list all packages no other package depends on

[mDup]

Is there a command in portage or paludis to list them all?
For example no package depends on xload on my system:

Code: Select all

system ~ # equery d xload
 * These packages depend on xload:
system ~ # 

But can one list all of them at once?
Thanks

[kurly]

emerge -pc should work, unless I misunderstand your requirements.

[mDup]

emerge -pc should work, unless I misunderstand your requirements.

'emerge -pc' does not mention 'xload' (which no package depends upon)
If I add --verbose I spot:
x11-apps/xload-1.1.2 pulled in by:
@selected requires x11-apps/xload

[dol-sen]

@selected means it is pulled in by the world file or the profile, (most probably the world file)

You can manually look over your world file and do some house cleaning, then running the -pc options will likely find some packages to clean.

[mDup]

@selected means it is pulled in by the world file or the profile, (most probably the world file)
You can manually look over your world file and do some house cleaning, then running the -pc options will likely find some packages to clean.

But world is what I have. I ask what I have but no other package needs.

Agreed, I may have an ftp server package and no other package needs it. But I may need it (if I run an ftp server).

Conversely several years ago one may have emerged 'fubar' which
looked fun and then one forgot forever. But 'fubar' holds on
dependencies one really does not want anymore. And sure one does no longer
need funny 'fubar'.

Listing packages no other package depends upon would attract ones
attention to 'fubar' which for sure one would unmerge. And, next, its
dependencies.

Point is: if no package depends on a package, that's the one I want to quickly see.

Of course one can do 'equery d $p' for every $p one has (perhaps >3000) and inspect output.
The suggestion to inspect a, say, >3000 line file is exactly what I would want to avoid if a single command can limit it to, say, 500, or, hopefully, less.

[The Doctor]

I think you best tool for that is going to be to use less to look at /var/lib/portage/world and find the packages you personally don't think are necessary. For example, if widelands is the world file but you don't have a clue what it is then you can emerge --deslelect it and then you can run emerge -pc and see what gets freed up.

This is good maintenance to do anyway.

[mDup]

I think you best tool for that is going to be to use less to look at /var/lib/portage/world and find the packages you personally don't think are necessary. For example, if widelands is the world file but you don't have a clue what it is then you can emerge --deslelect it and then you can run emerge -pc and see what gets freed up.
This is good maintenance to do anyway.

It is good maintenance, I agree, but some help from tools themselves would be great to spot widelands in a set of <500 as opposed to >3000 possibilities.
fwiw: I do a lot of maintenance and that is why question arises. My 'server', after 10 years, no longer serves 'media' so I want to get rid of 'media' packages. Not to speak about 'use' aspects, but those I have under control.
So, really: conveniently tell me which packages no other package depends upon.

[The Doctor]

Code: Select all

wc -l /var/lib/portage/world
143 /var/lib/portage/world

If your world file has more than 500 packages in it you have a serous problem and with more than 3000 your plight would be desperate.

[Irre]

I use this script to remove entries in my world file:

Code: Select all

localhost Desktop # cat ../cleanup.sh
for i in `cat /var/lib/portage/world`
do
  if emerge -p --depclean $i | grep "These are the packages that would be unmerged:">null
  then echo $i >>/var/lib/portage/world-new
  else echo "removing:" $i
  fi
done
mv /var/lib/portage/world /var/lib/portage/world-previous
mv /var/lib/portage/world-new /var/lib/portage/world

[charles17]

Of course one can do 'equery d $p' for every $p one has (perhaps >3000) and inspect output.

Use qdepends instead of equery. It is much faster.

Code: Select all

$ for i in $(cat /var/lib/portage/world); do echo $i && qdepends -Q $i; done

For those not registered in @world, use emerge -ac

[khayyam]

Code: Select all

$ for i in $(cat /var/lib/portage/world); do echo $i && qdepends -Q $i; done

charles17 ... or the 'demoggified' version ;)

Code: Select all

# while read i ; do echo $i ; qdepends -Q $i ; done </var/lib/portage/world

Agreed, I may have an ftp server package and no other package needs it. But I may need it (if I run an ftp server). Conversely several years ago one may have emerged 'fubar' which looked fun and then one forgot forever. But 'fubar' holds on dependencies one really does not want anymore. And sure one does no longer need funny 'fubar'.

@mDup ... I'm really having difficulty undertsanding your problem, both the ftp server and 'fubar' are in the world file, and all you need do is look and ask yourself "why do I have {x}", sure you could check every installed package looking for those that aren't a dependency of some other package, but isn't that effectively what the world file is (or should be, assuming the correct use of --oneshot)?

best ... khay

[khayyam]

Code: Select all

for i in `cat /var/lib/portage/world`
do
  if emerge -p --depclean $i | grep "These are the packages that would be unmerged:">null
  then echo $i >>/var/lib/portage/world-new
  else echo "removing:" $i
  fi
done
mv /var/lib/portage/world /var/lib/portage/world-previous
mv /var/lib/portage/world-new /var/lib/portage/world

Irre ... the following would remove the requirement for grep, and cat, and so be a little leaner.

Code: Select all

#!/bin/sh

while read i ; do
    if [ -n "$(emerge -pq --depclean $i)" ]; then
        echo $i >>/var/lib/portage/world-new
    else
        echo "removing:" $i
    fi
done </var/lib/portage/world

if [ -f /var/lib/portage/world-new ]; then
    mv /var/lib/portage/world /var/lib/portage/world-previous ;
    mv /var/lib/portage/world-new /var/lib/portage/world
fi

best ... khay

[mDup]

I have ~3000 lines in world indeed and they correctly correspond to installed (non system) packages.
1) emerge -p --depclean <package> is slow (may take a few days)
2) qdepend -Q <package> is fast (and done)
I'll compare what both report as having nothing depend on <package> when all ~3000 <package>s are done.

[1clue]

Code: Select all

wc -l /var/lib/portage/world
143 /var/lib/portage/world

If your world file has more than 500 packages in it you have a serous problem and with more than 3000 your plight would be desperate.

Wow.

My world file has 44 lines, and I spotted one in there I don't need.

IMO you should only add specific apps you need into your world file, not things you know those apps need. For example, if you need mysql then add that rather than any dependencies.

Generally speaking since I started doing this I have had fewer problems with dependencies overall than I did before.

[charles17]

I'll compare what both report as having nothing depend on <package> when all ~3000 <package>s are done.

Amongst many real dependencies it could show some cases like these where inkscape and p7zip need to stay listed in /var/lib/portage/world or otherwise would get removed on next emerge -ac.

Code: Select all

media-gfx/inkscape
app-office/texmacs-1.99.2-r1

or

Code: Select all

app-arch/p7zip
app-arch/xz-utils-5.2.2

[Irre]

Irre ... the following would remove the requirement for grep, and cat, and so be a little leaner.

Thank you for this leaner cleaner ...

[VoidMage]

To extend the original question, how would you go about a case, when the potential candidates for removal are leaves, but aren't listed in world (for example being results of a long forgotten 'emerge -1o') ?

[mDup]

To extend the original question, how would you go about a case, when the potential candidates for removal are leaves, but aren't listed in world (for example being results of a long forgotten 'emerge -1o') ?

Good question
well ... contrary to other people habits I do not remove anything from world.
Ideally world for me is all I have installed.
In fact sometimes I do:

Code: Select all

% equery l '*' --format='$cp' | cat | sort | uniq > tmp/equery.l.do
% \cp -p /var/lib/portage/world tmp/world.orig
% \cp -p tmp/equery.l.do /var/lib/portage/world

so the case you mention I do not run into.
fwiw above is not something I recommend.
In fact, I do clean up world sometimes by removing colons

Code: Select all

% cat /var/lib/portage/world | cut -d: -f1 | uniq > xxx
% \mv xxx /var/lib/portage/world

also something I do not recommend either. Because that hides some slots.
But I have other ways to handle that.

[charles17]

charles17 ... or the 'demoggified' version

Code: Select all

# while read i ; do echo $i ; qdepends -Q $i ; done </var/lib/portage/world

Thanks khay, I am still learning

Code: Select all

# while read i ; do if [ -n "$(qdepends -Q $i)" ]; then emerge --deselect $i ; fi; done < /var/lib/portage/world

well ... contrary to other people habits I do not remove anything from world.
Ideally world for me is all I have installed.

Polluting /var/lib/portage/world may cause trouble in dependency resolution when updating your system.
For everthing you have installed you could check /var/db/pkg/

Code: Select all

$ ls -al /var/db/pkg/*

[Yamakuzure]

If you have emerged something manually with --oneshot, and nothing depends on it, --depclean will try to remove it, won't it?

[Yamakuzure]

@charles: There is a very big problem with trying to use qdepends like this:

It lists all packages that depend on the package you check, but this includes packages that are *not* in your world file.

So if all packages depending on foo/bar are dependencies themselves and not listed in the world file, removing foo/bar from world will result in --depclean wanting to remove *all* of them!

[charles17]

So if all packages depending on foo/bar are dependencies themselves and not listed in the world file, removing foo/bar from world will result in --depclean wanting to remove *all* of them!

Wouldn't --depclean remove them even with foo/bar kept in world?

[Yamakuzure]

So if all packages depending on foo/bar are dependencies themselves and not listed in the world file, removing foo/bar from world will result in --depclean wanting to remove *all* of them!

Wouldn't --depclean remove them even with foo/bar kept in world?

Not for circular dependencies. Example:

Code: Select all

 $ qdepends -Q media-video/avidemux # <-- in world file
media-libs/avidemux-plugins-2.6.8
media-libs/avidemux-core-2.6.8

 $ qdepends -Q media-libs/avidemux-core
media-libs/avidemux-plugins-2.6.8
media-video/avidemux-2.6.8 # <-- in world file

So if you --deselect media-video/avidemux, because two packages depend on it, --depclean will remove all three

I just tried it, that's how I found out.

[charles17]

So if you --deselect media-video/avidemux, because two packages depend on it, --depclean will remove all three

I just tried it, that's how I found out.

Circular dependencies are a problem in general. But how many of such cases are there in emerge --depclean -p after running

Code: Select all

# while read i ; do if [ -n "$(qdepends -Q $i)" ]; then emerge --deselect $i ; fi; done < /var/lib/portage/world

Those could be easily re-added using emerge --ask --noreplace <atom>.

[khayyam]

Yamakuzure ... I'm having difficulty understanding your point here ...

There is a very big problem with trying to use qdepends like this: It lists all packages that depend on the package you check, but this includes packages that are *not* in your world file.

The packages in world are checked to see if they are dependent, or independent.

So if all packages depending on foo/bar are dependencies themselves and not listed in the world file, removing foo/bar from world will result in --depclean wanting to remove *all* of them!

I really don't get this, if foo/bar (a dependency of some other package) is removed from world then the package apon which it is a dependency still exists in world, no? If it were 'independent' of any dep then removing it from world would cause its dependencies to be selected by --depclean, but the fact that it is a dependency means it is a dependency of some 'independent' package in world.

That said, and reviewing the above code snippits I provided above, I'm not sure the above test is correct, and so I'd be hesitant to suggest '--deselect' without properly checking what the code does (and currently I'm busy with other things).

edit: just saw your example ... and am chewing on it :)

best ... khay