Euse
euse provides functionality to set (disable/enable) and obtain information about USE flags in make.conf, without having to edit the file directly. It is also used to get detailed information about USE flags like description, status of flags (enabled/disabled), type of flag (global/local), etc.
For more information on USE flags, please refer to USE Flags.
euse is part of the gentoolkit package.
Invocation
See euse --help for a complete listing of all invocation options:
user $euse --help euse (0.5.1-r1)
Syntax: euse <option> [suboptions] [useflaglist]
Options: -h, --help - show this message
-V, --version - show version information
-i, --info - show descriptions for the given useflags
-I, --info-installed - show descriptions for the given useflags and
their current impact on the installed system
-g, --global - show only global use flags (suboption)
-l, --local - show only local use flags (suboption)
-a, --active - show currently active useflags and their origin
-E, --enable - enable the given useflags
-D, --disable - disable the given useflags
-R, --remove - remove all references to the given flags from
make.conf and package.use to revert to default
settings
-P, --prune - alias for --remove
-p, --package - used with -E, -D, and -R to apply to a
specific package only
Notes: euse currently works for global flags defined
in make.globals, make.defaults, make.conf, use.force, and use.mask
and local flags defined in package.use and individual package ebuilds.
It might have issues with cascaded profiles. If multiple options are
specified only the last one will be used.
Viewing USE flags
The euse -a command shows the current active USE flags and and where they are activated.
There are 7 "columns" that euse uses to show whether a flag is set/unset and where the flag has been set. Upper case for set, lower case for unset:
- +/-: active or not
- "E": set in the Environment
- "C": set in make.Conf
- "D": set in make.Defaults
- "G": set in make.Globals
- "F": set in use.force
- "m": flipped in use.mask
Full positive values would be [+ECDGFm], full negative values would be [-ecdgfM], full missing values would be [- ].
Example euse -a output (truncated):
user $euse -a[...] flac [+ D ] fortran [+ D ] fuse [- ] (fuse) gbm [- ] (archive) gdbm [+ D ] gif [+ D ] gnutls [- ] (gnutls) gpm [+ D ] gtk [+ D ] gui [+ D ] hdri [+ C ] heif [+ C ] hpcups [+ C ] hwaccel [- ] (hwaccel) iconv [+ D ] [...]
Similarly the euse -a -g command is used to view active global USE flags. The euse -a -l command does the same for active local USE flags. -g and -l are sub-options to euse and need an option before them (like -a) to function correctly.
Setting, and unsetting USE flags
euse is able to set, unset, or remove USE flags from make.conf. The commands used for this are euse -E flagname (enable a flag), euse -D flagname (disable a flag), and euse -P flagname (remove, or "prune", a flag).
Do not use the euse -E or euse -D commands by themselves (without a flag). It will set/unset ALL USE flags in /etc/portage/make.conf. Although a backup is kept at /etc/portage/make.conf.euse_backup, please be careful while using euse -E or euse -D!
Enabling a USE flag
Use the -E option to enable a USE flag.
root #euse -E 3dfx/etc/portage/make.conf was modified, a backup copy has been placed at /etc/portage/make.conf.euse_backup
The /etc/portage/make.conf file looks like so after the command was run:
make.confAfter enabling the 3dfx USE flagUSE="alsa acpi apache2 -arts cups cdr crypt cscope -doc fbcon \
firefox gd gif gimpprint gnome gpm gstreamer gtkhtml imlib \
innodb -java javascript jpeg libg++ libwww mad mbox md5sum \
mikmod mmx motif mpeg mpeg4 mysql ncurses nvidia \
ogg odbc offensive opengl pam pdflib perl png python \
quicktime readline sdl spell sse ssl svga tcltk tiff truetype usb \
vanilla X xosd xv xvid x86 zlib 3dfx"
Disabling a USE flag
Use the -D option to disable a USE flag.
root #euse -D 3dfx/etc/portage/make.conf was modified, a backup copy has been placed at /etc/portage/make.conf.euse_backup
The example /etc/portage/make.conf file, after the command:
make.confAfter disabling the 3dfx USE flagUSE="alsa acpi apache2 -arts cups cdr crypt cscope -doc fbcon \
firefox gd gif gimpprint gnome gpm gstreamer gtkhtml imlib \
innodb -java javascript jpeg libg++ libwww mad mbox md5sum \
mikmod mmx motif mpeg mpeg4 mysql ncurses nvidia \
ogg odbc offensive opengl pam pdflib perl png python \
quicktime readline sdl spell sse ssl svga tcltk tiff truetype usb \
vanilla X xosd xv xvid x86 zlib -3dfx"
euse -D does not remove flags from /etc/portage/make.conf, but adds a
- (minus) before a flag to unset it. Use the -P (prune) option to remove a flag. Alternatively, clean up the file manually in a text editor.A disabled USE flag is not the same as the absence of the flag in make.conf. A disabled use flag will actively disable features, whereas not listing a flag at all will use the default - enabled or disabled - as set by the package maintainer.
Remove (prune) a USE flag
Use the -P (prune) option to remove a USE flag.
root #euse -P 3dfxThe example /etc/portage/make.conf file, after the command:
make.confAfter removing the 3dfx USE flagUSE="alsa acpi apache2 -arts cups cdr crypt cscope -doc fbcon \
firefox gd gif gimpprint gnome gpm gstreamer gtkhtml imlib \
innodb -java javascript jpeg libg++ libwww mad mbox md5sum \
mikmod mmx motif mpeg mpeg4 mysql ncurses nvidia \
ogg odbc offensive opengl pam pdflib perl png python \
quicktime readline sdl spell sse ssl svga tcltk tiff truetype usb \
vanilla X xosd xv xvid x86 zlib"
See also
- Gentoolkit — a suite of tools to ease the administration of a Gentoo system, and Portage in particular.
- Useful_Portage_tools — provides a list of Gentoo-specific system management tools, notably for Portage, available in the ebuild repository.