Find out a package's configure/compile options in Gentoo

Question

On a Gentoo Linux box which I'm not administering (and to which I don't have root access), how can I find out the options which were used to compile the package?

(Please note I've never worked with Gentoo before, but have good working knowledge of Debian-based distros)

Answer 1

If the portage package manager is used (it most likely is) then the CPU flags can be found in /etc/make.conf as CFLAGS and CXXFLAGS. Note that individual ebuilds may filter certain flags, so the flags you see in /etc/make.conf may not be the ones that were used to compile the package. Looking at the ebuild (under /usr/portage/<category name>/<program name>/) might tell you if that is the case.

This assumes of course that the contents of /etc/make.conf weren't changed after the compilation of the package.

Answer 2

Please be aware that current USE flags and other configuration defined in /etc/make.conf may have changed since the package was installed. A more reliable way of checking configuration and compile options is to check var/db/pkg.

Example for apache-2.2.22:

$ cat /var/db/pkg/www-servers/apache-2.2.22-r1/CFLAGS
-mtune=native -O2 -pipe -g