Gentoo Repository News
Dracut changed default for hostonly_cmdline setting - 08/05/2026 00:00 GMT
Dracut is an initramfs generation tool. It may be invoked via the
installkernel mechanism or manually after building custom kernels.
What changed?
=============
In version 111 of sys-kernel/dracut the default for the
hostonly_cmdline setting changed from enabled to disabled.
When enabled, this setting causes Dracut to attempt to detect which
parameters are required on the kernel command line to boot the system.
Examples are the root= parameter or parameters controlling partition
decryption. These parameters are then included in the generated
initramfs and appended to the kernel command line during boot.
Why has this setting been changed?
==================================
When enabled, Dracut's hostonly_cmdline setting may use the kernel
command line of the running kernel (/proc/cmdline) to construct the
kernel command line that will be embedded in the initramfs.
This can cause problems when Dracut is being executed from a live or
rescue environment. In such cases an incorrect root= could be included
in the embedded kernel command line which could lead to boot failure.
To prevent this behaviour from causing such unpleasant surprises, a
check was added to sys-kernel/installkernel to detect whether the
kernel was being installed from chroot and if Dracut was configured
to include an embedded kernel command line (hostonly_cmdline=yes).
While this check prevents boot failures, it also has the unfortunate
side effect of creating a hard error that is triggered by default on
new Gentoo installs. This has proven to be a significant stumbling
block that new users often trip over. For this reason it was decided
to disable the hostonly_cmdline setting in Gentoo's default settings
for Dracut.
User Action Required (all users)
================================
With >=sys-kernel/dracut-111, users need to perform a sanity check
described in this news item.
This sanity check will ensure that kernel parameters required to boot
successfully are still present in the kernel command line. When in
doubt, ensure system rescue media is close at hand.
More specific instructions for various setups follow below, ordered
from the specific to the more general as listed here:
* Systemd GPT Auto Generator
* Generic Unified Kernel Image
* Unified Kernel Image with Secure Boot
* GRUB
* systemd-boot
* rEFInd
* other/general
For each option a summarised list of relevant files that should be
double checked is provided first. In general the 'lsinitrd' tool
provided by sys-kernel/dracut can be used to obtain the current
embedded kernel command line, these kernel parameters will be absent
after (re)generating an initramfs with version 111 of dracut.
As always, do not hesitate to use our support channels to ask for
clarification or assistance.
> User Action Required (Systemd GPT Auto Generator)
=================================================
Files to double check:
- /dev/gpt-auto-root (symlink must be valid)
- If absent then the auto generator is not being used.
Systems that utilise the systemd GPT Auto Generator mechanism to
automatically detect and find the root partition at boot should not
require any manual intervention. Though, before rebooting, users
should verify that the auto generator is actually being used and
is working properly. To do so, check that /dev/gpt-auto-root currently
exists and points to your root partition. For example:
$ ls -l /dev/gpt-auto-root
Should produce an output similar to the below if /dev/nvme0n1p1 is the
root partition:
"""Output:
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 4 May 2 10:33 /dev/gpt-auto-root -> nvme0n1p1
"""
If this is not the case then proceed with the instructions below that
best match the setup to ensure that the root partition is set on the
kernel command line using an alternative method.
> User Action Required (Generic Unified Kernel Image: "generic-uki")
==================================================================
Files to double check:
- none
Users booting with the generic Unified Kernel Image (USE=generic-uki)
functionality provided by the distribution kernels (dist-kernel) do
not have to take any action as the hostonly_cmdline is already
disabled in these builds:
- sys-kernel/vanilla-kernel[generic-uki]
- sys-kernel/gentoo-kernel[generic-uki]
- sys-kernel/gentoo-kernel-bin[generic-uki]
> User Action Required (Unified Kernel Image with Secure Boot)
============================================================
Files to double check:
- /etc/kernel/cmdline and/or /etc/kernel/uki.conf (ukify)
- /etc/dracut.conf and/or /etc/dracut.conf.d/*.conf (dracut)
Booting a Unified Kernel Image (UKI) with Secure Boot enabled is a
special case because in this situation the kernel command line
supplied by the bootloader or the firmware is ignored and the built-in
UKI command line, along with the parameters embedded in the initramfs,
take precedence. The instructions below are also relevant if no
kernel command line is set by the bootloader or the firmware.
Verify whether Secure Boot is enabled with dmesg, for example:
$ dmesg | grep -i secure
"""Output:
[ 0.012418] Secure boot enabled
"""
An easy way to check the built-in kernel command line of an UKI is to
use the lsinitrd tool provided by sys-kernel/dracut. For example:
$ lsinitrd /efi/EFI/Linux/gentoo-x.y.z-gentoo-dist.efi
This command will produce an output that could contain for example:
"""Output:
Command line:
quiet
splash
root=PARTUUID=7ae430c6-07e8-3b4e-a796-b2a28706b3fb
dracut cmdline:
ro
"""
Showing that the built-in kernel command line for this UKI contains
"quiet", "splash" and sets the root partition to the partition that
has the partition UUID "7ae430c6-07e8-3b4e-a796-b2a28706b3fb".
Additionally, the kernel command line embedded in the initramfs
contains "ro".
If kernel parameters that are essential for successfully booting
the system (such as root=) are present in the "dracut cmdline"
section but not in the "Command line" section then user intervention
is required. In that case please adjust the configuration of the
UKI generator to include the appropriate kernel parameters in the
built-in UKI command line.
If Ukify (sys-apps/systemd[ukify] or sys-apps/systemd-utils[ukify])
is generating the UKI then adjust the "Cmdline=" setting in
/etc/kernel/uki.conf. If that setting is not present in the uki.conf
then adjust the kernel command line in /etc/kernel/cmdline.
If Dracut itself is generating the UKI then please set or adjust the
"kernel_cmdline=" setting in a dracut configuration file in
/etc/dracut.conf.d/.
If unsure which tool is generating the UKI then please inspect the
current value of "uki_generator" in /usr/lib/kernel/install.conf and
/etc/kernel/cmdline.
> User Action Required (GRUB)
===========================
Files to double check:
- /etc/default/grub
Users booting with GRUB should compare the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX setting
in /etc/default/grub against the kernel command line embedded in the
initramfs or Unified Kernel Image (UKI). The lsinitrd utility provided
by sys-kernel/dracut can be used for this purpose. For example, in the
case of a plain initramfs:
$ lsinitrd /boot/initramfs-x.y.z-gentoo-dist.img
Or, in the case of an Unified Kernel Image:
$ lsinitrd /boot/vmlinuz-x.y.z-gentoo-dist.efi
The final lines of the output of these commands show which kernel
parameters are embedded in the Dracut initramfs. For example:
"""Output:
dracut cmdline:
ro
"""
If kernel parameters that are essential for successfully booting
the system (such as root=) are present in the "dracut cmdline"
section but not in /etc/default/grub then user intervention is
required. In that case please adjust the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX setting in
/etc/default/grub to include the missing kernel parameters. After
adjustments don't forget to update the grub.cfg. For example:
$ grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Note that when Secure Boot is enabled the grub.cfg might reside in a
different directory, for example: /efi/EFI/Gentoo/grub.cfg.
> User Action Required (systemd-boot)
===================================
Files to double check:
- /etc/kernel/cmdline
Users booting with systemd-boot should compare the contents of
/etc/kernel/cmdline against the kernel command line embedded in the
initramfs or Unified Kernel Image (UKI).
If Unified Kernel Images are used and the /etc/kernel/cmdline file is
empty or missing then no kernel command line is set by systemd-boot,
in this case please refer to the "Unified Kernel Image with Secure
Boot" section above, even if Secure Boot is not enabled.
The lsinitrd utility provided by sys-kernel/dracut can be used to
inspect the kernel parameters embedded in an initramfs or UKI. For
example, in the case of a plain initramfs:
$ lsinitrd /efi/gentoo/x.y.z-gentoo-dist/initrd
Or, in the case of an Unified Kernel Image:
$ lsinitrd /efi/EFI/Linux/gentoo-x.y.z-gentoo-dist.efi
The final lines of the output of these commands show which kernel
parameters are embedded in the Dracut initramfs. For example:
"""Output:
dracut cmdline:
ro
"""
If kernel parameters that are essential for successfully booting
the system (such as root=) are present in the "dracut cmdline"
section but not in /etc/kernel/cmdline then user intervention is
required. In that case please adjust /etc/kernel/cmdline to include
the missing kernel parameters.
> User Action Required (rEFInd)
=============================
Files to double check:
- refind_linux.conf
Users booting with rEFInd should compare kernel command line set
in the refind_linux.conf file against the kernel command line embedded
in the initramfs or Unified Kernel Image (UKI).
The refind_linux.conf configuration file usually resides in /boot but
may also be found elsewhere.
If Unified Kernel Images are used and the refind_linux.conf
configuration file is empty or missing then no kernel command line is
set by rEFInd, in this case please refer to the "Unified Kernel Image
with Secure Boot" section above, even if Secure Boot is not enabled.
The lsinitrd utility provided by sys-kernel/dracut can be used to
inspect the kernel parameters embedded in an initramfs or UKI. For
example, in the case of a plain initramfs:
$ lsinitrd /boot/initramfs-x.y.z-gentoo-dist.img
Or, in the case of an Unified Kernel Image:
$ lsinitrd /boot/vmlinuz-x.y.z-gentoo-dist.efi
The final lines of the output of these commands show which kernel
parameters are embedded in the Dracut initramfs. For example:
"""Output:
dracut cmdline:
ro
"""
If kernel parameters that are essential for successfully booting
the system (such as root=) are present in the "dracut cmdline"
section but not in the refind_linux.conf then user intervention is
required. In that case please adjust refind_linux.conf to include the
missing kernel parameters.
> User Action Required (other/general)
====================================
For other setups please refer to the wiki page or manual of your
bootloader and find where the kernel command line is set. Then
compare this setting with the kernel parameters embedded in the
initramfs.
If essential parameters are present in the later but not in the
former, then please move those parameters to your bootloader's
configuration.
When Unified Kernel Images are used then also consider the built-in
UKI command line set by the UKI generator. Note that when Secure Boot
is disabled, the bootloader may override the built-in UKI command
line. However, when Secure Boot is enabled then any parameters set by
the bootloader are ignored and the built-in UKI command line is
always used.
See Also
========
[1] https://github.com/dracut-ng/dracut-ng/pull/2399
[2] https://bugs.gentoo.org/971572
Posted By: Nowa Ammerlaan
Portage binpkg changes - 03/05/2026 00:00 GMT
Newer versions of Portage are making two changes to how binary packages work: 1) binary package signatures are now verified by default [0]; 2) fetched binary packages are stored separately from locally-built binaries (this change is already in a recent Portage release) [1]. Remote binary packages are now cached in /var/cache/binhost/NAME where NAME is given by the configuration item in /etc/portage/binrepos.conf. This allows clean separation of locally built binary packages vs. those with remote provenance, and to allow verification of fetched packages without forcing signing to be set up for local binpkgs. The cache location can be customised by setting `location` in binrepos.conf. gentoolkit has been updated to handle these cache locations too. This news item only applies if you use or produce binary packages. Official binhost users ====================== Fetched binary packages are now stored at /var/cache/binhost/gentoo (or a similar path, depending on contents of /etc/portage/binrepos.conf/*). No action is required, for two reasons: 1) all of the documentation included FEATURES="binpkg-request-signature", and 2) attempts to install a binpkg that is signed without any configuration would fail early. The only impact is that future binary package installs will need less setup. Setting FEATURES="binpkg-request-signature" is no longer needed for this case. Users may need to run `eclean-pkg` to cleanup old binary packages in the old, mixed location. Users of just the official binary host can stop reading at this point. Custom binhosts =============== Users who host their own binary packages and redistribute them to their machines will need to either: 1) start signing their binpkgs [2], or 2) set `verify-signature = false` in /etc/portage/binrepos.conf/* for the relevant configuration file for your binhost. Otherwise, fetched binpkgs will fail verification. To set up signing for binpkgs, a signing keyring must reside (by default) at /root/.gnupg and a verification keyring must reside (by default) at /etc/portage/gnupg. The verification keyring must mark the signing key as trusted. Signing is toggled by FEATURES="binpkg-signing". You can opt-in to this change early by setting `verify-signature = true` in /etc/portage/binrepos.conf/* for each binary repository configured, or under the special '[DEFAULT]' section. Users may need to run `eclean-pkg` to cleanup old binary packages in the old, mixed location. This does not apply if your binhost uses the old XPAK binary package format, but we encourage switching to BINPKG_FORMAT="gpkg" if that is the case. [0] https://bugs.gentoo.org/945384 [1] https://bugs.gentoo.org/945385 [2] https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Binary_package_guide#Binary_package_OpenPGP_signing
Posted By: Sam James
SELinux Policy EAPI 8 Migration - 26/04/2026 00:00 GMT
What Changed ============ The SELinux policy packages have all been bumped to EAPI 8. POLICY_TYPES, which used to be an environment variable, is now a USE expand named SELINUX_POLICY_TYPES. The use of USE_EXPAND fixes some longstanding bugs and allows users to switch policy types more easily. Whilst the POLICY_TYPES environment variable is considered deprecated going forward, it is still necessary to keep it set (and in sync with SELINUX_POLICY_TYPES) until you are certain that all installed policy packages on your system have been updated. Please read on for further instructions. For Users ========= Set SELINUX_POLICY_TYPES in your package.use to match what POLICY_TYPES is currently set to. To get the current value of POLICY_TYPES: $ portageq envvar POLICY_TYPES And to set SELINUX_POLICY_TYPES: # echo 'SELINUX_POLICY_TYPES="mcs"' >>/etc/portage/make.conf OR # echo "sec-policy/* SELINUX_POLICY_TYPES: mcs" >>/etc/portage/package.use/selinux-policy Then, update the system to install the updated policy packages: # emerge --verbose --ask --update --deep --newuse @world DO NOT unset POLICY_TYPES until you are certain that all of the policy packages installed have been updated to use EAPI 8 (or above). You can use this command to find all outdated installed policy packages that have not been updated yet: $ qgrep -eNJ 'EAPI="\?7"\?' 'sec-policy/*' If the above command returns an empty list, then it is safe to remove the POLICY_TYPES variable. For Overlay Maintainers ======================= In your SELinux policy packages, bump the EAPI variable to EAPI=8. If your packages have any form of dependency on another policy package, it is neccessary to constrain their USE flags with the new eclass variable SELINUX_POLICY_USEDEP. See selinux-policy-2.eclass(5) for more details.
Posted By: Rahul Sandhu
Python 3.14 to become the default on 2026-06-01 - 16/04/2026 00:00 GMT
We are planning to switch the default Python target of Gentoo systems
on 2026-06-01, from Python 3.13 to Python 3.14. If you have not changed
the values of PYTHON_TARGETS or PYTHON_SINGLE_TARGET, the change will
have immediate effect on your system and the package manager will try
to switch automatically on the next upgrade following the change.
Most users do not need to do anything and it is best to wait until the
switch date, as packages are still being ported.
If you did change the values, prefer to have more control over when
the switch occurs, or have problems with the update, read on.
Please note that the default upgrade method switches packages to the new
Python versions as they are rebuilt. This means that all interdependent
packages have to support the new version for the upgrade to proceed,
and that some programs may temporarily fail to find their dependencies
throughout the upgrade (although programs that are already started
are unlikely to be affected).
If you have PYTHON_TARGETS or PYTHON_SINGLE_TARGET declared
in make.conf, please remove these declarations as they will interfere
with the package.use samples provided below. Using make.conf for Python
targets is discouraged as it prevents package defaults from applying
when necessary. This news item assumes using /etc/portage/package.use
or your package manager's equivalent file for configuration.
At this point, you have a few configuration options to choose from:
1. If you wish Python upgrades to apply automatically, you can remove
PYTHON_TARGETS and PYTHON_SINGLE_TARGET declarations. When
the defaults change, your package manager should handle the upgrade
automatically. However, you may still need to run the update
commands if any problems arise.
2. If you wish to defer the upgrade for the time being, you can
explicitly set the old values in package.use.
3. If you wish to force the upgrade earlier, you can explicitly set
the new values and run the upgrade commands.
4. If you wish to use a safer approach (i.e. less likely to temporarily
break packages during the upgrade), you can perform a multi-step
upgrade as outlined below.
5. Finally, you can use an arbitrary combination of PYTHON_TARGETS
and PYTHON_SINGLE_TARGET.
Deferring the upgrade
=====================
To defer the upgrade, explicitly set the old targets:
*/* PYTHON_TARGETS: -* python3_13
*/* PYTHON_SINGLE_TARGET: -* python3_13
This will enforce Python 3.13 and block any future updates. However,
please note that this is only a temporary solution and you will
eventually need to perform the migration.
Forcing the upgrade
===================
To force the upgrade earlier, explicitly select the Python 3.14 targets:
*/* PYTHON_TARGETS: -* python3_14
*/* PYTHON_SINGLE_TARGET: -* python3_14
However, it is important to remember to remove this after the defaults
change, as it will interfere with the automatic switch to the next
Python version in the future.
Safer upgrade procedure
=======================
A safer approach is to add Python 3.14 support to your system first,
and only then remove Python 3.13. However, note that this involves two
rebuilds of all the affected packages, so it will take noticeably
longer.
First, enable both Python 3.13 and Python 3.14, and then run the upgrade
commands:
*/* PYTHON_TARGETS: -* python3_13 python3_14
*/* PYTHON_SINGLE_TARGET: -* python3_13
Then switch PYTHON_SINGLE_TARGET and run the second batch of upgrades:
*/* PYTHON_TARGETS: -* python3_13 python3_14
*/* PYTHON_SINGLE_TARGET: -* python3_14
Finally, switch to the final version and upgrade:
*/* PYTHON_TARGETS: -* python3_14
*/* PYTHON_SINGLE_TARGET: -* python3_14
You may wish to remove the target overrides after the defaults switch.
Alternatively, you can keep them to block the next automatic upgrade
to Python 3.15, and upgrade manually then.
Upgrade commands
================
The Python 3.13 cleanup requires that Python 3.13 is removed from
the complete dependency trees in batch. If some of the
installed packages using an older Python version are not triaged
for the upgrade, the package manager will throw dependency conflicts.
This makes it important that the upgrade is carried via a --deep
--changed-use @world upgrade, as well as that any stray packages
are removed prior to it, e.g.:
emerge --depclean
emerge -1vUD @world
emerge --depclean
Other Python implementations
============================
At the same time, we are also going to remove the target support
for Python 3.11 (python3_11) and PyPy 3.11 (pypy3_11). Since there are
no plans to release a Python 3.12-compatible PyPy version yet, Gentoo
will be removing PyPy support for the time being.
Posted By: Michał Górny
Varnish Renamed - 31/03/2026 00:00 GMT
# Varnish Renamed to Vinyl-Cache As of version 9.0.0, www-servers/varnish has been renamed to www-servers/vinyl-cache in line with upstream's change of name[0][1][2][3]. The name change also affects binaries, directories, init scripts, configuration and the user and group used by the server daemon. If you are upgrading from a previous version of www-servers/varnish you will need to update your configuration as described in "Upgrading" below. # Changes All varnish* binaries have been renamed to their vinyl* equivalents: varnishd -> vinyld varnishlog -> vinyllog varnishncsa -> vinylncsa varnishadm -> vinyladm varnishhist -> vinylhist varnishstat -> vinylstat varnishstat_help_gen -> vinylstat_help_gen varnishstatdiff -> vinylstatdiff varnishtest -> vinyltest varnishtop -> vinyltop This name change also affects all related conf.d/* files, init scripts, systemd service files, logrotate etc. The api library has been renamed: libvarnishapi.so -> libvinylapi.so In these conf.d files, all VARNISH* options are now VINYL* and you will need to update your configuration accordingly: /etc/conf.d/varnishd -> /etc/conf.d/vinyld /etc/conf.d/varnishlog -> /etc/conf.d/vinyllog /etc/conf.d/varnishncsa -> /etc/conf.d/vinylncsa The configuration directory has been moved: /etc/varnish/ -> /etc/vinyl-cache/ Other varnish directories have also been renamed: /usr/include/varnish -> /usr/include/vinyl-cache /usr/lib/varnish -> /usr/lib/vinyl-cache /usr/lib64/varnish -> /usr/lib64/vinyl-cache /usr/share/varnish -> /usr/share/vinyl-cache /var/lib/varnish -> /var/lib/vinyl-cache /var/log/varnish -> /var/log/vinyl-cache # Upgrading To upgrade from varnish 8.x to 9.x: 0) Take a backup of your existing configuration files 1) Stop all running varnish services 2) emerge --oneshot www-servers/vinyl-cache 3) Update and install your VCL files in /etc/vinyl-cache/ You can now start the new vinyld, vinyllog and vinylncsa services, remembering to add them to the appropriate runlevels as usual. Ditto systemd services. For more details of the changes, you are encouraged to read the upstream announcement[0]. # Refs [0] https://vinyl-cache.org/docs/9.0/whats-new/upgrading-9.0.html [1] https://vinyl-cache.org/organization/20-years.html [2] https://vinyl-cache.org/organization/new-identity.html [3] https://vinyl-cache.org/organization/on_vinyl_cache_and_varnish_cache.html
Posted By: Brett A C Sheffield
www-client/chromium slotted installation - 15/03/2026 00:00 GMT
www-client/chromium is now available as a slotted package, allowing multiple
versions to be installed simultaneously.
The new slots are:
* www-client/chromium:stable - the latest 'stable' channel release
* www-client/chromium:beta - the latest 'beta' channel release
* www-client/chromium:unstable - the latest 'dev' channel release
Upstream are inconsistent with `dev` channel naming, so we've gone with
'unstable' to match www-client/google-chrome* packaging.
The biggest change to end-users is that various Chromium versions will no longer
share a single profile directory, instead each slot (channel) will have its own
profile directory as e.g. the various www-client/google-chrome packages work
now.
This change is particularly useful for developers who need to test their
applications against different versions of Chromium, and protects against
incompatible profile downgrades when switching between versions.
Users on stable should not expect to see any major change, however any
Progressive Web Applications (PWAs) may need to be "reinstalled" after the
upgrade to update the desktop files.
Users on ~arch may wish to select a specific slot to use, as due to the nature
of Chromium releases, the latest ~arch version will switch between the stable
and beta slots depending on where we are in the release cycle.
The same advice applies to users of the dev/unstable channel (unkeyworded) as
well - they may end up unexpectedly upgraded to beta if the dev channel is
delayed during a promotion.
Impacted users should explicitly select the appropriate slot(s) to use, e.g. by
selecting www-client/chromium:stable or www-client/chromium:beta:
emerge --deselect www-client/chromium
emerge --noreplace www-client/chromium:stable
Posted By: Matt Jolly
mail-mta/postfix-3.11.0: Default database change - 15/03/2026 00:00 GMT
The default local database type in mail-mta/postfix has been hash for local files and btree for caches and both file types depend on sys-libs/db. However, BerkeleyDB has not been developed sufficiently in recent years and the licensing change in 2013 made using the latest versions of BerkeleyDB problematic. Consequently, we are stuck with using ancient versions of BerkeleyDB and there is a general tendency in the Linux ecosystem to sunset BerkeleyDB support. Postfix made switching database types easier with its latest release. We will be changing the default database type in postfix for both local databases and caches to lmdb starting with mail-mta/postfix-3.11.0. # Timeline: - mail-mta/postfix-3.11.0: March 2026. Both lmdb and berkdb USE flags are on by default. BerkeleyDB is still supported but the default database and cache type changes to lmdb. - mail-mta/postfix-3.12.0: Expected Q1 2027. BerkeleyDB support will be off by default. You will need to turn it on manually if still needed. mail-mta/postfix will continue supporting BerkeleyDB until it is sunsetted in Gentoo. Changing the default database and cache types in postfix-3.11.0 requires migration for the entries in main.cf and master.cf that do not specify a database type. It is almost always a good idea to specify database type in main.cf and master.cf and in your postmap commands. As you are always specifying the database type, the default database and cache type settings do not come into play. Option 1: Accept the new defaults and migrate to lmdb. The default USE flags take effect and lmdb becomes the new default when >=mail-mta/postfix-3.11.0 is installed. All local database files without a specified type and, optionally, caches need to be migrated to lmdb. If your configuration is simple or if you are familiar with Postfix configuration, a few "grep" commands will find all the problems, and a few edits will be easy to make. Read https://www.postfix.org/NON_BERKELEYDB_README.html#manual for a complete walk through and the commands you can run to find instances of BerkeleyDB usage in your postfix configuration. Option 2: If your configuration is too complex for the manual migration step above or if you are not familiar with the details of your postfix configuration, postfix provides enable-redirect[1] and enable-reindex[2] options. Read the documentation for the details and their caveats. They provide valuable help in migration, especially for an operating system that do not have BerkeleyDB support anymore - which is NOT the case for Gentoo. However, these options still help in complex configuration cases. Option 3: Turning off lmdb USE flag is not recommended but is possible. The default stays the same as previous versions of postfix, namely hash for local files and btree for caches. No further action is necessary until BerkeleyDB support is sunsetted in Gentoo when you will have to do the above migration. For more details, please read: https://www.postfix.org/NON_BERKELEYDB_README.html [1] https://www.postfix.org/NON_BERKELEYDB_README.html#enable-redirect [2] https://www.postfix.org/NON_BERKELEYDB_README.html#enable-reindex
Posted By: Eray Aslan
sssd to run as a dedicated user - 11/02/2026 00:00 GMT
sssd now runs as its own user, rather than root, and uses file capabiltites for its helpers. Although it had this functionalilty for a while, it wasn't completely usable until 2.10. sssd-2.12.0 will be the first keyworded version in Gentoo with this change, made available shortly. Because of the user change, the sssd database, logs, and configuration files must have their ownership changed. == Systemd users == After upgrading sssd to >=2.10, stop the sssd service. Then execute the following commands: chown -R sssd:sssd /var/lib/sss chown -R sssd:sssd /var/log/sssd Then restart the sssd service and verify it launched succesfully. == openrc users === After upgrading sssd, stop the sssd service. Then execute the following commands: chown -R sssd:sssd /var/lib/sss chown -R sssd:sssd /var/log/sssd chown -R root:sssd /etc/sssd Then restart the sssd service and verify it launched succesfully.
Posted By: Christopher Byrne
Desktop Profile to enable PipeWire support - 15/01/2026 00:00 GMT
Reasons
=======
Gentoo has had a longstanding complaint that desktop profiles do not
enable a suitable working audio setting, which causes confusion for
new users. An example of when this is a user can end up compiling
Firefox without audio support, meaning the user will have to add the
USE flags and then compile Firefox a second time. This not only wastes
time for the user, but also increases support workload by the volunteers
that provides it.
This change will make PipeWire the default sound server for all Gentoo
desktop profiles which support it, rather than just KDE Plasma profiles as
was the previous norm[1]. PipeWire has been widely adopted by Linux as a
whole due to its feature to work with older standards such as PulseAudio,
and means Gentoo will be less likely to need users to make any follow-up
changes to their system, related to audio.
Changes
=======
New global USE flags enabled: pulseaudio
-> Enables PulseAudio support for packages as a fallback when native
PipeWire isn't available.
New global USE flags enabled: pipewire
New package.use default: media-video/pipewire[sound-server]
-> These settings will enable PipeWire by default where available and
also tell PipeWire to act as our PulseAudio server where there is no
native PipeWire support.
New global USE flags enabled: screencast
-> In Wayland sessions, the video functionality of PipeWire is not only
used for screen sharing but also to take screenshots and recordings or
simply to cast window content onto task managers' window previews.
As this is basically a free and beneficial addition as it provides
things like screenshotting and webcam access under Wayland.
Alpha and HPPA
===============
Alpha and HPPA currently do not have PipeWire support enabled so only
PulseAudio is enabled.
These can be requested by users at a later date after confirming they work
with the respected projects.
Users not wishing to change
===========================
For users not wanting to change from the their current desktop profile
setup, then all that is required is to set
USE="-pipewire -pulseaudio -screencast"
in their make.conf file.
User Action Required
====================
In order to enact all changes:
emerge -avDU @world
Follow the post-installation messages printed by emerge to start the
needed daemons.
If using systemd, to configure the PipeWire daemon(s), run the following
commands:
$ systemctl --user --now disable pulseaudio.service pulseaudio.socket
$ systemctl --user --now disable pipewire-media-session.service
$ systemctl --user --now enable pipewire.socket pipewire-pulse.socket
$ systemctl --user --force enable wireplumber.service
OpenRC users don't need to take any action if using a desktop environment
that supports XDG autostart.
Afterwards all that should be required is a reboot, however in the unlikely
event of issues then check out how to configure PipeWire for your purposes.
[1][2].
In order to keep a previously configured PulseAudio only system (i.e. keep
using media-sound/pulseaudio-daemon), set
USE="-pipewire -screencast" in /etc/portage/make.conf
and
media-video/pipewire -sound-server in /etc/portage/package.use
For an ALSA only system, set
USE="-pipewire -pulseaudio -screencast" in /etc/portage/make.conf
[1] https://www.gentoo.org/support/news-items/2022-07-29-pipewire-sound-server.html
[2] https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/PipeWire
Posted By: Ian Jordan
net-mail/dovecot-2.4.2 stabilization - 08/01/2026 00:00 GMT
net-mail/dovecot-2.4.2 will be stabilized soon[1] and will be the first dovecot-2.4 release that will be stable in Gentoo. Dovecot-2.3 configuration settings will not work with Dovecot-2.4 and manual intervention is required for the upgrade. Please read https://doc.dovecot.org/2.4.2/installation/upgrade/overview.html before upgrading your dovecot instance. We strongly recommend finalizing your Dovecot 2.4 configuration on a test system before upgrading any production systems. The following steps typically make the upgrade process easier: 1. Make a note of your current configuration by running doveconf -nP 2. Stop the dovecot daemon 3. Move ALL your configuration files to a temporary location 4. Upgrade to dovecot-2.4.2 5. Read the new configuration files and uncomment as necessary 6. Compare the new doveconf -n output with the old one and add missing configuration settings one by one while checking that the system works after each change [1]: https://bugs.gentoo.org/967978
Posted By: Eray Aslan