Upgrading the Portage Profile to 23.0 in Gentoo Linux (OpenRC) and merging /usr
May 3, 2024 Leave a comment
This week I finally had some spare time to upgrade the Gentoo Linux Portage Profile from 17.1 to 23.0 (see Gentoo Linux News item of 22 March 2024 titled ‘Profile upgrade to version 23.0 available‘) in my two Gentoo Linux installations: one Stable (amd64), the other Testing (~amd64). Both installations use OpenRC and therefore they had a split /usr directory structure, as shown below for my Testing installation:
fitzcarraldo@meshedgedx ~ $ cd /
fitzcarraldo@meshedgedx ~ $ tree -L 1
.
├── bin
├── boot
├── cgroup
├── dev
├── etc
├── home
├── install-data
├── lib
├── lib64
├── lost+found
├── media
├── mnt
├── opt
├── proc
├── restartkde.sh
├── root
├── run
├── sbin
├── sys
├── tmp
├── unlock.sh
├── usr
└── var
22 directories, 2 files
(Ignore the two shell scripts shown in the output above; they are scripts I created.)
I followed the instructions in the above-mentioned Gentoo Linux News item, and had no trouble upgrading the profile in both installations, although the final step of merging the world set using the ‘--emptytree‘ option took three days (painful!) to rebuild the 1742 packages in my Testing installation and 1845 packages in my Stable installation. Both installations initially used the Portage profile ‘default/linux/amd64/17.1/desktop/plasma (stable)‘, so I needed to upgrade them to ‘default/linux/amd64/23.0/split-usr/desktop/plasma (stable)‘. The outcome of each step specified in the news item was as expected, so I will not bother to describe them here other than to mention that one non-essential application package failed to build in Step 16 (‘emerge --ask --emptytree @world‘) during the upgrade of my Stable installation. I uninstalled that package and then used the command ‘emerge --emptytree --resume --skipfirst‘ in order to complete the process.
The purpose of this post is to describe how I migrated the installations from the split /usr directory structure to the merged /usr structure after I had completed upgrading the Portage profile to 23.0. The /usr merging procedure gets rid of the separation of directories /bin and /usr/bin, /sbin and /usr/sbin, /lib and /usr/lib, and /lib64 and /usr/lib64. All the files in the directories in / (root) are merged into their respective counterparts in /usr, and symlinks for the old directories are created instead:
/bin → /usr/bin
/sbin → /usr/sbin
/lib → /usr/lib
/lib64 → /usr/lib64
It is not mandatory to have the merged /usr structure in installations that use OpenRC, therefore I could have left the two installations with the split /usr structure after I had upgraded the Portage profile. However, as Linux installations that use systemd now only support the merged /usr structure, and as packages in Linux distributions that use systemd will be coded to use the merged /usr structure and may possibly be ported to Gentoo Linux at some point, I decided to migrate my installations to use the merged /usr structure. Below I describe how I did that in my Gentoo Linux Testing installation (see also the Gentoo Linux Wiki article merge-usr). The procedure was essentially the same for my Gentoo Linux Stable installation.
1. Install the merge-usr package
meshedgedx /home/fitzcarraldo # cd /
meshedgedx / # emerge --ask sys-apps/merge-usr
These are the packages that would be merged, in order:
Calculating dependencies... done!
Dependency resolution took 15.62 s (backtrack: 0/20).
[ebuild N ] sys-apps/merge-usr-6 PYTHON_SINGLE_TARGET="python3_11 -python3_10 -python3_12"
Would you like to merge these packages? [Yes/No] Yes
>>> Verifying ebuild manifests
>>> Emerging (1 of 1) sys-apps/merge-usr-6::gentoo
>>> Installing (1 of 1) sys-apps/merge-usr-6::gentoo
>>> Recording sys-apps/merge-usr in "world" favorites file...
>>> Completed (1 of 1) sys-apps/merge-usr-6::gentoo
>>> Jobs: 1 of 1 complete Load avg: 1.49, 1.34, 0.82
* GNU info directory index is up-to-date.
2. Perform a dry run of the merge-usr script to check if there would be any problems migrating to the new structure
meshedgedx / # merge-usr --dryrun
INFO: Migrating files from '/bin' to '/usr/bin'
INFO: Skipping symlink '/bin/awk'; '/usr/bin/awk' already exists
INFO: No problems found for '/bin'
INFO: Migrating files from '/sbin' to '/usr/bin'
ERROR: Conflict for symlink '/sbin/lspci': [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/sbin/lspci'
ERROR: Leaving '/sbin' as a directory due to prior errors
INFO: Migrating files from '/usr/sbin' to '/usr/bin'
INFO: No problems found for '/usr/sbin'
INFO: Migrating files from '/lib' to '/usr/lib'
ERROR: Conflict for special file '/lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/localmount': Special files are not supported
ERROR: Conflict for special file '/lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/net.lo': Special files are not supported
ERROR: Conflict for special file '/lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/checkfs': Special files are not supported
ERROR: Conflict for special file '/lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/modules': Special files are not supported
ERROR: Conflict for special file '/lib/splash/cache/.splash': Special files are not supported
ERROR: Leaving '/lib' as a directory due to prior errors
INFO: Migrating files from '/lib64' to '/usr/lib64'
INFO: No problems found for '/lib64'
The output above showed there were several problems.
3. Resolve all problems identified in the dry run
The first reported error related to /sbin/lspci, so I checked that file:
meshedgedx / # ls -la /sbin/lspci
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 15 Mar 30 2010 /sbin/lspci -> /usr/sbin/lspci
Both /sbin/lspci and /usr/sbin/lspci in the above output on screen were highlighted in red and flashing, indicating that /usr/sbin/lspci did not exist, so I deleted the symlink:
meshedgedx / # rm /sbin/lspci
I then re-ran the script to check that the first error had been resolved:
meshedgedx / # merge-usr --dryrun
INFO: Migrating files from '/bin' to '/usr/bin'
INFO: Skipping symlink '/bin/awk'; '/usr/bin/awk' already exists
INFO: No problems found for '/bin'
INFO: Migrating files from '/sbin' to '/usr/bin'
INFO: No problems found for '/sbin'
INFO: Migrating files from '/usr/sbin' to '/usr/bin'
INFO: No problems found for '/usr/sbin'
INFO: Migrating files from '/lib' to '/usr/lib'
ERROR: Conflict for special file '/lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/localmount': Special files are not supported
ERROR: Conflict for special file '/lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/net.lo': Special files are not supported
ERROR: Conflict for special file '/lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/checkfs': Special files are not supported
ERROR: Conflict for special file '/lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/modules': Special files are not supported
ERROR: Conflict for special file '/lib/splash/cache/.splash': Special files are not supported
ERROR: Leaving '/lib' as a directory due to prior errors
INFO: Migrating files from '/lib64' to '/usr/lib64'
INFO: No problems found for '/lib64'
Next I tackled the ‘special file’ error messages:
meshedgedx / # ls -la /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/localmount
prw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Dec 5 2005 /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/localmount
meshedgedx / # ls -la /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/net.lo
prw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Dec 5 2005 /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/net.lo
meshedgedx / # ls -la /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/checkfs
prw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Dec 5 2005 /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/checkfs
meshedgedx / # ls -la /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/modules
prw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Dec 5 2005 /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/modules
meshedgedx / # ls -la /lib/splash/cache/.splash
prwx------ 1 root root 0 May 25 2012 /lib/splash/cache/.splash
The file /lib/splash/cache/.splash dated 2012 was associated with splashutils, which is no longer installed. The package is not in the Portage tree anymore either. So it was safe to delete it:
meshedgedx / # rm /lib/splash/cache/.splash
The other error messages all related to very old files in the /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/ directory:
meshedgedx / # file /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/localmount
/lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/localmount: fifo (named pipe)
meshedgedx / # file /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/net.lo
/lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/net.lo: fifo (named pipe)
meshedgedx / # file /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/checkfs
/lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/checkfs: fifo (named pipe)
meshedgedx / # file /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/modules
/lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/modules: fifo (named pipe)
Those pipes were not used any more, so I deleted them all:
meshedgedx / # rm /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/localmount /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/net.lo /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/checkfs /lib/rc/init.d/exclusive/modules
Another re-run of the script showed no problems should occur with the migration:
meshedgedx / # merge-usr --dryrun
INFO: Migrating files from '/bin' to '/usr/bin'
INFO: Skipping symlink '/bin/awk'; '/usr/bin/awk' already exists
INFO: No problems found for '/bin'
INFO: Migrating files from '/sbin' to '/usr/bin'
INFO: No problems found for '/sbin'
INFO: Migrating files from '/usr/sbin' to '/usr/bin'
INFO: No problems found for '/usr/sbin'
INFO: Migrating files from '/lib' to '/usr/lib'
INFO: No problems found for '/lib'
INFO: Migrating files from '/lib64' to '/usr/lib64'
INFO: No problems found for '/lib64'
I was therefore happy to go ahead with the migration.
4. Perform the migration
meshedgedx / # merge-usr
INFO: Migrating files from '/bin' to '/usr/bin'
INFO: Skipping symlink '/bin/awk'; '/usr/bin/awk' already exists
INFO: Replacing '/bin' with a symlink to 'usr/bin'
INFO: Migrating files from '/sbin' to '/usr/bin'
INFO: Replacing '/sbin' with a symlink to 'usr/bin'
INFO: Migrating files from '/usr/sbin' to '/usr/bin'
INFO: Replacing '/usr/sbin' with a symlink to 'bin'
INFO: Migrating files from '/lib' to '/usr/lib'
INFO: Replacing '/lib' with a symlink to 'usr/lib'
INFO: Migrating files from '/lib64' to '/usr/lib64'
INFO: Replacing '/lib64' with a symlink to 'usr/lib64'
As can be seen in the output below, the script successfully changed the directory structure to the required merged /usr structure:
meshedgedx / # tree -L 1
.
├── bin -> usr/bin
├── boot
├── cgroup
├── dev
├── etc
├── home
├── install-data
├── lib -> usr/lib
├── lib64 -> usr/lib64
├── lost+found
├── media
├── mnt
├── opt
├── proc
├── restartkde.sh
├── root
├── run
├── sbin -> usr/bin
├── sys
├── tmp
├── unlock.sh
├── usr
└── var
22 directories, 2 files
5. Change the Gentoo Linux 23.0 profile from the split-usr profile to the merged-usr profile
meshedgedx / # eselect profile show
Current /etc/portage/make.profile symlink:
default/linux/amd64/23.0/split-usr/desktop/plasma
meshedgedx / # eselect profile list | grep plasma
[8] default/linux/amd64/17.1/desktop/plasma (stable)
[9] default/linux/amd64/17.1/desktop/plasma/systemd/merged-usr (stable)
[27] default/linux/amd64/23.0/desktop/plasma (stable)
[28] default/linux/amd64/23.0/desktop/plasma/systemd (stable)
[48] default/linux/amd64/23.0/split-usr/desktop/plasma (stable) *
meshedgedx / # eselect profile set 27
meshedgedx / # eselect profile show
Current /etc/portage/make.profile symlink:
default/linux/amd64/23.0/desktop/plasma
6. Upgrade the Portage world set to take into account the new Portage profile with USE="-split-usr"
meshedgedx / # emerge -uDN @world
Calculating dependencies... done!
Dependency resolution took 153.98 s (backtrack: 0/20).
>>> Verifying ebuild manifests
>>> Emerging (1 of 12) sys-apps/baselayout-2.15::gentoo
>>> Emerging (2 of 12) dev-libs/lzo-2.10::gentoo
>>> Emerging (3 of 12) app-alternatives/bzip2-1::gentoo
>>> Emerging (4 of 12) app-alternatives/gzip-1::gentoo
>>> Emerging (5 of 12) app-alternatives/cpio-0::gentoo
>>> Installing (1 of 12) sys-apps/baselayout-2.15::gentoo
>>> Completed (1 of 12) sys-apps/baselayout-2.15::gentoo
>>> Installing (3 of 12) app-alternatives/bzip2-1::gentoo
>>> Completed (3 of 12) app-alternatives/bzip2-1::gentoo
>>> Installing (4 of 12) app-alternatives/gzip-1::gentoo
>>> Completed (4 of 12) app-alternatives/gzip-1::gentoo
>>> Installing (5 of 12) app-alternatives/cpio-0::gentoo
>>> Completed (5 of 12) app-alternatives/cpio-0::gentoo
>>> Installing (2 of 12) dev-libs/lzo-2.10::gentoo
>>> Completed (2 of 12) dev-libs/lzo-2.10::gentoo
>>> Emerging (6 of 12) app-alternatives/tar-0::gentoo
>>> Installing (6 of 12) app-alternatives/tar-0::gentoo
>>> Completed (6 of 12) app-alternatives/tar-0::gentoo
>>> Emerging (7 of 12) sys-apps/kmod-32-r1::gentoo
>>> Installing (7 of 12) sys-apps/kmod-32-r1::gentoo
>>> Completed (7 of 12) sys-apps/kmod-32-r1::gentoo
>>> Emerging (8 of 12) app-alternatives/awk-4::gentoo
>>> Installing (8 of 12) app-alternatives/awk-4::gentoo
>>> Completed (8 of 12) app-alternatives/awk-4::gentoo
>>> Emerging (9 of 12) sys-apps/coreutils-9.5::gentoo
>>> Installing (9 of 12) sys-apps/coreutils-9.5::gentoo
>>> Completed (9 of 12) sys-apps/coreutils-9.5::gentoo
>>> Emerging (10 of 12) sys-apps/systemd-utils-254.10-r1::gentoo
>>> Installing (10 of 12) sys-apps/systemd-utils-254.10-r1::gentoo
>>> Completed (10 of 12) sys-apps/systemd-utils-254.10-r1::gentoo
>>> Emerging (11 of 12) sys-libs/ncurses-6.4_p20240414::gentoo
>>> Installing (11 of 12) sys-libs/ncurses-6.4_p20240414::gentoo
>>> Completed (11 of 12) sys-libs/ncurses-6.4_p20240414::gentoo
>>> Emerging (12 of 12) sys-apps/shadow-4.14.6::gentoo
>>> Installing (12 of 12) sys-apps/shadow-4.14.6::gentoo
>>> Completed (12 of 12) sys-apps/shadow-4.14.6::gentoo
>>> Jobs: 12 of 12 complete Load avg: 2.01, 2.41, 2.39
* GNU info directory index is up-to-date.
* After world updates, it is important to remove obsolete packages with
* emerge --depclean. Refer to `man emerge` for more information.
meshedgedx / # emerge --ask --depclean
* Always study the list of packages to be cleaned for any obvious
* mistakes. Packages that are part of the world set will always
* be kept. They can be manually added to this set with
* `emerge --noreplace `. Packages that are listed in
* package.provided (see portage(5)) will be removed by
* depclean, even if they are part of the world set.
*
* As a safety measure, depclean will not remove any packages
* unless *all* required dependencies have been resolved. As a
* consequence of this, it often becomes necessary to run
* `emerge --update --newuse --deep @world` prior to depclean.
Calculating dependencies... done!
>>> No packages selected for removal by depclean
>>> To see reverse dependencies, use --verbose
Packages installed: 1742
Packages in world: 323
Packages in system: 49
Required packages: 1742
Number removed: 0
7. Reboot to check that everything works as expected
meshedgedx / # reboot
Job complete.
The migration process in my Gentoo Linux Stable installation was essentially the same as for my Testing installation, except that the dry run of the merge-usr script did not flag any problems and therefore I was able to proceed with the migration without having to make any changes.
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