generate cache for overlays, use \fB\-\-regen\fR.
173 In versions of portage >=2.1.5 the \-\-metadata action is totally unnecessary
174 unless the user has enabled FEATURES="metadata-transfer" in \fBmake.conf\fR(5).
176 .BR "\-\-prune " (\fB\-P\fR)
177 \fBWARNING: This action can remove important packages!\fR Removes all but the
178 highest installed version of a package from your system. Use \fB\-\-prune\fR
179 together with \fB\-\-verbose\fR to show reverse dependencies or with
180 \fB\-\-nodeps\fR to ignore all dependencies.
183 Causes portage to check and update the dependency cache of all ebuilds in the
184 portage tree. The cache is used to speed up searches and the building of
185 dependency trees. This command is not recommended for rsync users as rsync
186 updates the cache using server\-side caches. If you do not know the
187 differences between a 'rsync user' and some other user, then you are a 'rsync
188 user' :). Rsync users should simply run \fBemerge \-\-sync\fR to regenerate
189 the cache. After a portage update, rsync users may find it convenient to run
190 \fBemerge \-\-metadata\fR to rebuild the cache as portage does at the end of
191 a sync operation. In order to specify parallel \fB\-\-regen\fR behavior, use
192 the \fB\-\-jobs\fR and \fB\-\-load\-average\fR options. If you would like to
193 generate and distribute cache for use by others, use \fBegencache\fR(1).
195 .BR "\-\-resume" (\fB\-r\fR)
196 Resumes the most recent merge list that has been aborted due to an error.
197 Please note that this operation will only return an error on failure. If there
198 is nothing for portage to do, then portage will exit with a message and a
199 success condition. A resume list will persist until it has been completed in
200 entirety or until another aborted merge list replaces it. The resume history
201 is capable of storing two merge lists. After one resume list completes, it is
202 possible to invoke \-\-resume once again in order to resume an older list.
204 .BR "\-\-search " (\fB\-s\fR)
205 Searches for matches of the supplied string in the portage tree.
206 By default emerge uses a case-insensitive simple search, but you can
207 enable a regular expression search by prefixing the search string with %.
208 For example, \fBemerge \-\-search "%^kde"\fR searches for any package whose
209 name starts with "kde"; \fBemerge \-\-search "%gcc$"\fR searches for any
210 package that ends with "gcc"; \fBemerge \-\-search "office"\fR searches for
211 any package that contains the word "office". If you want to include the
212 category into the search string, prepend an @: \fBemerge \-\-search
213 "%@^dev-java.*jdk"\fR. If you want to search the package descriptions as well,
214 use the \fB\-\-searchdesc\fR action.
216 .BR "\-\-searchdesc " (\fB\-S\fR)
217 Matches the search string against the description field as well as
218 the package name. \fBTake caution\fR as the descriptions are also
219 matched as regular expressions.
222 This updates the portage tree that is located in the
223 directory that the PORTDIR variable refers to (default
224 location is /usr/portage). The SYNC variable specifies
225 the remote URI from which files will be synchronized.
226 The \fBPORTAGE_SYNC_STALE\fR variable configures
227 warnings that are shown when emerge \-\-sync has not
228 been executed recently.
231 The emerge \-\-sync action will modify and/or delete
232 files located inside the directory that the PORTDIR
233 variable refers to (default location is /usr/portage).
234 For more information, see the PORTDIR documentation in
235 the make.conf(5) man page.
238 The \fBemerge\-webrsync\fR program will download the entire
239 portage tree as a tarball, which is much faster than emerge
240 \-\-sync for first time syncs.
243 .BR "\-\-unmerge " (\fB\-C\fR)
244 \fBWARNING: This action can remove important packages!\fR Removes
245 all matching packages. This does no checking of dependencies, so
246 it may remove packages necessary for the proper operation of your
247 system. Its arguments can be \fIatoms\fR or
248 \fIebuilds\fR. For a dependency aware version of \fB\-\-unmerge\fR,
249 use \fB\-\-depclean\fR or \fB\-\-prune\fR.
251 .BR "\-\-version " (\fB\-V\fR)
252 Displays the version number of \fBemerge\fR.
255 .BR \-\-accept\-properties=ACCEPT_PROPERTIES
256 This option temporarily overrides the \fBACCEPT_PROPERTIES\fR
257 variable. The \fBACCEPT_PROPERTIES\fR variable is incremental,
258 which means that the specified setting is appended to the
259 existing value from your configuration. The special \fB-*\fR
260 token can be used to discard the existing configuration
261 value and start fresh. See the \fBMASKED PACKAGES\fR section
262 and \fBmake.conf\fR(5) for more information about
263 ACCEPT_PROPERTIES. A typical usage example for this option
264 would be to use \fI\-\-accept\-properties=\-interactive\fR to
265 temporarily mask interactive packages. With default
266 configuration, this would result in an effective
267 \fBACCEPT_PROPERTIES\fR value of "* -interactive".
269 .BR "\-\-alphabetical "
270 When displaying USE and other flag output, combines the enabled and
271 disabled lists into one list and sorts the whole list alphabetically.
273 .BR "\-\-ask [ y | n ] (\-a short option)"
274 Before performing the action, display what will take place (server info for
275 \fB\-\-sync\fR, \fB\-\-pretend\fR output for merge, and so forth), then ask
276 whether to proceed with the action or abort. Using \fB\-\-ask\fR is more
277 efficient than using \fB\-\-pretend\fR and then executing the same command
278 without \fB\-\-pretend\fR, as dependencies will only need to be calculated once.
279 \fBWARNING: If the "Enter" key is pressed at the prompt (with no other input),
280 it is interpreted as acceptance of the first choice. Note that the input
281 buffer is not cleared prior to the prompt, so an accidental press of the
282 "Enter" key at any time prior to the prompt will be interpreted as a choice!
283 Use the \-\-ask\-enter\-invalid option if you want a single "Enter" key
284 press to be interpreted as invalid input.\fR
286 .BR "\-\-ask\-enter\-invalid"
287 When used together with the \fB\-\-ask\fR option,
288 interpret a single "Enter" key press as
289 invalid input. This helps prevent accidental
290 acceptance of the first choice. This option is
291 intended to be set in the \fBmake.conf\fR(5)
292 \fBEMERGE_DEFAULT_OPTS\fR variable.
294 .BR "\-\-autounmask [ y | n ]"
295 Automatically unmask packages and generate package.use
296 settings as necessary to satisfy dependencies. This
297 option is enabled by default. If any configuration
298 changes are required, then they will be displayed
299 after the merge list and emerge will immediately
300 abort. If the displayed configuration changes are
301 satisfactory, you should copy and paste them into
302 the specified configuration file(s), or enable the
303 \fB\-\-autounmask\-write\fR option. The
304 \fBEMERGE_DEFAULT_OPTS\fR variable may be used to
305 disable this option by default in \fBmake.conf\fR(5).
307 .BR "\-\-autounmask\-unrestricted\-atoms [ y | n ]"
308 If \-\-autounmask is enabled, changes using the \'=\' operator
309 will be written. With this option, \'>=\' operators will be used
312 .BR "\-\-autounmask\-keep\-masks [ y | n ]"
313 If \-\-autounmask is enabled, no changes to package.unmask
314 will be created. This leads to unsatisfied dependencies if
315 no other solution exists.
317 .BR "\-\-autounmask\-write [ y | n ]"
318 If \-\-autounmask is enabled, changes are written
319 to config files, respecting \fBCONFIG_PROTECT\fR and \fB\-\-ask\fR.
320 If the corresponding package.* is a file, the changes are appended to
321 it, if it is a directory, changes are written to the lexicographically
322 last file. This way it is always ensured that the new changes take
323 precedence over existing changes.
325 .BR \-\-backtrack=COUNT
326 Specifies an integer number of times to backtrack if
327 dependency calculation fails due to a conflict or an
328 unsatisfied dependency (default: \'10\').
330 .BR "\-\-binpkg\-respect\-use [ y | n ]"
331 Tells emerge to ignore binary packages if their use flags
332 don't match the current configuration. (default: \'n\')
334 .BR "\-\-buildpkg [ y | n ] (\-b short option)"
335 Tells emerge to build binary packages for all ebuilds processed in
336 addition to actually merging the packages. Useful for maintainers
337 or if you administrate multiple Gentoo Linux systems (build once,
338 emerge tbz2s everywhere) as well as disaster recovery. The package
339 will be created in the \fBPKGDIR\fR directory (see \fBmake.conf\fR(5)).
340 An alternative for already\-merged
341 packages is to use \fBquickpkg\fR(1) which creates a tbz2 from the
344 .BR "\-\-buildpkgonly " (\fB\-B\fR)
345 Creates binary packages for all ebuilds processed without actually
346 merging the packages. This comes with the caveat that all build-time
347 dependencies must already be emerged on the system.
349 .BR "\-\-changed\-use"
350 This is an alias for \fB\-\-reinstall=changed\-use\fR.
352 .BR "\-\-changelog " (\fB\-l\fR)
353 Use this in conjunction with the \fB\-\-pretend\fR option. This will
354 show the ChangeLog entries for all the packages that will be upgraded.
356 .BR "\-\-color < y | n >"
357 Enable or disable color output. This option will override \fINOCOLOR\fR
358 (see \fBmake.conf\fR(5)) and may also be used to force color output when stdout
359 is not a tty (by default, color is disabled unless stdout is a tty).
362 Used alongside \fB\-\-pretend\fR to cause the package name, new version,
363 and old version to be displayed in an aligned format for easy cut\-n\-paste.
365 .BR "\-\-complete\-graph [ y | n ]"
366 This causes \fBemerge\fR to consider the deep dependencies of all
367 packages from the world set. With this option enabled,
368 \fBemerge\fR will bail out if it determines that the given operation will
369 break any dependencies of the packages that have been added to the
370 graph. Like the \fB\-\-deep\fR option, the \fB\-\-complete\-graph\fR
371 option will significantly increase the time taken for dependency
372 calculations. Note that, unlike the \fB\-\-deep\fR option, the
373 \fB\-\-complete\-graph\fR option does not cause any more packages to
374 be updated than would have otherwise been updated with the option disabled.
375 Using \fB\-\-with\-bdeps=y\fR together with \fB\-\-complete\-graph\fR makes
376 the graph as complete as possible.
378 .BR \-\-config\-root=DIR
379 Set the \fBPORTAGE_CONFIGROOT\fR environment variable.
381 .BR "\-\-debug " (\fB\-d\fR)
382 Tells emerge to run the emerge command in \fB\-\-debug\fR mode. In this
383 mode the bash build environment will run with the \-x option, causing
384 it to output verbose debugging information to stdout. This also enables
385 a plethora of other output (mostly dependency resolution messages).
387 .BR "\-\-deep [DEPTH] " (\fB\-D\fR)
389 \fBemerge\fR to consider the entire dependency tree of packages,
390 instead of checking only the immediate dependencies of the packages.
391 As an example, this catches updates in libraries that are not directly
392 listed in the dependencies of a package. Also see \fB\-\-with\-bdeps\fR for
393 behavior with respect to build time dependencies that are not strictly
396 .BR "\-\-depclean\-lib\-check [ y | n ]"
397 Account for library link-level dependencies during
398 \fB\-\-depclean\fR and \fB\-\-prune\fR actions. This
399 option is enabled by default. In some cases this can
400 be somewhat time\-consuming. This option is ignored
401 when FEATURES="preserve\-libs" is enabled in
402 \fBmake.conf\fR(5), since any libraries that have
403 consumers will simply be preserved.
405 .BR "\-\-emptytree " (\fB\-e\fR)
406 Reinstalls target atoms and their entire deep
407 dependency tree, as though no packages are currently
408 installed. You should run this with \fB\-\-pretend\fR
409 first to make sure the result is what you expect.
411 .BR "\-\-exclude " ATOMS
412 A space separated list of package names or slot atoms.
413 Emerge won't install any ebuild or binary package that
414 matches any of the given package atoms.
416 .BR "\-\-fail\-clean [ y | n ]"
417 Clean up temporary files after a build failure. This is
418 particularly useful if you have \fBPORTAGE_TMPDIR\fR on
419 tmpfs. If this option is enabled, you probably also want
420 to enable \fBPORT_LOGDIR\fR (see \fBmake.conf\fR(5)) in
421 order to save the build log.
423 .BR "\-\-fetchonly " (\fB\-f\fR)
424 Instead of doing any package building, just perform fetches for all
425 packages (fetch things from SRC_URI based upon USE setting).
427 .BR "\-\-fetch\-all\-uri " (\fB\-F\fR)
428 Instead of doing any package building, just perform fetches for all
429 packages (fetch everything in SRC_URI regardless of USE setting).
431 .BR "\-\-getbinpkg [ y | n ] (\-g short option)"
432 Using the server and location defined in \fIPORTAGE_BINHOST\fR (see
433 \fBmake.conf\fR(5)), portage will download the information from each binary
434 package found and it will use that information to help build the dependency
435 list. This option implies \fB\-k\fR. (Use \fB\-gK\fR for binary\-only
438 .BR "\-\-getbinpkgonly [ y | n ] (\-G short option)"
439 This option is identical to \fB\-g\fR, as above, except binaries from the
440 remote server are preferred over local packages if they are not identical.
442 .BR "\-\-ignore-default-opts"
443 Causes \fIEMERGE_DEFAULT_OPTS\fR (see \fBmake.conf\fR(5)) to be ignored.
445 .BR "-j [JOBS], \-\-jobs[=JOBS]"
446 Specifies the number of packages to build simultaneously. If this option is
447 given without an argument, emerge will not limit the number of jobs that can
448 run simultaneously. Also see the related \fB\-\-load\-average\fR option.
449 Note that interactive packages currently force a setting
450 of \fI\-\-jobs=1\fR. This issue can be temporarily avoided
451 by specifying \fI\-\-accept\-properties=\-interactive\fR.
453 .BR "\-\-keep\-going [ y | n ]"
454 Continue as much as possible after an error. When an error occurs,
455 dependencies are recalculated for remaining packages and any with
456 unsatisfied dependencies are automatically dropped. Also see
457 the related \fB\-\-skipfirst\fR option.
459 .BR \-\-load\-average=LOAD
460 Specifies that no new builds should be started if there are other builds
461 running and the load average is at least LOAD (a floating-point number).
462 This option is recommended for use in combination with \fB\-\-jobs\fR in
463 order to avoid excess load. See \fBmake\fR(1) for information about
464 analogous options that should be configured via \fBMAKEOPTS\fR in
467 .BR "\-\-misspell\-suggestions < y | n >"
468 Enable or disable misspell suggestions. By default, emerge will show
469 a list of packages with similar names when a package doesn't exist.
470 The \fIEMERGE_DEFAULT_OPTS\fR variable may be used to disable this
473 .BR "\-\-newuse " (\fB\-N\fR)
474 Tells emerge to include installed packages where USE
475 flags have changed since compilation. This option
476 also implies the \fB\-\-selective\fR option.
477 USE flag changes include:
479 A USE flag was added to a package.
480 A USE flag was removed from a package.
481 A USE flag was turned on for a package.
482 A USE flag was turned off for a package.
484 USE flags may be toggled by your profile as well as your USE and package.use
485 settings. If you would like to skip rebuilds for which disabled flags have
486 been added to or removed from IUSE, see the related
487 \-\-reinstall=changed\-use option.
490 Causes portage to disregard merge records indicating that a config file
491 inside of a \fBCONFIG_PROTECT\fR directory has been merged already. Portage
492 will normally merge those files only once to prevent the user from
493 dealing with the same config multiple times. This flag will cause the
494 file to always be merged.
496 .BR "\-\-nodeps " (\fB\-O\fR)
497 Merges specified packages without merging any dependencies. Note that
498 the build may fail if the dependencies aren't satisfied.
500 .BR "\-\-noreplace " (\fB\-n\fR)
501 Skips the packages specified on the command\-line that have already
502 been installed. Without this option, any packages, ebuilds, or deps
503 you specify on the command\-line \fBwill\fR cause Portage to remerge
504 the package, even if it is already installed. Note that Portage will
505 not remerge dependencies by default.
508 Disables the spinner for the session. The spinner is active when the
509 terminal device is determined to be a TTY. This flag disables it regardless.
511 .BR "\-\-usepkg\-exclude " ATOMS
512 A space separated list of package names or slot atoms. Emerge will ignore
513 matching binary packages.
515 .BR "\-\-rebuild\-exclude " ATOMS
516 A space separated list of package names or slot atoms. Emerge will not rebuild
517 matching packages due to \fB\-\-rebuild\fR.
519 .BR "\-\-rebuild\-ignore " ATOMS
520 A space separated list of package names or slot atoms. Emerge will not rebuild
521 packages that depend on matching packages due to \fB\-\-rebuild\fR.
523 .BR "\-\-oneshot " (\fB\-1\fR)
524 Emerge as normal, but do not add the packages to the world file
527 .BR "\-\-onlydeps " (\fB\-o\fR)
528 Only merge (or pretend to merge) the dependencies of the packages
529 specified, not the packages themselves.
531 .BR "\-\-package\-moves [ y | n ]"
532 Perform package moves when necessary. This option
533 is enabled by default. \fBWARNING:\fR This option
534 should remain enabled under normal circumstances.
535 Do not disable it unless you know what you are
538 .BR "\-\-pretend " (\fB\-p\fR)
539 Instead of actually performing the merge, simply display what *would*
540 have been installed if \fB\-\-pretend\fR weren't used. Using \fB\-\-pretend\fR
541 is strongly recommended before installing an unfamiliar package. In
546 N new (not yet installed)
547 S new SLOT installation (side-by-side versions)
548 U updating (to another version)
549 D downgrading (best version seems lower)
550 R replacing (remerging same version))
551 F fetch restricted (must be manually downloaded)
552 f fetch restricted (already downloaded)
553 I interactive (requires user input)
554 B blocked by another package (unresolved conflict)
555 b blocked by another package (automatically resolved conflict)
558 .BR "\-\-quiet [ y | n ] (\-q short option)"
559 Results may vary, but the general outcome is a reduced or condensed
560 output from portage's displays.
562 .BR "\-\-quiet\-build [ y | n ]"
563 Redirect all build output to logs alone, and do not
564 display it on stdout.
566 .BR \-\-quiet\-unmerge\-warn
567 Disable the warning message that's shown prior to
568 \fB\-\-unmerge\fR actions. This option is intended
569 to be set in the \fBmake.conf\fR(5)
570 \fBEMERGE_DEFAULT_OPTS\fR variable.
572 .BR "\-\-rebuild\-if\-new\-rev [ y | n ]"
573 Rebuild packages when build\-time dependencies are built from source, if the
574 dependency is not already installed with the same version and revision.
576 .BR "\-\-rebuild\-if\-new\-ver [ y | n ]"
577 Rebuild packages when build\-time dependencies are built from source, if the
578 dependency is not already installed with the same version. Revision numbers
581 .BR "\-\-rebuild\-if\-unbuilt [ y | n ]"
582 Rebuild packages when build\-time dependencies are built from source.
584 .BR "\-\-rebuilt\-binaries [ y | n ]"
585 Replace installed packages with binary packages that have
586 been rebuilt. Rebuilds are detected by comparison of
587 BUILD_TIME package metadata. This option is enabled
588 automatically when using binary packages
589 (\fB\-\-usepkgonly\fR or \fB\-\-getbinpkgonly\fR) together with
590 \fB\-\-update\fR and \fB\-\-deep\fR.
592 .BR "\-\-rebuilt\-binaries\-timestamp=TIMESTAMP"
593 This option modifies emerge's behaviour only if
594 \fB\-\-rebuilt\-binaries\fR is given. Only binaries that
595 have a BUILD_TIME that is larger than the given TIMESTAMP
596 and that is larger than that of the installed package will
597 be considered by the rebuilt\-binaries logic.
599 .BR "\-\-reinstall changed\-use"
600 Tells emerge to include installed packages where USE flags have
601 changed since installation. Unlike \fB\-\-newuse\fR, this option does
602 not trigger reinstallation when flags that the user has not
603 enabled are added or removed.
605 .BR "\-\-reinstall\-atoms " ATOMS
606 A space separated list of package names or slot atoms. Emerge will treat
607 matching packages as if they are not installed, and reinstall them if
611 Set the \fBROOT\fR environment variable.
613 .BR "\-\-root\-deps[=rdeps]"
614 If no argument is given then build\-time dependencies of packages for
615 \fBROOT\fR are installed to
616 \fBROOT\fR instead of /. If the \fBrdeps\fR argument is given then discard
617 all build\-time dependencies of packages for \fBROOT\fR. This option is
618 only meaningful when used together with \fBROOT\fR and it should not
619 be enabled under normal circumstances. For currently supported
620 \fBEAPI\fR values, the build-time dependencies are specified in the
621 \fBDEPEND\fR variable. However, behavior may change for new
622 \fBEAPI\fRs when related extensions are added in the future.
624 .BR "\-\-select [ y | n ]"
625 Add specified packages to the world set (inverse of
626 \fB\-\-oneshot\fR). This is useful if you want to
627 use \fBEMERGE_DEFAULT_OPTS\fR to make
628 \fB\-\-oneshot\fR behavior default.
630 .BR "\-\-selective [ y | n ]"
631 This is identical to the \fB\-\-noreplace\fR option.
632 Some options, such as \fB\-\-update\fR, imply \fB\-\-selective\fR.
633 Use \fB\-\-selective=n\fR if you want to forcefully disable
634 \fB\-\-selective\fR, regardless of options like \fB\-\-update\fR.
637 This option is only valid when used with \fB\-\-resume\fR. It removes the
638 first package in the resume list. Dependencies are recalculated for
639 remaining packages and any that have unsatisfied dependencies or are
640 masked will be automatically dropped. Also see the related
641 \fB\-\-keep\-going\fR option.
643 .BR "\-\-tree " (\fB\-t\fR)
644 Shows the dependency tree for the given target by indenting dependencies.
645 This is only really useful in combination with \fB\-\-emptytree\fR or
646 \fB\-\-update\fR and \fB\-\-deep\fR.
648 .BR "\-\-unordered\-display"
649 By default the displayed merge list is sorted using the
650 order in which the packages will be merged. When
651 \fB\-\-tree\fR is used together with this option, this
652 constraint is removed, hopefully leading to a more
653 readable dependency tree.
655 .BR "\-\-update " (\fB\-u\fR)
656 Updates packages to the best version available, which may
657 not always be the highest version number due to masking
658 for testing and development. Package atoms specified on
659 the command line are greedy, meaning that unspecific
660 atoms may match multiple versions of slotted packages.
662 .BR "\-\-use\-ebuild\-visibility [ y | n ]"
663 Use unbuilt ebuild metadata for visibility
664 checks on built packages.
666 .BR "\-\-useoldpkg\-atoms " ATOMS
667 A space separated list of package names or slot atoms. Emerge will prefer
668 matching binary packages over newer unbuilt packages.
670 .BR "\-\-usepkg [ y | n ] (\-k short option)"
671 Tells emerge to use binary packages (from $PKGDIR) if they are available, thus
672 possibly avoiding some time\-consuming compiles. This option is useful for CD
673 installs; you can export PKGDIR=/mnt/cdrom/packages and then use this option to
674 have emerge "pull" binary packages from the CD in order to satisfy dependencies.
676 .BR "\-\-usepkgonly [ y | n ] (\-K short option)"
677 Tells emerge to only use binary packages (from $PKGDIR). All the binary
678 packages must be available at the time of dependency calculation or emerge
679 will simply abort. Portage does not use $PORTDIR when calculating dependency
680 information so all masking information is ignored.
682 .BR "\-\-verbose " (\fB\-v\fR)
683 Tell emerge to run in verbose mode. Currently this flag causes emerge to print
684 out GNU info errors, if any, and to show the USE flags that will be used for
685 each package when pretending. The following symbols are affixed to USE flags
686 in order to indicate their status:
692 Symbol Location Meaning
694 - prefix not enabled (either disabled or removed)
695 * suffix transition to or from the enabled state
696 % suffix newly added or removed
697 () circumfix forced, masked, or removed
700 .BR "\-\-with\-bdeps < y | n >"
701 In dependency calculations, pull in build time dependencies
702 that are not strictly required. This defaults to \'n\' for
703 installation actions, meaning they will not be installed, and
704 \'y\' for the \fB\-\-depclean\fR action, meaning they will not be removed.
705 This setting can be added to
706 \fBEMERGE_DEFAULT_OPTS\fR (see make.conf(5)) and later overridden via the
708 .SH "ENVIRONMENT OPTIONS"
710 \fBROOT\fR = \fI[path]\fR
711 Use \fBROOT\fR to specify the target root filesystem to be used for
712 merging packages or ebuilds. This variable can be set via the \fB\-\-root\fR
713 option or in \fBmake.conf\fR(5) (the command line overrides other settings).
717 \fBPORTAGE_CONFIGROOT\fR = \fI[path]\fR
718 Use \fBPORTAGE_CONFIGROOT\fR to specify the location for various portage
720 (see \fBFILES\fR for a detailed list of configuration files). This variable
721 can be set via the \fB\-\-config\-root\fR option.
725 When utilizing \fBemerge\fR with the \fB\-\-pretend\fR and \fB\-\-verbose\fR
726 flags, the output may be a little hard to understand at first. This section
727 explains the abbreviations.
729 .B [blocks B ] app\-text/dos2unix ("app\-text/dos2unix" is blocking app\-text/hd2u\-0.8.0)
730 Dos2unix is Blocking hd2u from being emerged. Blockers are defined when
731 two packages will clobber each others files, or otherwise cause some form
732 of breakage in your system. However, blockers usually do not need to be
733 simultaneously emerged because they usually provide the same functionality.
735 .B [ebuild N ] app\-games/qstat\-25c
736 Qstat is New to your system, and will be emerged for the first time.
738 .B [ebuild NS ] dev-libs/glib-2.4.7
739 You already have a version of glib installed, but a 'new' version in
740 a different SLOT is available.
742 .B [ebuild R ] sys\-apps/sed\-4.0.5
743 Sed 4.0.5 has already been emerged, but if you run the command, then
744 portage will Re\-emerge the specified package (sed in this case).
746 .B [ebuild F ] media\-video/realplayer\-8\-r6
747 The realplayer package requires that you Fetch the sources manually.
748 When you attempt to emerge the package, if the sources are not found,
749 then portage will halt and you will be provided with instructions on how
750 to download the required files.
752 .B [ebuild f ] media\-video/realplayer\-8\-r6
753 The realplayer package's files are already downloaded.
755 .B [ebuild U ] net\-fs/samba\-2.2.8_pre1 [2.2.7a]
756 Samba 2.2.7a has already been emerged and can be Updated to version
759 .B [ebuild UD] media\-libs/libgd\-1.8.4 [2.0.11]
760 Libgd 2.0.11 is already emerged, but if you run the command, then
761 portage will Downgrade to version 1.8.4 for you.
763 This may occur if a newer version of a package has been masked because it is
764 broken or it creates a security risk on your system and a fix has not been
767 Another reason this may occur is if a package you are trying to emerge requires
768 an older version of a package in order to emerge successfully. In this case,
769 libgd 2.x is incompatible with libgd 1.x. This means that packages that were
770 created with libgd 1.x will not compile with 2.x and must downgrade libgd first
771 before they can emerge.
773 .B [ebuild U ] sys\-devel/distcc\-2.16 [2.13\-r1] USE="ipv6* \-gtk \-qt%"
774 Here we see that the make.conf variable \fBUSE\fR affects how this package is
775 built. In this example, ipv6 optional support is enabled and both gtk and qt
776 support are disabled. The asterisk following ipv6 indicates that ipv6 support
777 was disabled the last time this package was installed. The percent sign
778 following qt indicates that the qt option has been added to the package since
779 it was last installed. For information about all \fBUSE\fR symbols, see the
780 \fB\-\-verbose\fR option documentation above.
782 \fB*Note:\fR Flags that haven't changed since the last install are only
783 displayed when you use the \fB\-\-pretend\fR and \fB\-\-verbose\fR options.
784 Using the \fB\-\-quiet\fR option will prevent all information from being
787 .B [ebuild U *] sys\-apps/portage\-2.2.0_alpha6 [2.1.9.25]
788 Portage 2.1.9.25 is installed, but if you run the command, then
789 portage will upgrade to version 2.2.0_alpha6. In this case,
790 the \fB*\fR symbol is displayed, in order to indicate that version
791 2.2.0_alpha6 is masked by missing keyword. This type of masking
792 display is disabled by the \fB\-\-quiet\fR option if the
793 \fB\-\-verbose\fR option is not enabled simultaneously.
794 The following symbols are used to indicate various types
807 \fBNOTE:\fR The unstable keyword symbol (~) will not be shown in cases
808 in which the corresponding unstable keywords have been accepted
809 globally via \fBACCEPT_KEYWORDS\fR.
814 You should almost always precede any package install or update attempt with a
815 \fB\-\-pretend\fR install or update. This lets you see how much will be
816 done, and shows you any blocking packages that you will have to rectify.
817 This goes doubly so for the \fBsystem\fR and \fBworld\fR sets, which can
818 update a large number of packages if the portage tree has been particularly
821 You also want to typically use \fB\-\-update\fR, which ignores packages that
822 are already fully updated but updates those that are not.
824 When you install a package with uninstalled dependencies and do
825 not explicitly state those dependencies in the list of parameters,
826 they will not be added to the world file. If you want them to be
827 detected for world updates, make sure to explicitly list them as
828 parameters to \fBemerge\fR.
830 \fBUSE variables\fR may be specified on the command line to
831 override those specified in the default locations, letting you
832 avoid using some dependencies you may not want to have. \fBUSE
833 flags specified on the command line are NOT remembered\fR. For
834 example, \fBenv USE="\-X \-gnome" emerge mc\fR will emerge mc with
835 those USE settings (on Bourne-compatible shells you may omit the \fBenv\fR
836 part). If you want those USE settings to be more
837 permanent, you can put them in /etc/portage/package.use instead.
839 If \fBemerge \-\-update system\fR or \fBemerge \-\-update world\fR
840 fails with an error message, it may be that an ebuild uses some
841 newer feature not present in this version of \fBemerge\fR. You
842 can use \fBemerge \-\-update portage\fR to upgrade to the lastest
843 version, which should support any necessary new features.
844 .SH "MASKED PACKAGES"
845 \fINOTE: Please use caution when using development packages. Problems
846 and bugs resulting from misusing masked packages drains Gentoo
847 developer time. Please be sure you are capable of handling any problems
850 Masks in \fBportage\fR have many uses: they allow a
851 testing period where the packages can be used in live machines; they
852 prevent the use of a package when it will fail; and they mask existing
853 packages that are broken or could pose a security risk. Read below
854 to find out how to unmask in various cases. Also note that if you give
855 \fBemerge\fR an ebuild, then all forms of masking will be ignored and
856 \fBemerge\fR will attempt to emerge the package.
859 When packages are masked for \fBbacktracking\fR, it means that the dependency
860 resolver has temporarily masked them in order to avoid dependency conflicts
861 and/or unsatisfied dependencies. This type of mask is typically accompanied
862 by a message about a missed package update which has been skipped in order to
863 avoid dependency conflicts and/or unsatisfied dependencies.
866 The \fBpackage.mask\fR file primarily blocks the use of packages that cause
867 problems or are known to have issues on different systems. It resides in
868 \fI/usr/portage/profiles\fR.
871 Use the \fBACCEPT_CHOSTS\fR variable in \fBmake.conf\fR(5) to control
872 \fBCHOST\fR acceptance.
875 The \fBEAPI\fR variable in an \fBebuild\fR(5) file is used to mask packages
876 that are not supported by the current version of portage. Packages masked by
877 \fBEAPI\fR can only be installed after portage has been upgraded.
880 The \fBKEYWORDS\fR variable in an \fBebuild\fR file is also used for masking
881 a package still in testing. There are architecture\-specific keywords for
882 each package that let \fBportage\fR know which systems are compatible with
883 the package. Packages which compile on an architecture, but have not been
884 proven to be "stable", are masked with a tilde (\fB~\fR) in front of the
885 architecture name. \fBemerge\fR examines the \fBACCEPT_KEYWORDS\fR environment
886 variable to allow or disallow the emerging of a package masked by
887 \fBKEYWORDS\fR. To inform \fBemerge\fR that it should build these 'testing'
888 versions of packages, you should update your
889 \fI/etc/portage/package.accept_keywords\fR
890 file to list the packages you want the
891 \'testing\' version. See \fBportage\fR(5) for more information.
894 The \fBLICENSE\fR variable in an \fBebuild\fR file can be used to mask
895 packages based on licensing restrictions. \fBemerge\fR examines the
896 \fBACCEPT_LICENSE\fR environment variable to allow or disallow the emerging
897 of a package masked by \fBLICENSE\fR. See \fBmake.conf\fR(5) for information
898 about \fBACCEPT_LICENSE\fR, and see \fBportage\fR(5) for information about
899 \fI/etc/portage/package.license\fR.
902 The \fBPROPERTIES\fR variable in an \fBebuild\fR file can be used to mask
903 packages based on properties restrictions. \fBemerge\fR examines the
904 \fBACCEPT_PROPERTIES\fR environment variable to allow or disallow the emerging
905 of a package masked by \fBPROPERTIES\fR. See \fBmake.conf\fR(5) for information
906 about \fBACCEPT_PROPERTIES\fR, and see \fBportage\fR(5) for information about
907 \fI/etc/portage/package.properties\fR. Use the \fB\-\-accept\-properties\fR
908 option to temporarily override \fBACCEPT_PROPERTIES\fR.
909 .SH "CONFIGURATION FILES"
910 Portage has a special feature called "config file protection". The purpose of
911 this feature is to prevent new package installs from clobbering existing
912 configuration files. By default, config file protection is turned on for /etc
913 and the KDE configuration dirs; more may be added in the future.
915 When Portage installs a file into a protected directory tree like /etc, any
916 existing files will not be overwritten. If a file of the same name already
917 exists, Portage will change the name of the to\-be\-installed file from 'foo' to
918 \'._cfg0000_foo\'. If \'._cfg0000_foo\' already exists, this name becomes
919 \'._cfg0001_foo\', etc. In this way, existing files are not overwritten,
920 allowing the administrator to manually merge the new config files and avoid any
923 In addition to protecting overwritten files, Portage will not delete any files
924 from a protected directory when a package is unmerged. While this may be a
925 little bit untidy, it does prevent potentially valuable config files from being
926 deleted, which is of paramount importance.
928 Protected directories are set using the \fICONFIG_PROTECT\fR variable, normally
929 defined in make.globals. Directory exceptions to the CONFIG_PROTECTed
930 directories can be specified using the \fICONFIG_PROTECT_MASK\fR variable. To find
931 files that need to be updated in /etc, type \fBfind /etc \-iname \'._cfg????_*\'\fR.
933 You can disable this feature by setting \fICONFIG_PROTECT="\-*"\fR in /etc/make.conf.
934 Then, Portage will mercilessly auto\-update your config files. Alternatively,
935 you can leave Config File Protection on but tell Portage that it can overwrite
936 files in certain specific /etc subdirectories. For example, if you wanted
937 Portage to automatically update your rc scripts and your wget configuration,
938 but didn't want any other changes made without your explicit approval, you'd
939 add this to /etc/make.conf:
941 .I CONFIG_PROTECT_MASK="/etc/wget /etc/rc.d"
943 Tools such as dispatch\-conf, cfg\-update, and etc\-update are also available to
944 aid in the merging of these files. They provide interactive merging and can
945 auto\-merge trivial changes.
947 Please report any bugs you encounter through our website:
949 \fBhttp://bugs.gentoo.org/\fR
951 Please include the output of \fBemerge \-\-info\fR when you submit your
955 Daniel Robbins <drobbins@gentoo.org>
956 Geert Bevin <gbevin@gentoo.org>
957 Achim Gottinger <achim@gentoo.org>
958 Nicholas Jones <carpaski@gentoo.org>
959 Phil Bordelon <phil@thenexusproject.org>
960 Mike Frysinger <vapier@gentoo.org>
961 Marius Mauch <genone@gentoo.org>
962 Jason Stubbs <jstubbs@gentoo.org>
963 Brian Harring <ferringb@gmail.com>
964 Zac Medico <zmedico@gentoo.org>
967 Here is a common list of files you will probably be interested in. For a
968 complete listing, please refer to the \fBportage\fR(5) man page.
970 .B /usr/share/portage/config/sets/
971 Contains the default set configuration.
973 .B /var/lib/portage/world
974 Contains a list of all user\-specified packages. You can safely edit
975 this file, adding packages that you want to be considered in \fBworld\fR
976 set updates and removing those that you do not want to be considered.
979 Contains variables for the build process, overriding those in
982 .B /etc/portage/color.map
983 Contains variables customizing colors.
985 .B /etc/dispatch\-conf.conf
986 Contains settings to handle automatic updates/backups of configuration
989 .B /etc/make.profile/make.defaults
990 Contains profile\-specific variables for the build process. \fBDo not
993 .B /usr/portage/profiles/use.desc
994 Contains the master list of USE flags with descriptions of their
995 functions. \fBDo not edit this file\fR.
997 .B /etc/make.profile/virtuals
998 Contains a list of default packages used to resolve virtual dependencies.
999 \fBDo not edit this file\fR.
1001 .B /etc/make.profile/packages
1002 Contains a list of packages used for the base system. The \fBsystem\fR
1003 and \fBworld\fR sets consult this file. \fBDo not edit this file\fR.
1005 .B /usr/share/portage/config/make.globals
1006 Contains the default variables for the build process. \fBDo not edit
1009 .BR "emerge \-\-help",
1017 A number of helper applications reside in \fI/usr/lib/portage/bin\fR.
1019 The \fBapp\-portage/gentoolkit\fR package contains useful scripts such as
1020 \fBequery\fR (a package query tool).
projects / portage.git / blob