A stale inherited env outbuilds the profile

scope: generic · severity: trap · confidence: proven · subsystem: build

Evidence

2026-08-29, taimen. Inherited env carried PORTHOLE_KERNEL_PKG=…-6.18 (porthole config showed source “environment”) while profiles/google-taimen/device.env correctly said 7.2. porthole build fast built 6.18-r101, and apk then failed with “trying to overwrite … owned by …7.2-r13” on every later build until the stray package was deleted from the rootfs chroot.

Symptom — porthole build builds a kernel package you retired weeks ago, or the build fails with apk “trying to overwrite owned by ” errors after one such build got through. The profile on disk is correct the whole time.

Cause — porthole config lets the environment outrank the profile, and an agent session inherits its environment from whatever shell launched it – possibly captured days ago. Stale PORTHOLE_KERNEL_PKG / PORTHOLE_KCONFIG_FILE exports silently redirect the whole build.

What to do — porthole config prints the source of every value; if something that should track the profile says environment, override it explicitly for the build (PORTHOLE_KERNEL_PKG=... porthole build fast) or launch from a clean shell. If the wrong package already half-installed, pmbootstrap chroot -r -- apk del <wrong-pkg> unblocks apk without a zap.