# Checking for pitfalls before updating ports



## mariourk (May 8, 2012)

I understand it is adviced to check /usr/ports/UPDATING to see if any package needs special attention when updating it. The thing is, /usr/ports/UPDATING is basicly a huge textfile, with a lot of information. And humans (myself in particular ) are not your best choice to process huge piles of information. It's easy to miss something important.

I was wondering if there is an easier way to check this information. Maybe some tool that crawls through this file, compares it to the ports that need updating and only shows the relevant information?


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## SirDice (May 8, 2012)

mariourk said:
			
		

> Maybe some tool that crawls through this file, compares it to the ports that need updating and only shows the relevant information?


pkg_updating(1)


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## mariourk (May 8, 2012)

Ah, thanks!

Is there any way to determine when the last updates were installed?

Does this command also show information about packages that are not installed? And thus is irrelevant information? :\. Or can I filter this somehow?


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## SirDice (May 8, 2012)

mariourk said:
			
		

> Is there any way to determine when the last updates were installed?


Not that I know.



> Does this command also show information about packages that are not installed? And thus is irrelevant information? :\. Or can I filter this somehow?





> The pkg_updating command scans the installed ports and show all UPDATING entries that affect one of the installed ports. Alternative a list of pkg-names could be passed.


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## mariourk (May 8, 2012)

Oops, I missed that description. See why I wanted the least possible amount of information from pkg_updating? :r

This seems straightforward enough though. Thanks for your feedba*c*k! :beer


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## wblock@ (May 15, 2012)

`% ls -ltr /var/db/pkg | tail -n1`
shows the latest changed package.  It's not foolproof, but gives an idea.


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