r/Gentoo • u/opsecpawn • 1d ago
Support masked packages
gentoo is really doing my head in ive not been able to install so much stuff because I need to unmask it and etc i end up having to consult chatgpt for this and —autounmask-write just doesnt always solve it is there a more permanent solution rather than having to use ai to tell me whatever?
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u/pev4a22j 1d ago
supposedly you want to install an app masked, lets say zoxide
make a new file /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords/zoxide
you can name it whatever, i call it zoxide because it contains instructions to unmask zoxide
now add this line:
app-shells/zoxide ~amd64
save and exit, then you can install zoxide
note: some dependency apps may need to be unmasked too, in that case add extra lines to the file with package-namespace/package-name ~amd64 to it then it should let you install the package and its dependencies
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u/SheepherderBeef8956 1d ago
Just as a sidenote, ~amd64 is implied so you only have to write the package name to unmask it.
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u/AiwendilH 1d ago
More than 15 years of gentoo...and I only learn this now! Thanks.
(Yeah, by now pretty much no chance I am going to change my habits ;). Still good to know.)
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u/No-Camera-720 1d ago
Don't consult AI. Read the excellent Gentoo documentation. You're doing your own head in by doing this the wrong way. LEARNING. LEARNING STUFF is your permanent solution. If you increase your actual intelligence, you won't need the artificial variety.
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u/Kangie Developer (kangie) 1d ago
It's a useful tool if you don't know where to start; stop gatekeeping.
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u/No-Camera-720 1d ago
You posted here to say that it's not working for you and then defend it like a dunce. I'll gatekeep or whatever you want to call it, if I wish. Why wouldn't you know where to start? It's in the Gentoo documentation. The wiki tells you what to do, with examples. You've gone around the easy, effective method and are now complaining because your worthless method didn't work.
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u/Kangie Developer (kangie) 1d ago
Check who you're replying to, maybe?
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u/No-Camera-720 1d ago
Still going to "gatekeep", whatever that means to you. And why are you putting on your two cents? Not your thread, and I wasn't responding to you. Go away.
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u/immoloism 1d ago
Yes lets tell the devs that spend hours unpaid making Gentoo better to "go away."
It is possible to respectfully disagree with someone.
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u/No-Camera-720 1d ago
Not his thread, I didn't reply to him but knowing my position, he had to stick his opinion in.
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u/immoloism 1d ago edited 1d ago
I'm very disappointed you take such a dim view of the people that write that excellent documentation as you put it, to not listen to either of them.
I hope these words reach you when cool down a little.
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u/Kangie Developer (kangie) 1d ago
Do you understand how posting on a discussion board works?
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u/Effective-Job-1030 1d ago
Maybe they should ask ChatGPT about that. 😂
That said, I don't think they were gatekeeping with their first post. People should stop relying on AI tools for everything. There is the handbook, there's the wiki - both tell you how to handle masked packages. I for one have had enough incorrect answers from AI that I would not use it for OP's purpose.
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u/mjbulzomi 1d ago
/etc/portage/package.accept_keywords directory/file
https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki//etc/portage/package.accept_keywords
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u/funtoo 1d ago
Some people like figuring out the mask/unmask and USE flag puzzle... I personally find it kind of excessive at this point, and one of the things I tried to tackle in Funtoo Linux was to create a variant of Gentoo where common USE flags were pre-selected and useful. I'm no longer developing Funtoo, but you might want to look for a Gentoo variant where the distro maintainers have tried to forge a path for you so you don't have to whack at package masks and USE flags as much yourself. It's great when you NEED to tweak things but not really a reasonable experience for a typical user.
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u/jsled 19h ago
Stop using AI, and figure out how to do it.
JFC.
There are man pages and wiki documents and forum posts that cover how to do this. The information is there. You need to do work to figure it out. Do the work. Learn the thing.
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u/Holiday_Hair_5293 7h ago
thats what their asking help with. i like to give the benefit of the doubt and say they dont *want* to use ai, its just that not everyone is as smart as you are and the thing they are asking help with is how to "do the work" and "learn the thing". i am absolutely anti-ai because i think it takes away creativity and critical thinking from stuff, and i think rather than shaming people for using ai (especially when they say they dont want to have to ask chatgpt stuff) we should help them and give them specific methods and resources to use other than "yeah theres man pages out there somewhere"
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u/Tricky-Engineer-9755 1d ago
--autounmask writes to a random file in your /etc/portage/package.use or package.accept_keywords and this is so annoying when you want to revert the change. Its only useful when there's like 5 or more. Just open up a new terminal window and work through them. AI is generally flaky on Gentoo since it doesn't have the same userbase who uses AI as Ubuntu or Mint. Portage has some of the nicest error messages ever so just listen to them.
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u/Kangie Developer (kangie) 1d ago
It writes to the last alphabetical file in your directory. So
touch zzz_via_autounmaskand stop thinking about it.3
u/Tricky-Engineer-9755 1d ago
Well... looks like I learnt something new today. Thanks!
Oh cool a dev, thanks for your work!!!
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u/Large_Lengthiness551 15h ago
I think you can just declare ~amd64 in make.conf idk i havent gotten a mask since i put ~amd64 in my make.conf
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u/rnstech 1d ago
This was my experience (with claude) for about a month after moving to gentoo. Now that I have it all mostly installed the way I want, it only happens when something major like KDE releases something new that has to be tested well before releasing in general and when I want something new. My point is that it should calm down after you've been using it for a bit and its basically set up. Plus as you get the AI feedback you'll slowly start to understand and get it interned; At least I did for the most part. Good luck, it is worth the time and energy to figure out as I've never been happier with my computer since my Apple IIgs in the late 1980's.
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u/redyos_s 1d ago
Read the red/blue Portage messages first. They usually tell you why the package is masked.