FAQ

This FAQ is Article description::a collection of common questions about Gentoo, along with their corresponding answers.

Please note that this document is just a quick reference for some common questions - many of these questions are answered more fully in the official, on this wiki.

These questions are often collected from the gentoo-dev mailing list and from Gentoo channels on.

How is Gentoo pronounced, and what does it mean?
Gentoo (/ˈdʒɛntuː/) is pronounced "gen-too" (the "g" in "Gentoo" is a soft "g", as in "gentle").

The Gentoo Linux distribution takes it's name from the Gentoo penguin, who's scientific name is Pygoscelis papua. The name Gentoo was given to the penguin by the inhabitants of the Falkland Islands.

What makes Gentoo different?
Gentoo uses a BSD ports-like system called - a package management system that allows great flexibility installing, maintaining, and updating software. Portage provides compile-time option support via, conditional dependencies, safe installation of software through sandboxing, use-case adaptable defaults thanks to , and - amongst many other. All this functionality comes together to make Gentoo a very adaptable operating system, that can conveniently be tailored to any specific usage when needed, but when left in the default configuration will yield a simple, "sane default", environment.

By default, Gentoo builds (compiles) and installs system packages from source code, specifically to the user's choice of configuration and optimizations - many of which are only available at "compile time". Gentoo provides exceptionally fine-grained control of low-level parameters (compiler flags, architecture choices, base subsystem selection, etc.), both for the system globally, or for individual packages - when required.

Gentoo permits many  for core (system) software, allowing users to adapt with ease the installation to their own needs and preferences - in fact, the user has almost complete control over which packages are installed, or left out. This is a key difference from many other distributions, which are often built around specific subsystems, which cannot be replaced. Because of Gentoo's flexibility, there are no "variants", "editions", "flavors", etc. - there is no need, as everything can be adapted for each use-case from the default installation.

Gentoo strives to do things in the simplest possible way, and core Gentoo principles and procedures are easy to understand and master, given just a little effort. The relatively small investment to learn how to use Gentoo will reap dividends for anyone who is to become a substantial user of a Unix(like) operating system. Gentoo may require some reading and a little thought to understand how to use it, but the payoff from the power gained by the new user is considerable.

Gentoo is very actively maintained, and the entire distribution uses a rapidly-paced development and distribution method, termed : new and updated packages are frequently added to the, relevant patches are rapidly applied, documentation is updated on a daily basis, and Portage features are added frequently. The fast turnaround cycle does not compromise on quality: packages start life in the and are only moved into  once proved to be reliable; generally the transition time target is a 30 days or less.

Installation
=== Things are really unstable when using '-O9 -ffast-math -fomit-frame-pointer' optimizations. What gives? ===

While Portage optimizes compilation to a specific processor according to the CFLAGS / CXXFLAGS setting, anything other than the defaults for a given processor risk issues and even performance loss. The goal of the Gentoo project has never specifically been to permit low level optimization, even if its architecture does lend itself to this.

Any required CFLAGS should be set on a per-package basis, system-wide optimization above defaults is not recommended.

The  flag is the highest that should always work. Anything above  is not supported by current versions of GCC. Very aggressive optimizations sometimes cause the compiler to streamline the assembly code to the point where it does not quite do the same thing anymore.

Please try to compile using  with CFLAGS / CXXFLAGS before reporting a bug.

See the article for more details.

How do I change the root (or any other user's) password?
Use the command to change the password for the user that is logged in. The root user can change another user's password by issuing the command. For extra options and settings, see 's manual page.

How do I add a normal user?
The command will add a user called "larry". However, this method does not give the user many of the rights needed to work properly on the system, so the following command is preferred:

This will add a user called "larry". The  option creates a home directory. The  option adds the user to the specified groups:


 * which is the standard group for interactive users on the system
 * which allows the user to access sound devices
 * which allows the user to execute the command to gain root privileges (if they know the root password)

Why can't a user su to root?
For security reasons, users may only to root if they belong to the  group. To add a username to the group, issue the following command as root:

Can I upgrade Gentoo from one release to another without reinstalling?
There are no Gentoo releases, packages are updated continually: it is a rolling release distribution (not to be confused with "bleeding edge" - Gentoo is stable by default).

Gentoo packages get updates every day, and though important core packages will be updated from time to time, and new profiles created, there are no specific events that could be termed versions, releases, editions, variants etc. Each time the system is, everything will be "up to date".

A well-maintained, regularly-updated, installation should never need reinstalling.

My kernel does not boot, what should I do now?
It isn't obligatory to redo every step of the installation. However, investigating the kernel and all associated steps is necessary. Suppose that Gentoo is installed to the following partition scheme being,  being rootfs , and   being swap space.

Boot from a live environment, then escalate to superuser privileges (necessary for mounting filesystems).

First all the partitions:

Then into the Gentoo environment and configure the kernel:

Now (de)select anything that was selected wrongly on the previous attempt, recompile, and reinstall the kernel:

If has been used as the bootloader, rerun  -  users should skip this step:

Exit the and reboot the system.

Please see from the Knowledge Base for further details.

If, on the other hand, the problem lies with the bootloader configuration, follow the same steps, but instead of configuring and compiling the kernel, reconfigure the bootloader (recompilation of the bootloader is usually not necessary).

My proxy requires authentication, what do I have to do?
To have Portage automatically use this scheme, define it in :

Keep in mind that the proxy server must support the CONNECT method for the rsync port(s).

How do I burn an ISO file?
ISO files must be burned to an optical disk in raw mode - this means the image should not just be "placed" on the disk as a file, but interpreted as the entire disk, with the aid of specialized ISO burning software. Most CD/DVD writing software will be capable of mastering an ISO file to a disk. Use whatever is at hand on systems available to burn a disk, and consult the documentation relevant to that software.

There are lots of optical media burning tools available to make a disk from an ISO file, here is a small selection of a few popular tools, on different platforms, with a short description of how to use them:


 * With EasyCD Creator, on MS Windows: select, . Then change the to . Then locate the ISO file and click . After clicking  the ISO image will be burned correctly onto the CD/DVD.


 * With Nero Burning ROM, on MS Windows: cancel the wizard which automatically pops up and select from the  menu. Select the image to burn and click . Now click the  button and watch the brand new Gentoo Live CD being burnt.


 * With, part of cdrtools - a multi platform project (works on Linux, among others): simply type  (replace  with the CDROM drive's device path) followed by the path to the ISO file.


 * With K3B, on Unix(like) OSs: select →  → . Then locate the ISO file within the 'Image to Burn' area. Click  to begin the burn process.


 * With Mac OS X Panther, and later, launch Disk Utility from, select from the  menu, select the mounted disk image in the main window and select  in the  menu.

What ISO or stage file should I use for my CPU?
First find out what CPU is in the system Gentoo is to be installed on (for instance a Pentium-M). Next find out what CPU type it is compatible with (instruction-wise) to find a proper match with Gentoo's ISO or. Consulting the CPU's vendor website for this information usually works, although querying a search engine of choice is usually more efficient.

When uncertain, take a "lower" ISO or stage file, for instance a i686 or even generic x86 (or the equivalent in the system's arch). This will ensure that the system will work, but may not be as fast as further optimizations.

Please note that many more options exist than those for which Gentoo builds binary stages. Please see the GCC guide for setting the  flag.

The Handbook has further information on and.

The Internet does not work after rebooting. What is wrong?
First follow standard troubleshooting practices (cables, routers working etc.).

Verify that the network card is discovered properly by the kernel. Run and look for network interfaces. Something such as eth0, eno1, enp2s0, enp0s8, wlan0, wlp5s6 (in case of certain wireless network cards) should be present. Specific kernel modules may be required for the kernel to properly detect the network card. If that is the case, make sure that the required kernel modules are listed via a file ending in  in.

If support for the system's network card has been left out of the kernel, it will need to be reconfigured and, in some cases, recompiled.

If the network card is found by the kernel, but the network configuration has been set to use DHCP, a DHCP client might not have been installed on the system. There are many DHCP clients available in Gentoo, a common one being. If necessary to get the connection to the Internet working, reboot to the installation CD and install.

Information on how to rescue the system using the installation CD is available as well.

The Handbook contains information on, while the wiki has information on , , and.

Can I dual boot with Windows or other operating systems?
Yes! Probably the fastest way to do so is to install GRUB with. Read about it in the and specifically about dual booting with GRUB.

=== Attempting to boot Windows from GRUB Legacy or LILO only shows a black screen. What should I do? ===

This is a known problem and only applies to older bootloaders such as and. Windows refuses to boot when it is not installed on the first hard drive and shows a black/blank screen. To handle this, it is necessary to "fool" Windows into believing that it is installed on the first hard drive with a little tweak in the boot loader configuration. Please note that in the below example, Gentoo is installed on (first disk) and Windows on  (second disk). Adjust the configuration as needed:

This will make Windows believe it is installed on the first hard drive and boot without problems. More information can be found in official GRUB documentation and in.

How do I install Gentoo using a stage1 or stage2 tarball?
The Gentoo Handbook only describes a Gentoo installation using a. Stage1 and stage2 tarballs are for development purposes only (the team starts from a stage1 tarball to obtain a stage3) and should not be used by users. A stage3 tarball can very well be used to bootstrap the system. A working Internet connection is a requirement.

Bootstrapping means building the toolchain (the C library and compiler) for the system after which all core system packages are installed. To bootstrap the system, perform a stage3 installation. Before starting the chapter on Configuring the Kernel, it might be necessary to modify the script to match personal requirements:

After modifications, run the script.

Next, rebuild all core system packages with the newly built toolchain. We need to rebuild them since the stage3 tarball already offers them:

Now continue with Configuring the Kernel.

In what form are the packages stored?
Packages are not "stored" per se. Instead, Gentoo provides a set of scripts which can resolve dependencies, fetch source code, and compile a version of the package tailored to the user's needs. Generally Gentoo only builds binaries for releases and snapshots. The Gentoo Developer Manual covers the contents of an ebuild script in detail.

For full ISO releases, a full suite of binary packages will be created using an enhanced format, which is  compatible with meta-information attached to the end of the file. These can be used to install a working (though not fully optimized) version of the package quickly and efficiently.

It is possible to create RPMs (Red Hat package manager files) using Gentoo's Portage, but it is not currently possible to use existing RPMs to install packages.

I want to perform the ./configure step myself. Can I?
Yes, but it is not trivial, nor is it recommended. Since the method to do this requires a good understanding of Portage internals and commands, it is instead recommended that the ebuild is patched to do whatever it is that the user wants and place it in a Portage overlay (that is why overlays exist). This is much better for maintainability, and usually easier. See the Gentoo Developer Manual for more information.

What if rsync does not work for me?
When behind a firewall that does not permit rsync traffic through port 873, the command can be used to fetch and install a Portage snapshot through regular HTTP. See for information on downloading source files and Portage snapshots via a proxy.

=== I have a slow (or no) Internet connection at home. Can I download sources somewhere else and add them to my system? ===

It is possible to download packages manually and copy them to an appropriate location to be used for installation, however this can be a very tedious process.

Run to see what programs are going to be installed. To find out the sources for those packages, and where to download the sources from, run. Download sources and bring them on any media home. Put the sources into the folder and then simply run.

=== Source tarballs are collecting in /var/cache/distfiles/. Is it safe to delete these files? ===

Deleting these files will have no negative impact on day-to-day performance. However, it might be wise to keep the most recent version of the files; often several ebuilds will be released for the same version of a specific piece of software. If the archive is deleted and the software is upgraded or rebuilt it will be necessary to download them from the Internet again.

Use the script from  to manage the contents of  and a few other locations. Please read man-page to learn more about its usage, as well as the.

=== What is in /var/tmp/portage? Is it safe to delete the files and directories in /var/tmp/portage? ===

During compilation, Gentoo saves the sources of the package in (or in  if the default is changed). These files and folder are usually deleted upon a successful emerge, but this sometimes fails. It is safe to clean out all contents of this directory if the command is not running. Be sure to always before cleaning out this directory.

How do I set up an International keyboard layout?
Edit the keymap variable in. To have console working correctly with extended characters in the keymap, it might be necessary to set the consolefont and consoletransation variables in the  file (for further information on localizing the environment, refer to the ). Then, issue a, or restart the and  scripts:

See for more information.

DNS name resolution works for root only
has the wrong permissions; fix it as follows:

See also.

Why can't my user use their own crontab?
Add that user to the group:

How do I get numlock to start on boot?
The following command will add the service to the default runlevel, enabling  at boot:

Each GUI provides different tools for this sort of thing; please check the help section or online manuals for the GUI of choice for further assistance.

How do I have my terminal cleared when I log out?
To have the terminal cleared, add the command to the user's  script:

To have this happen automatically when adding a new user, do the same for the file:

Where can I report bugs?
Use the Bugzilla site to report bugs. Visit on the Libera.Chat IRC network and ask around if it is unclear whether an issue is really a bug or not.

There are a couple of guides for reporting bugs on the wiki: and. See also the article.

How often are new releases made?
Gentoo's packages are usually updated shortly after the upstream authors release new code, see for more information.

The page, the gentoo-announce mailing list, and the Gentoo ebuild repository news items provide information on important changes to Gentoo Linux.

My speaker beeps like crazy. How do I disable console beeps?
Console beeps can be turned off using, like this:

To turn off the console beeps on boot, put the following command in the file. However, this only disables beeps for the current terminal. To disable beeps for other terminals, pipe the command output to the target terminal, like this:

Replace with the terminal for which console beeps need to be disabled.

See for more details.

Why is the letter 'e' in the name of many Gentoo-specific tools and functions?
The 'e' became a thing because Gentoo originally started as Enoch Linux. Many of Gentoo's tools and function names maintained the prefix 'e' for this reason.

Here's a quote from : "I think the 'e' likely came from enoch, and was picked as a single-character prefix in the vein of the 'iMac', which was initially released in August 1998. Enoch began in early 1999. (see https://www.funtoo.org/Funtoo_Linux_History)."

Can I buy a CD or DVD release of Gentoo Linux?
Most stores have stopped offering CDs and DVDs. With the short window between Gentoo ISO releases and technological advancements (especially higher internet bandwidth for the masses) these forms of installation media are now artifacts of history. Bootable media are readily available on the mirrors and accessible via the downloads page.

Licensed stores for official merchandise of other types are listed on the stores page.

This FAQ has not answered my question. What do I do now?
A good first step is to browse through the relevant documentation, on the, in , , , etc. Many commands also support the --help or -h switches.

The various Gentoo Linux mailing lists, or the could help. Queries may be put to the Gentoo community on - ask questions directly in the  Libera.Chat IRC channel.

The contains information on many issues. Searching the web may yield good results for some questions. If having trouble with a particular package, check upstream documentation.