eselect

Gentoo system configuration and management tool

TLDR

List all available modules

$ eselect modules list

Display help for a specific module

$ eselect [module] help

List available options for a module

$ eselect [module] list

Show the current setting for a module

$ eselect [module] show

Set a target for a module

$ sudo eselect [module] set [target]

Select the active kernel sources

$ sudo eselect kernel set [number]

SYNOPSIS

eselect [global options] module action [options]

eselect is Gentoo Linux's multi-purpose configuration and system management tool. It provides a unified, modular framework for managing various system settings that would otherwise require editing configuration files or managing symlinks manually. Common uses include selecting kernel sources, switching compiler versions, managing Java implementations, configuring locales, and setting system profiles.The tool's modular design means each aspect of system configuration is handled by a dedicated module with consistent syntax (list, set, show, help). This makes system administration more accessible and reduces the risk of configuration errors. Additional modules can be provided by packages, extending eselect's capabilities as needed for specific software.

PARAMETERS

list

List available options.

set target

Set the specified target.

show

Display current setting.

help

Show module help.

update

Refresh configuration if unset or invalid.

version

Display module version.

GLOBAL OPTIONS

--brief

Reduce output verbosity.

--colour=yes|no|auto

Control colored output (default: auto).

COMMON MODULES

kernel

Configure /usr/src/linux symlink.

profile

Manage the make.profile symlink.

locale

Set the LANG environment variable.

gcc

Select active GCC compiler version.

editor

Manage the EDITOR environment variable.

repository

Manage ebuild repositories.

news

Read Gentoo news items.

CAVEATS

Gentoo Linux specific. Available modules depend on installed packages. Some modules require root privileges.