My first steps with LinuxCNC - comments appreciated :) Using Mesa 7i80 and 7i78

I also did not know that. Is there any special way this needs to be declared in the hal file?

For all special functions, you can specify the number of enabled modules
on the driver command line in the hal file (in stanzas like num_stepgens=3)

If a special function is disabled, the pin or pins affected revert to normal GPIO