mirrorselect

mirrorselect [options]

mirrorselect chooses Gentoo download mirrors and writes them into Portage configuration. For distfiles it sets `GENTOO_MIRRORS` in `/etc/portage/make.conf`. With --rsync it selects the rsync mirror used to sync the Gentoo ebuild repository.Automatic mode (the default when neither --interactive nor --all_mirrors is given) probes mirrors and keeps the fastest ones. The default count is 3. Shallow mode times a short HTTP request and skips mirrors whose timestamp is stale. --deep downloads a test file of about 100 kB from each candidate, which is slower and needs a decent connection.Interactive mode shows a checklist of mirrors. --all_mirrors writes every mirror that survives the filters (for rsync, only the rotation server, because multiple rsync URLs are not supported).Without --output, the tool rewrites the Portage file and keeps mirrors that were already configured, adding the newly selected URLs. It moves the previous file aside as a backup. --output prints the setting to stdout and leaves the files alone, which is the usual pattern while installing Gentoo from a live environment.Run with no arguments and it prints help, then exits with status 1.

-h, --help

Print a usage summary and exit.

Print the version and exit.

Present a checklist and let the user pick mirrors. Cannot be combined with --deep, --blocksize, or --servers.

Use every mirror that passes the filters, instead of speed-testing. Cannot be combined with --servers. With --rsync, only the rotation server is selected.

Download a test file from each mirror and rank by transfer time. Prefer this only on a fast link.

How many download mirrors automatic mode should keep. Default is 3. Not valid for rsync mirrors.

How many mirrors to probe at once in automatic mode. Useful when a router drops large bursts of connections. A typical pair is `-s 3 -b 10`.

Only consider mirrors in COUNTRY. Quote names that contain spaces, for example `'South Korea'`.

Only consider mirrors in REGION. Quote names that contain spaces, for example `'North America'`.

Consider FTP mirrors only.

Consider HTTP mirrors only.

Consider HTTPS mirrors only.

Select an rsync mirror instead of distfiles mirrors. Requires --interactive or --all_mirrors.

Use IPv4 only.

Use IPv6 only. Ignored outside interactive mode when Python has no IPv6 support.

Print the configuration text to stdout. Do not modify Portage files.

Timeout for deep-mode transfers. Default is 10 seconds.

Alternate file to download in deep mode. Must be paired with --md5. Keep the file small.

Expected MD5 of the --file download.

Drop HOST from the candidate list. Repeat to exclude more than one.

Proxy to use when the environment proxy is not the one you want.

Quiet mode.

Debug verbosity from 1 to 9. Default verbosity is 1.

/etc/portage/make.conf

Distfiles selection updates `GENTOO_MIRRORS` here. The previous file is saved as a backup before the rewrite.

Rsync selection updates `sync-uri` in this file. The file must already exist (copy it from `/usr/share/portage/config/repos.conf` if Portage has not created it). If it is missing, mirrorselect exits.

Gentoo-specific. It is installed as `app-portage/mirrorselect` and is not a general-purpose mirror picker.Choose at most one of --ftp, --http, --https, and --rsync. --ipv4 and --ipv6 are also mutually exclusive.Rsync mirrors can only be chosen with --interactive or --all_mirrors. Deep mode contacts every remaining mirror, so a country or region filter is worth setting first.Writing the config normally requires root. --output does not.

mirrorselect has shipped with Gentoo's Portage tools since 2005. Early authors include Colin Kingsley, Zac Medico, Sebastian Pipping, Christian Ruppert, and Brian Dolbec. Current releases probe mirrors over HTTP instead of relying on `netselect`.

emerge(1), emaint(1), equery(1), eix(1), portageq(1), rsync(1)

Source code · Documentation