eselect-news

List available news items with their numbers (all by default)

$ eselect news list [all|new]

$ eselect news read [number1 number2 ...]

$ eselect news read

$ eselect news unread [number1 number2 ...]

$ eselect news purge

$ eselect news count [all|new]

eselect news command [options]

list
    Lists all available news items. Use with --unread to display only unread items.

list --unread
    Displays only news items that have not yet been marked as read.

read {ID|all|latest}
    Reads the content of a specific news item identified by its ID, all news items, or only the latest unread news item. Reading an item marks it as read.

show {ID|all|latest}
    An alias for the read command, behaving identically.

purge
    Removes news items that have been read and are no longer considered current or relevant by the system. Use with --force to skip confirmation.

purge --force
    Performs the purge operation without prompting for user confirmation.

status
    Displays a summary of the current news status, including the total number of news items and how many are unread.

unread {ID|all}
    Marks a specific news item by its ID, or all news items, as unread. This can be useful if an item needs to be reviewed again.

help
    Displays a brief help message and usage information for the eselect news module.

The eselect news command is a specialized utility within the Gentoo Linux distribution's eselect framework. Its primary purpose is to manage and display news items published by the Gentoo project. These news entries contain crucial information for users, ranging from security advisories, important package updates, necessary configuration changes, deprecations, or general announcements regarding the distribution.

News items are typically synchronized to the local system as part of the Portage tree update (e.g., via emerge --sync) and are stored in specific directories like /usr/portage/metadata/news. eselect news allows users to conveniently list available news, read individual entries, mark them as read or unread, and prune old, irrelevant news.

Regularly checking and acting upon eselect news entries is fundamental for maintaining a stable, secure, and up-to-date Gentoo system. Failing to do so can lead to system misconfigurations, broken software, or missed security patches.

eselect news is exclusive to Gentoo Linux and distributions derived from it (e.g., Funtoo, Calculate Linux). It relies on the Portage tree being regularly synced (via emerge --sync or emerge-webrsync) for news items to be available. Failure to read and act upon critical news announcements can lead to system instability, security vulnerabilities, or difficulties during system upgrades.

News items processed by eselect news are typically stored in the Portage tree, commonly found at /usr/portage/metadata/news. This directory contains subdirectories for different news groups or categories.

The read/unread status of news items is managed by eselect news, usually by tracking read items in a user-specific configuration file, such as ~/.config/eselect/news.conf or a similar location, within the user's home directory. This ensures that the status persists across sessions.

For Gentoo users, reading eselect news is not optional but a critical maintenance task. News items often contain instructions for migrating configurations, dealing with breaking changes in packages, security vulnerabilities requiring immediate action, or deprecation notices for features. Ignoring these can lead to a broken system or security exposures.

The eselect framework, including modules like eselect-news, has been a foundational component of Gentoo Linux for many years. It was developed to standardize and simplify common configuration tasks that previously might have required manual file editing or complex commands. eselect-news specifically streamlines the process of communicating important system changes, security updates, and configuration guidance directly to users. Prior to dedicated tools, users might have manually browsed news files or relied solely on mailing list announcements. The `eselect` utility provides a unified and interactive interface, making it easier for users to manage various system selections and stay informed about the distribution's evolution.

eselect(1), emerge(1), portage(5), man(1)