Re: [gentoo-dev] how to test ebuilds without being root?

[Chris Gianelloni]

On Wed, 2003-08-13 at 02:42, Karsten Schulz wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I wonder, how I can test my own ebuilds, without being root. As far as I can
> see, there is no necessary need to work as root until the qmerge step.
>
> At the moment, I get access violations, because as a normal user (group:
> portage) I do not have write access to /var/tmp/portage/... (of course).
> But I don't want to start my (maybe buggy) ebuilds as root, because my system
> could become unusable by accident, if there are bugs in my ebuild.

You could try using su to become user portage and working form there, or
you can change permissions on /var/tmp/portage.  Personally, I do all
ebuild testing as first root using no FEATURES, then add them one by one
until I have them all tested.

I find that a combination of sandbox and userpriv keep your system from
being hosed in the case of a bad ebuild.  These ensure that root
privileges are dropped for the unpack and compile parts of the ebuild
and that nothing is done on your live filesystem until the qmerge, which
requires root.

> I found the 'sandbox', 'usersandbox' and 'userpriv' things in /etc/make.conf,
> but no hints, how that could help me. The section 'testing your ebuilds' in
> the HOWTO does not mentions how one would really test a new ebuild on his
> machine.
>
> Do I have to setup a chroot environment for that? Or use vmware or bochs or
> similar simulations? Or is there an easier and better solution?

I live dangerously and use my live system.  There is very little that
you can totally muck up that will bring your system to its knees.  Of
course, you can also make a backup before doing anything you deem
dangerous enough to mess up your system.

-- 
Chris Gianelloni
Developer, Gentoo Linux