Welcome

What is Gentoo?
Gentoo is a free operating system based on Linux that can be automatically optimized and customized for just about any application or need.

What software ecosystem is Gentoo built on?
Gentoo is built on an ecosystem of free software.

Openness

Gentoo's premier tools are built from ... programming languages.
Gentoo's premier tools are built from simple programming languages.

What is Portage?
Portage is Gentoo's package maintenance system.

What programming language is Portage written in?
The programming language that Portage is written in is Python.

What are ebuilds?
Ebuilds are package definitions that are used by Portage.

What programming language are ebuilds written in?
The programming language that ebuilds are written in is Bash.

When are packages patched?
Packages are patched only when necessary to fix bugs or provide interoperability within Gentoo.

How are packages installed to the system?
Packages are installed to the system by compiling source code provided by upstream projects into binary format.

Is there support for precompiled binary packages?
Yes, there's support for precompiled binary packages.

How is Gentoo configured?
Gentoo is configured through text files.

For the above reasons and others: ... is built-in as a ... ...
For the above reasons and others: openness is built-in as a design principle.

Summary

Gentoo is open because the code for Gentoo's system tools (which are written in simple programming languages), packages (which are installed by compiling the source code), and configuration files (which are stored in plaintext) are all viewable and can be modified by the user.

Choice

What are some of the things you can make a choice on when installing Gentoo?
Some of the things you can make a choice on when installing Gentoo are:

  • The init system.
  • The partition structure for storage disks.
  • The filesystems used on the storage disks.
  • A target system profile.
  • Whether to remove or add features on a global (system-wide) or package-specific level via USE flags.
  • The bootloader.
  • The network management utility.

What are the two init systems you can choose from when installing Gentoo?
The two init systems you can choose from when installing Gentoo are:

  1. OpenRC.
  2. systemd.

What is the first step in creating a new package for Gentoo?
The first step in creating a new package for Gentoo is submitting it to GURU.

When can a package submitted to GURU be added to the official Gentoo package repository?
A package that's been submitted to GURU can be added to the Gentoo package repository once it has matured and a Gentoo developer has volunteered to sponsor it.

Summary

Gentoo provides choice in all of the system utilities and packages you want to install.

Power

What two things does compiling packages from source code allow for?
The two things that compiling packages from source code allows for are:

  1. Porting Gentoo to new ISAs.
  2. Tuning installed packages.

What file can be used to tune the entire operating system at the binary-level?
The entire operating system can be tuned at the binary-level with Portage's make.conf file.

What are the other two levels where binary-level adjustments can be made?
The other two levels where binary-level adjustments can be made are:

  1. Per package.
  2. Per package group.

What can be used to add or remove entire sets of functionality?
Entire sets of functionality can be added or removed using USE flags.

Summary

Gentoo is powerful in that you can make adjustments to packages, package groups, and the entire operating system at the binary level since everything is usually built from source code. You can also add and remove features at will with USE flags.

How the installation is structured

What are the results of the ten steps in the Gentoo installation process?
The results of the ten steps in the Gentoo installation process are:

  1. The user is in a working environment ready to install Gentoo.
  2. The internet connection is ready to install Gentoo.
  3. The hard disks are initialized to host the Gentoo installation.
  4. The installation environment is prepared and the user is ready to chroot into the new environment.
  5. Core packages, which are the same on all Gentoo installations, are installed.
  6. The Linux kernel is installed.
  7. Most of the Gentoo system configuration files are created.
  8. The necessary system tools are installed.
  9. The proper boot loader has been installed and configured.
  10. The freshly installed Gentoo Linux environment is ready to be explored.

Deciding which steps to take

What are the different types of steps and options?
The different types of steps and options are:

  • Suggested - Steps that aren't required but help in a lot of cases.
  • Optional - Steps that can be skipped if the user is looking for a simple, mostly vanilla install.
  • Deprecated - Steps which used to be more relevant but are now largely deprecated and will be removed at some point.
  • Default - Options which are the most commonly supported or chosen.
  • Alternative - Options which aren't inferior to the default option but may not be as widely used or supported.

Installation options for Gentoo

What are the three different ways you can install Gentoo?
The three different ways you can install Gentoo are by:

  1. Using the official bootable ISO image burned onto a USB drive or CD.
  2. Accessing the official bootable ISO image via a netbooted environment.
  3. Installing from non-official media like an already installed distribution or a non-Gentoo bootable disk.

Troubles

What should you do if you find a problem in the installation or its documentation? (1)
If you find a problem in the installation or its documentation, you should visit the bug tracking system to see if the issue is known.

What should you do if you find a problem in the installation or its documentation that isn't known?
If you find a problem in the installation or its documentation that isn't known, you should create a bug report for it so the developers can take care of it.

What is the URL for Gentoo's IRC chat?
The URL for Gentoo's IRC chat is ircs://irc.libera.chat/#gentoo.