equery

List all installed packages

$ equery list '*'

$ equery list -po [package1 package2 ...]

$ equery depends [package]

$ equery depgraph [package]

$ equery files --tree [package]

equery [global-options] <subcommand> [subcommand-options arguments]

-C, --nocolor
    Disable color output

-h, --help
    Display help message

-q, --quiet
    Suppress non-error output

-V, --version
    Show equery version

belongs [files...]
    List packages owning specified files

depgraph [options] <atom>
    Display dependency graph for package atom

files [options] <atom>
    List files installed by package atom

hasuse [options] <atom useflag>
    Check if package supports given USE flag

list [-C pattern]
    List installed packages matching pattern

meta [options] <atom>
    Show package metadata (description, homepage, etc.)

size [options atoms...]
    Calculate disk size of installed packages

uses [-a options] <atom>
    Show enabled/disabled USE flags for package

which [options] <atom>
    Locate ebuild file for package atom

equery is a powerful command-line tool from Gentoo's gentoolkit package, designed to query the Portage package database for detailed information about installed packages and ebuilds.

It provides subcommands to inspect file ownership, dependencies, USE flags, disk usage, metadata, and more, making it essential for Gentoo users managing complex package states.

Unlike emerge, which handles installation, equery focuses solely on read-only queries, enabling quick checks without modifying the system. It's faster than parsing /var/db/pkg manually and offers formatted output with color support.

Common uses include verifying which package owns a file (belongs), listing files in a package (files), or examining USE flags (uses). It's widely used in troubleshooting, auditing, and scripting on Gentoo-based systems.

Gentoo-specific; requires app-portage/gentoolkit installed. Does not query uninstalled ebuilds (use eix for overlays). Output assumes standard Portage layout.

equery belongs /usr/bin/ls
Shows package owning /usr/bin/ls.

equery uses sys-apps/coreutils
Lists USE flags for coreutils.

Use Portage atoms like sys-apps/coreutils or =sys-apps/coreutils-9.4 for precise queries.

Developed in early 2000s as part of Gentoo's gentoolkit by maintainers like Robin H. Johnson. Evolved with Portage; current versions support modern features like sets and binary packages.

emerge(1), eix(1), qlist(1), gentoolkit(5)