Global USE flags

Flag Description Packages
debug 6
doc 4
examples 2
lz4 2
lzo 2
ncurses Build finch, console interface 2
nls 2
pam 3
python Build libgnt (GLib Ncurses Toolkit used by finch) with python scripting support 2
selinux 5
static-libs 3
systemd 3
test 6
xattr Preserve extended attributes (filesystem-stored metadata) when installing files. Usually only required for hardened systems. 2
zeroconf 2

Local USE flags

app-crypt

certbot

Flag Description
certbot-
certbot-apache Enable Apache plugin.
certbot-dns-dnsimple Enable DNSimple Authenticator plugin.
certbot-dns-dnsmadeeasy Enable DNS Made Easy DNS Authenticator plugin.
certbot-dns-gehirn Enable Gehirn Infrastructure Service DNS Authenticator plugin.
certbot-dns-google Enable Google Cloud DNS Authenticator plugin.
certbot-dns-linode Enable Linode DNS Authenticator plugin plugin.
certbot-dns-luadns Enable LuaDNS Authenticator plugin.
certbot-dns-nsone Enable NS1 DNS Authenticator plugin.
certbot-dns-ovh Enable OVH DNS Authenticator plugin.
certbot-dns-rfc2136 Enable RFC 2136 DNS Authenticator plugin.
certbot-dns-route53 Enable Route53 DNS Authenticator plugin.
certbot-dns-sakuracloud Enable Sakura Cloud DNS Authenticator plugin.
certbot-nginx Enable Nginx plugin.

net-fs

samba

Flag Description
acl
addc Enable Active Directory Domain Controller support
ads Enable Active Directory support
ceph Enable support for Ceph distributed filesystem via <pkg>sys-cluster/ceph</pkg>
client Enables the client part
cluster Enable support for clustering
cups
fam
glusterfs Enable support for Glusterfs filesystem via <pkg>sys-cluster/glusterfs</pkg>
gpg Use <pkg>app-crypt/gpgme</pkg> for AD DC
iprint Enabling iPrint technology by Novell
json Enable json audit support through <pkg>dev-libs/jansson</pkg>
ldap
llvm-libunwind
lmdb Enable LMDB backend for bundled ldb
profiling-data Enables support for collecting profiling data
quota Enables support for user quotas
regedit Enable support for regedit command-line tool
snapper Enable vfs_snapper module (requires <pkg>sys-apps/dbus</pkg>)
spotlight Enable support for spotlight backend
syslog
system-heimdal Use <pkg>app-crypt/heimdal</pkg> instead of bundled heimdal.
system-mitkrb5 Use <pkg>app-crypt/mit-krb5</pkg> instead of <pkg>app-crypt/heimdal</pkg>.
unwind Enable libunwind usage for backtraces
winbind Enables support for the winbind auth daemon

net-im

pidgin

Flag Description
aqua
dbus
eds
gadu Enable Gadu Gadu protocol support
gnutls
groupwise Enable Novell Groupwise protocol support
gstreamer Enables voice and video sessions
gui
idn
meanwhile Enable meanwhile support for Sametime protocol
networkmanager
perl
prediction Enable Contact Availability Prediction plugin
sasl
sounds-only Install only the Pidgin sounds. Feature is specific to the JRG overlay
spell
tcl
tk
v4l
xscreensaver Use X screensaver protocol extension to monitor idle/active status based on mouse/keyboard events
zephyr Enable Zephyr protocol support

net-vpn

openvpn

Flag Description
dco Enable support for kernel data channel offload
down-root Enable the down-root plugin
inotify
iproute2 Enabled iproute2 support instead of net-tools
mbedtls Use mbed TLS as the backend crypto library
openssl Use OpenSSL as the backend crypto library
pkcs11 Enable PKCS#11 smartcard support
plugins Enable the OpenVPN plugin system

sys-apps

dtc

Flag Description
yaml support .yaml-encoded device trees

openrc

Flag Description
audit
bash
cli-args-colon Support extra arguments to the init script on the command line: colon syntax.
cli-args-dasha Support extra arguments to the init script on the command line: -a syntax.
cli-args-ddash Support extra arguments to the init script on the command line: double dash syntax.
kernel_FreeBSD
kernel_linux
netifrc enable Gentoo's network stack (net.* scripts)
newnet enable the new network stack (experimental)
prefix
s6
sysv-utils
sysvinit
tools build optional tools
unicode

portage

Flag Description
apidoc Build html API documentation with sphinx-apidoc.
build
gentoo-dev Enable features required for Gentoo ebuild development.
ipc Use inter-process communication between portage and running ebuilds.
native-extensions Compiles native "C" extensions (speedups, instead of using python backup code). Currently includes libc-locales. This should only be temporarily disabled for some bootstrapping operations. Cross-compilation is not supported.
rsync-verify Enable full-tree cryptographic verification of Gentoo repository rsync checkouts using <pkg>app-portage/gemato</pkg>.

sys-block

mbuffer

Flag Description
ssl

sys-boot

grub

Flag Description
(
)
coreboot
device-mapper Enable support for device-mapper from <pkg>sys-fs/lvm2</pkg>
efi-32
efi-64
efiemu Build and install the efiemu runtimes
emu
fonts Build and install fonts for the gfxterm module
ieee1275
libzfs Enable support for <pkg>sys-fs/zfs</pkg>
loongson
mount Build and install the grub-mount utility
multiboot
pc
qemu
qemu-mips
sdl
themes Build and install GRUB themes (starfield)
truetype Build and install grub-mkfont conversion utility
uboot
xen
xen-32
xen-pvh

sys-fs

squashfs-tools

Flag Description
lzma
xz Add xz compression support.
zstd

sys-kernel

genkernel

Flag Description
firmware Prefer system firmware <pkg>sys-kernel/linux-firmware</pkg> over local copy.
ibm