Published: June 4th, 2025
Install the necessary Portage utilities and GNU Parallel:
emerge -av app-portage/portage-utils app-portage/gentoolkit sys-process/parallel
Show which packages pull in the greatest number of dependencies:
qlist -CI | sort -u | parallel 'echo $(qdepends -CqqQ {} | wc -l) {}' | sort -n > pkgs_with_most_deps.txt
Here’s what each part does:
qlist -CI: Lists all installed packages without color output in
category/package format.sort -u: Sorts output and removes duplicate entries.parallel: Runs dependency counting through GNU Parallel for better performance.qdepends -CqqQ {}: Queries dependencies without color output, quietly.wc -l: Counts the dependency lines.sort -n: Sorts numerically by dependency count.The output shows dependency count followed by package name, from packages with the least dependencies to greatest.
Find which packages consume the most storage:
qlist -CI | sort -u | parallel qsize -C | awk '{print $NF,$1}' | cut -d ':' -f 1 | sort -h > biggest_pkgs.txt
Breaking this down:
qsize -C: Reports package sizes in human-readable format without color output.awk '{print $NF,$1}': Reorders output to put size first, then package name.cut -d ':' -f 1: Removes trailing colon.sort -h: Sorts by human-readable numbers (handles K, M, G suffixes).This arranges packages from smallest to largest.
Merge dependency and size data in one file for analysis:
join -j 2 -o 1.1,2.1,0 <(sort -k2 pkgs_with_most_deps.txt) <(sort -k2 biggest_pkgs.txt) | sort -n | tr ' ' '\t' > combined.txt
The join command joins lines of two files on a common field:
-j 2: Join on field 2 (package names).-o 1.1,2.1,0: Output format (dependencies, size, package name).<(sort -k2 ...): Process substitution with secondary key sorting.tr ' ' '\t': Converts spaces to tabs for cleaner formatting.Print out packages that haven’t been customized in
/etc/portage/package.env:
comm -13 <(awk 'match($1, /^[a-zA-Z0-9_+-]+\/[a-zA-Z0-9_+-]+$/) {print $1}' /etc/portage/package.env/* | sort -u) <(qlist -CI | sort -u)
This comm usage compares sorted lists:
-13: Shows only lines unique to installation.awk 'match($1, /^[a-zA-Z0-9_+-]+\/[a-zA-Z0-9_+-]+$/)': Grabs package
in category/package format.Focus on packages large enough to warrant optimization attention:
comm -13 <(awk 'match($1, /^[a-zA-Z0-9_+-]+\/[a-zA-Z0-9_+-]+$/) {print $1}' /etc/portage/package.env/* | sort -u) <(qlist -CI | sort -u) | grep -f - combined.txt | awk 'match($2, /^([0-9]{4}\.[0-9]K)|([0-9]+\.[0-9][MG])$/)' | sort -n
This adds size filtering:
grep -f -: Uses the uncustomized package list as search patterns.awk 'match($2, /^([0-9]{4}\.[0-9]K)|([0-9]+\.[0-9][MG])$/)': Matches
packages >=1000K.Find packages that aren’t customized in /etc/portage/package.env and
are already due for an upgrade anyway:
comm -13 <(awk 'match($1, /^[a-zA-Z0-9_+-]+\/[a-zA-Z0-9_+-]+$/) {print $1}' /etc/portage/package.env/* | sort -u) <(EIX_LIMIT=0 eix -u -# | sort -u)
This targets upgradable packages:
EIX_LIMIT=0: Removes eix output limits.eix -u -#: Lists upgradable packages in category/package format.Use multiple keys for different analysis priorities:
sort -k1,1n -k2,2h combined.txt
sort -k2,2h -k1,1n combined.txt
The first command prioritizes dependency count, using size as a
tiebreaker. The second makes size the primary criterion. The h and n
are for human-readable and numeric sorting.
These commands help to identify large packages that could be replaced with lightweight alternatives, which can be useful for a number of reasons:
When I was using these commands, it was to guide CFLAGS tweaking to better optimize Gentoo in a VM, since virtual machines have limited resources. I use a setup where video playback cannot benefit from hardware acceleration at the time of writing (Qubes OS), so I was seeing if this approach could make a difference. I think I did manage to gain a few FPS from this, but as I didn’t benchmark it beyond comparing frame timings in mpv and the gain is relatively minor (<=10fps), I have no solid proof.
Though with that said, I should mention that these days I really believe in benchmarking and profiling, as they make a huge difference. The gains from those techniques is typically far greater than CFLAGS tweaking.