Automatic updates in Gentoo GNU/Linux

Update 2016: I nowadays just use emerge --sync; emerge @security

To keep my Gentoo up to date, I use daily and weekly update scripts which also always run revdep-rebuild after the saturday night update :)

My daily update is via pkgcore [1] to pull in all important security updates:

pmerge @glsa

That pulls in the Gentoo Linux Security Advisories - important updates with mostly short compile time. (You need pkgcore for that: "emerge pkgcore")

Also I use two cron scripts.

Note: It might be useful to add the lafilefixer to these scripts (source [2]).

The following is my daily update (in /etc/cron.daily/update_glsa_programs.cron )

Daily Cron

\#! /bin/sh

\### Update the portage tree and the glsa packages via pkgcore

\# spew a status message
echo $(date) "start to update GLSA" >> /tmp/cron-update.log

\# Sync only portage
pmaint sync /usr/portage

\# security relevant programs
pmerge -uDN @glsa > /tmp/cron-update-pkgcore-last.log || cat \
    /tmp/cron-update-pkgcore-last.log >> /tmp/cron-update.log  

\# And keep everything working
revdep-rebuild

\# Finally update all configs which can be updated automatically
cfg-update -au

echo $(date) "finished updating GLSA" >> /tmp/cron-update.log

And here's my weekly cron - executed every saturday night (in /etc/cron.weekly/update_installed_programs.cron ):

Weekly Cron

\#!/bin/sh                                                     

\### Update my computer using pgkcore, 
\### since that also works if some dependencies couldn't be resolved.

\# Sync all overlays
eix-sync

\## First use pkgcore
\# security relevant programs (with build-time dependencies (-B))
pmerge -BuD @glsa

\# system, world and all the rest
pmerge -BuD @system
pmerge -BuD @world
pmerge -BuD @installed

\# Then use portage for packages pkgcore misses (inlcuding overlays) 
\# and for *EMERGE_DEFAULT_OPTS="--keep-going"* in make.conf 
emerge -uD @security
emerge -uD @system
emerge -uD @world
emerge -uD @installed

\# And keep everything working
emerge @preserved-rebuild
revdep-rebuild

\# Finally update all configs which can be updated automatically
cfg-update -au