sci-libs/vtk will not accept mpi USE flag

Sprchkn · n00b Joined: 04 Mar 2016 Posts: 5 Location: Kansas

I'm trying to build VTK with the MPI flag to use with Freecad CFDOF. This used to work without an issue, however about a month back it stopped working and keeps asking me to emerge sci-libs/hdf5, sci-libs/cgnslib, and sci-libs/netcdf with -mpi USE flags.
[ebuild R ] sci-libs/hdf5-1.14.4_p3-r1:0/311::gentoo USE="cxx fortran hl szip unsupported zlib -debug -examples -mpi* -test -threads" 0 KiB
[ebuild R ] sci-libs/cgnslib-4.4.0-r2:0/4.4::gentoo USE="hdf5 szip -base-scope -debug -examples -fortran -legacy -mpi* -scoping -test -tools" 0 KiB
[ebuild R ] sci-libs/netcdf-4.9.2-r1:0/19::gentoo USE="bzip2 dap hdf5 szip -blosc -doc -examples -hdf -mpi* -test -zstd" 0 KiB
[ebuild N ] sci-libs/vtk-9.3.1:0/9.3::gentoo USE="boost cgns ffmpeg logging netcdf openmp python qt6 rendering sdl threads truetype views -all-modules (-cuda) (-debug) -doc -examples -gdal -gles2-only -imaging -java -las -minimal (-mpi) -mysql -odbc -opencascade -openvdb -pdal -postgres -tbb -test -tk -vtkm -web" PYTHON_SINGLE_TARGET="python3_12 -python3_11" VIDEO_CARDS="-nvidia" 0 KiB

Looking at the ebuild for VTK, I don't understand why it's applying "(-mpi)" when the mpi USE flag is set. Can anyone point me in the direction of my problem?

logrusx · Advocate Joined: 22 Feb 2018 Posts: 2986

The brackets mean the setting of the mpi use flag is profile enforced, in this case we say it's profile masked. It's masked because the dependency dev-python/mpi4py has no stable keywords.

You need to do two thing - unmask the use flag and add mpi4py to package.accept_keywords:

grknight · Retired Dev Joined: 20 Feb 2015 Posts: 2161

Alternatively, adding sci-libs/vtk to package.accept_keywords will also unmask the flag (even if the package version is stable).
This comes with the caveat that all new releases will also come faster without full testing.

Sprchkn · n00b Joined: 04 Mar 2016 Posts: 5 Location: Kansas

Thanks, I ended up using grknight's solution and added mpi to netgen per logrusx, which resolved my problem. Much thanks!! I probably removed it from package.accept_keywords when I recently went back through to reset all my use and keyword settings. I certainly wasn't aware that having accept keyword set would unmask use flags like that, so thank you both for the education. :-)

Hu · Administrator Joined: 06 Mar 2007 Posts: 23449

In this case, the USE flag was masked only for stable, so when Portage considered "unstable" packages, it could also consider unstable USE flags, even when the package version it ultimately picked is keyworded stable. There is a different type of USE flag mask that cannot be overridden merely by accepting unstable keywords, and instead must be directly negated in a local profile override.

logrusx · Advocate Joined: 22 Feb 2018 Posts: 2986