Selected-packages set (Portage)
emerge — configuration — ebuild repository — dispatch-conf
world file — USE flags — ebuilds — profiles
upgrades — using testing packages — binary packages
tools — gentoolkit — eselect
Portage FAQ — cheat sheet — FAQ
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Not to be confused with World_set_(Portage).
The selected-packages set contains the user-selected "world" packages that are listed in the /var/lib/portage/world file. The selected-packages set is colloquially referred to as the world file.
See package sets for a list of other sets available in Gentoo
Managing the selected-packages set
Listing the selected-packages set
eix can be used to list the selected-packages set:
user $eix -c --selected-fileEmerge a package without adding it to the world file
In order to avoid problems in dependency resolution when updating the system, the /var/lib/portage/world file should contain as few dependencies as possible. So use the --oneshot (-1) option for emerging dependencies.
root #emerge --ask --oneshot <category/atom>Checking the world file
The emaint command can be used to see if any problems exist in the world file:
user $/usr/sbin/emaint --check worldEmaint: check world 100% [============================================>]
Adding an atom without recompilation
To add a package to the selected-packages set without recompiling the package:
root #emerge --ask --noreplace <category/atom>It will add the atom to the /var/lib/portage/world file without compiling it again.
Tips
Editing world file by hand
Though the emerge man page says that the world file can "safely" be edited by hand, Portage will aggressively rewrite that file. Comments or changes in order of packages will be lost and there will be no checking for typos.
The --deselect (-W) or --noreplace (-n) options to the emerge command may be used to add or remove packages from the world file, without actually performing package installation or removal.
See also
- Package sets — sets of packages used by Portage
- /etc/portage/sets — an optional directory that is used to create user defined package sets
- User:Sam/Portage_help/Maintaining_a_Gentoo_system#World_file_hygiene
External resources
- https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-1075276.html - Cleaning the world file (wiki) - check the script.