USE flag

USE flags are keywords that embody support and dependency-information for a certain concept. They are a core feature of Gentoo, and a good understanding of how to deal with them is needed for administering a Gentoo system.

Basic concepts on how to implement USE flags can be found in the Handbook.

Declaring USE flags[edit | edit source]

The default set of USE flags is defined by the selected profile. Changing them can be done in /etc/portage/make.conf and/or /etc/portage/package.use. For details see the Using USE flags section of the amd64 Handbook.

USEful commands[edit | edit source]

To see which USE flags are presently enabled:

user $portageq envvar USE | xargs -n 1

To check if a certain USE flag is activated and which packages use it, run:

user $euse -I <use_flag>
user $quse <use_flag>
user $eix --installed-with-use <use_flag>

Replace <use_flag> with the USE flag to be checked.

Emerge command options[edit | edit source]

The emerge command has some USE flag related options like:

  • emerge --changed-use (-U)
  • emerge --complete-graph-if-new-use < y | n >
  • emerge --newuse (-N)

For details see man 1 emerge.

Tools[edit | edit source]

Some tools are available for analyzing and managing USE flags:

See also[edit | edit source]

External resources[edit | edit source]

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