What are Patches on Gentoo System?
On a Gentoo system, patches are used to modify the source code of a package before it is compiled and installed. Patches can be used to fix bugs, add new features, or customize the behavior of a package.
Patches are typically applied to the ebuild (a package build script used by the Gentoo package manager) of a package. An ebuild specifies the instructions for downloading, configuring, compiling, and installing a package on a Gentoo system. By modifying the ebuild to apply a patch, you can modify the behavior of the package when it is built and installed.
To apply a patch to an ebuild on a Gentoo system, you can use the ebuild command and the patch utility. The ebuild command is used to unpack the ebuild and create a patch directory, while the patch utility is used to apply the patch file to the source code. Once the patch has been applied, you can use the emerge command to rebuild and install the package with the modified source code.
How to Apply a Patch to an Ebuild on a Gentoo System
To apply a patch to an ebuild (a package build script used by the Gentoo package manager) on a Gentoo system, you will need to use the ebuild command and the patch utility.
- Download the patch file to your system.
- Change to the directory where the ebuild is located. This is typically in the
/usr/portage/<category>/<package>directory, where<category>is the category of the package (e.g.app-office) and<package>is the name of the package (e.g.libreoffice).
cd /usr/portage/<category>/<package>- Use the
ebuildcommand to unpack the ebuild and create a patch directory:
ebuild <package>.ebuild unpack- Change to the patch directory:
cd <package>-<version>/- Use the
patchutility to apply the patch file:
patch -p1 < <patch file>- Use the
ebuildcommand to repack the ebuild:
ebuild <package>.ebuild manifest- Use the
emergecommand to rebuild the package with the applied patch:
emerge -1 <package>Note: These steps assume that you have already added the patch file to the ebuild. If you need to add the patch file to the ebuild, you will need to modify the ebuild file to include the patch file.
Refer to the Gentoo documentation and the documentation for the ebuild and patch commands for more information on applying patches to ebuilds and rebuilding packages on a Gentoo system.