Project:Documentation/Overview
From Gentoo Wiki
Welcome to the Gentoo Documentation Resources. This page will give you a quick overview on various guides and documents in this wiki that we carefully follow up on and edit where needed. The documents are structured through the category within the wiki. Of course, far from all pages in the wiki are linked here, so do try out the search functionality on this site, or browse through the categories themselves.
If you find bugs in our documentation or have proposals, please use the page' Discussion tab.
Important
Documents listed here are not necessarily created by the documentation team - community documents or project documents that are well written and managed will be included in the list as well.
Documents listed here are not necessarily created by the documentation team - community documents or project documents that are well written and managed will be included in the list as well.
Contents
Documentation overview
Core system
A full overview of all documents in this category can be found at Core system.
| Page | Abstract |
|---|---|
| ACCEPT KEYWORDS | The ACCEPT_KEYWORDS variable informs the package manager which ebuilds' KEYWORDS values it is allowed to accept. |
| AMD64/FAQ | This is the Gentoo Linux/AMD64 Frequently Asked Questions |
| Alpha/FAQ | This FAQ is intended to answer some of the most frequently asked questions relating to Gentoo/Alpha and Linux/Alpha in general. |
| Binary package guide | Portage supports building and installing binary packages. This guide explains how to create them, install them, and how to setup a binary package server. |
| Complete AMD64 Handbook/Logical Volume Management | LVM allows administrators to create meta devices that provide an abstraction layer between a file system and the physical storage that is used underneath. |
| Dm-crypt | DM-Crypt is a disk encryption system using the Linux kernel crypto API framework and device mapper subsystem. |
| Epkginfo | epkginfo is a tool used to display package metadata information. It is a shortcut to using the equery meta command. |
| FAQ | This FAQ is a collection of questions and answers collected from the gentoo-dev mailing list and from Gentoo channels on Freenode Internet Relay Chat (IRC). |
| GRUB2 Migration | The goal of this guide is to provide readers with a smooth migration from GRUB Legacy to GRUB2. |
| Genkernel | genkernel is a tool created by Gentoo used to automate the build process of the kernel and initramfs. |
| IPv6 router guide | This guide explains how to use an IPv6 setup and routing on a Gentoo Linux system. |
| Initramfs/Guide | More and more systems require an initramfs to boot up properly. In this guide, the concepts of the initramfs as well as how to properly create and manage initramfs instances will be covered. |
| Installation alternatives | This guide is meant to be a repository of alternative Gentoo installation methods, for those with special installation needs such as lack of a CDROM or a computer that can't boot CDs. |
| Jffnms | This guide shows you how to proceed with the post installation setup of Jffnms, a network management and monitoring system, and how to monitor your systems with it. |
| Kernel/Configuration | This article describes the manual configuration and setup of the Linux kernel. For an authomatic method, see the genkernel article. |
| Kernel/Gentoo Kernel Configuration Guide | This document aims to introduce the concepts of manual kernel configuration and details some of the most common configuration pitfalls. |
| Kernel/Overview | This document provides an overview on all kernel sources that Gentoo provides through Portage. |
| Kernel/Removal | This article describes the removal of old kernels. |
| Kernel/Upgrade | This article describes the steps to upgrade to a new kernel. |
| LILO | LILO is a simple boot loader to load Linux and other operating systems. |
| LVM | LVM allows administrators to create meta devices that provide an abstraction layer between a file system and the physical storage that is used underneath. |
| LiveUSB/Guide | This article explains how to create a Gentoo LiveUSB or, in other words, how to emulate a x86 or AMD64 Gentoo LiveCD using a USB drive. |
| Localization/Guide | This guide should help users localize their Gentoo Linux distribution to any known locale. It uses Germany as a case-study, since it is translated from the German doc. Includes configuration for use of the euro currency symbol. |
| MIPS/FAQ | This FAQ is intended to answer some of the most frequently asked questions relating to Gentoo/MIPS and Linux/MIPS in general. |
| NVidia/nvidia-drivers | nvidia-drivers is the proprietary graphics driver for nVidia graphic cards. An open source alternative is nouveau. |
| OpenAFS | This guide shows you how to install an OpenAFS server and client on Gentoo Linux. |
| PPC/FAQ | The Gentoo/PPC FAQ is a collection of questions and answers collected from the Gentoo/PPC mailing lists and from Internet Relay Chat (IRC). |
| Power management/Guide | In recent years, power management has become one of the differentiating features in the quest for finding the perfect laptop. Yet, the operating system must support the various power saving functionalities too. In this guide, we cover how to setup a Gentoo installation so it manages power-hungry resources in a flexible yet automated manner. |
| Prelink | This guide tells you how to make use of prelink support in Portage 2.0.46 and later. |
| Q applets | The q applets are a collection of small and fast Portage helper tools written in C. This guide covers some common uses of these helper tools, also known as the app-portage/portage-utils package. |
| Refind | rEFInd is a boot manager for EFI and UEFI platforms forked from and successor to rEFIt. It provides a graphical interface for launching EFI-based operating systems and accessing EFI-based utilities. |
| SSHFS | SSHFS (SSH File System) is a secure shell client used to mount remote filesystems to local machines. SSHFS uses fuse to mount filesystems in userspace. |
| Syslinux | Syslinux is a package that contains a family of bootloaders. The package includes SYSLINUX (for FAT file systems), EXTLINUX (for Linux file systems), PXELINUX (for network PXE boot) and ISOLINUX (ISO-9660) for CD/DVD bootloading. |
| UTF-8 | UTF-8 is a variable-length character encoding, which in this instance means that it uses 1 to 4 bytes per symbol. So, the first UTF-8 byte is used for encoding ASCII, giving the character set full backwards compatibility with ASCII. UTF-8 means that ASCII and Latin characters are interchangeable with little increase in the size of the data, because only the first byte is used. Users of Eastern alphabets such as Japanese, who have been assigned a higher byte range are unhappy, as this results in as much as a 50% redundancy in their data. |
| Udev | udev is the device manager for the Linux kernel. It manages device nodes in /dev and handles all user space actions when adding or removing devices. |
| Upgrading GCC | This document will guide the user through the process of upgrading GCC. |
Hardware
A full overview of all documents in this category can be found at Hardware.
| Page | Abstract |
|---|---|
| ATI FAQ | This FAQ should help users avoid some common installation and configuration issues related to DRI and X11 for AMD/ATI boards. |
| NVidia/nvidia-drivers | nvidia-drivers is the proprietary graphics driver for nVidia graphic cards. An open source alternative is nouveau. |
Software
A full overview of all documents in this category can be found at Software.
| Page | Abstract |
|---|---|
| Article Blueprints/Software/Example | (Introductory paragraph goes here.) |
| BIND/Guide | This guide will teach you how install and configure BIND for your domain and your local network. |
| Cgit | A fast web-interface for git written in C. |
| Chrome | Chrome is Google's proprietary (closed source) web browser. Much of the source code is released in parallel as Chromium, however there are binary blobs present in Chrome including a Pepper-based version PPAPI of Adobe Flash Player. |
| Chromium | (Chromium is the open source version of Google's Chrome web browser. It features a minimal user interface, powerful web development tools, and a built in task manager. The Chromium Project is at the forefront of implementing new web standards.) |
| Claws Mail | Claws Mail with Gentoo Linux |
| Dnsmasq | Dnsmasq is a lightweight DHCP/DNS server for small and medium sized networks. |
| Epkginfo | epkginfo is a tool used to display package metadata information. It is a shortcut to using the equery meta command. |
| Eselect/User guide | eselect is a modular framework for writing configuration utilities. This guide introduces the reader to the tool and its design principles. |
| Hwinfo | Hardware Information Tool (hwinfo) is a small utility created by OpenSUSE to gather information on system hardware. |
| Java | This guide introduces the reader to Java and explains how to use Java with Gentoo Linux. |
| Jepio/cmus | An ncurses based music player with support for remote control. |
| Keychain | This document describes how to use SSH shared keys along with the keychain program. It assumes basic knowledge of public key cryptography. |
| Maffblaster/Drafts/Sopel | (Introductory paragraph goes here.) |
| Martijnlu/software | (Introductory paragraph goes here.) |
| Monit | Monit is a utility for managing and monitoring processes, programs, files, directories and filesystems on a UNIX system. |
| Mumble | Mumble is open source, cross platform, low-latency, high quality voice over IP (VoIP) client. |
| MySQL/Guide | This is an introduction to MySQL and its use of databases, tables and privileges. |
| MySQL/Startup Guide | This document helps a user set up and use MySQL. |
| PostgreSQL/QuickStart | This is a quick start guide to PostgreSQL. It covers emerging PostgreSQL and configuring it. This is complementary to the official documentation, but does not supplant it. |
| Python | Python is the programming language that runs Portage and many other tools in Gentoo. It is extremely powerful and useful for many scripting tasks. |
| Q applets | The q applets are a collection of small and fast Portage helper tools written in C. This guide covers some common uses of these helper tools, also known as the app-portage/portage-utils package. |
| Raraneda/BIND/Guide | Esta guía le enseñará como instalar y configurar BIND para tu dominio y red local. |
| SSH | SSH (Secure Shell) is an encrypted terminal program that replaces the classic telnet tool on Unix-like operating systems. |
| SSHFS | SSHFS (SSH File System) is a secure shell client used to mount remote filesystems to local machines. SSHFS uses fuse to mount filesystems in userspace. |
| Sudo | The sudo command provides a simple and secure way to configure privilege escalation, e.g. letting normal users to execute certain (or all) commands as root or some different user, possibly without giving a password. |
| Tcpdump | tcpdump is a network monitoring and data acquisition tool. It is capable of sniffing packets and "dumping" information. |
| Udev | udev is the device manager for the Linux kernel. It manages device nodes in /dev and handles all user space actions when adding or removing devices. |
| VLC | VLC media player is a wildly popular, cross platform video player and streamer. VLC media player has been quickly achieving its goal of world domination since its initial release in February of 2001. |
| VMware | VMware is a cross-platform virtual machine software emulator produced by VMware, Inc. |
| Vim | Vim is a text editor based on the vi text editor. It can be used from the command line or as a standalone application with graphical user interface. |
| WeeChat | WeeChat is a light, extensible, highly featured command-line IRC client. |
| Zip | Provides classic zip compression (this flavor created by Info ZIP). Nice for cross-platform compatibility with Microsoft operating systems. |
Desktop
A full overview of all documents in this category can be found at Desktop.
| Page | Abstract |
|---|---|
| ATI FAQ | This FAQ should help users avoid some common installation and configuration issues related to DRI and X11 for AMD/ATI boards. |
| Fluxbox | This guide provides instructions on how to set up the Fluxbox window manager for X11. |
| NVidia/nvidia-drivers | nvidia-drivers is the proprietary graphics driver for nVidia graphic cards. An open source alternative is nouveau. |
| Openbox/Guide | The aim of this guide is to show users how to install and configure the OpenBox window manager. Many potential programs to be used in conjunction with OpenBox are referenced throughout this article. |
| Xorg/Guide | Xorg is the X Window server which allows users to have a graphical environment at their fingertips. This guide explains what Xorg is, how to install it, and the various configuration options. |
| Xorg/Hardware 3D acceleration guide | This document is a guide to getting 3D acceleration working using the DRM with Xorg in Gentoo Linux. |
Server and security
A full overview of all documents in this category can be found at Server & Security.
| Page | Abstract |
|---|---|
| AIDE | AIDE (Advanced Intrusion Detection Environment) is a host-based intrusion detection system. AIDE scans files and other resources and stores information about these files in a database. Stored information includes key file attributes such as file hash output, file size, ownership, modification time, creation time, and more. After the initial database has been created, AIDE then rescans the system and compares new scan results with previously stored values. If values differ then the file has been changed and the change will be reported. The idea behind using AIDE is to create a snapshot of a system then compare the snapshot to another created snapshot to find compromised files. |
| Apache | The Apache HTTP Server is an efficient, extensible web server. It is one of the most popular web servers used on the Internet. |
| BIND/Guide | This guide will teach you how install and configure BIND for your domain and your local network. |
| Centralized authentication using OpenLDAP | This guide introduces the basics of LDAP and shows you how to setup OpenLDAP for authentication purposes between a group of computers. |
| Gentoo installation tips and tricks | The Gentoo installation allows for very flexible approaches to the various installation methods. As it is almost impossible to insert every single tip or trick in the installation instructions this document tries to deal with all submitted tips and tricks for reference purposes. |
| GnuPG | This guide will teach Gentoo Linux users the basics of using GnuPG, a tool for secure communication. |
| Hardened/FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions that arise on the gentoo-hardened IRC channel and the gentoo-hardened mailing list. |
| Hardened/Introduction to Hardened Gentoo | This guide is meant for anyone unsure about the offerings of the Hardened Gentoo project, how to use them together, and their respective roles in the project. |
| Home Router | This document details how to turn an old Gentoo machine into a router for connecting a home network to the Internet. |
| Kernel/Gentoo Kernel Configuration Guide | This document aims to introduce the concepts of manual kernel configuration and details some of the most common configuration pitfalls. |
| Keychain | This document describes how to use SSH shared keys along with the keychain program. It assumes basic knowledge of public key cryptography. |
| Mailfiltering Gateway | This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing spam fighting technologies for Postfix. Among them Amavisd-new using Spamassassin and ClamAV, greylisting and SPF. |
| Mutt | This guide shows you how to begin using the powerful command line e-mail client mutt. |
| MySQL/Guide | This is an introduction to MySQL and its use of databases, tables and privileges. |
| Nginx | nginx is a robust, small, high performance web server and reverse proxy server. It is a good alternative to popular web servers like Apache and lighttpd. |
| OpenRC/Baselayout 1 to 2 migration | This guide provides instructions on migrating from baselayout-1 to baselayout-2 using OpenRC. |
| Puppet | Puppet is a configuration management system written in Ruby. It can be used for automating machine deployments. |
| Raraneda/BIND/Guide | Esta guía le enseñará como instalar y configurar BIND para tu dominio y red local. |
| SSH | SSH (Secure Shell) is an encrypted terminal program that replaces the classic telnet tool on Unix-like operating systems. |
| SSHFS | SSHFS (SSH File System) is a secure shell client used to mount remote filesystems to local machines. SSHFS uses fuse to mount filesystems in userspace. |
| Sparc/FAQ | This FAQ is designed to help answer the most commonly asked questions about Gentoo/SPARC and Linux on SPARC architecture. Feel free to send revisions and corrections to the Gentoo/SPARC team or the doc team. |
| Sparc/Netboot | This article is a guide for setting up a netboot server for use with the Gentoo/SPARC netboot installation images. |
| Sparc/OBP Reference | The OpenBoot PROM (OBP) Reference provides a list of useful OBP commands that can help when booting, configuring and performing diagnostics upon Sun SPARC hardware and clones. |
| Sshguard | sshguard is an intrusion prevention system that parses server logs, determines malicious activity, and uses the system firewall to block the IP addresses of malicious connections. |
| Upgrading Gentoo | This document explains how new Gentoo releases affect existing installs. |
Project and community
A full overview of all documents in this category can be found at Project & Community.
| Page | Abstract |
|---|---|
| Article Blueprints/Software/Example | (Introductory paragraph goes here.) |
| Cgit | A fast web-interface for git written in C. |
| Chrome | Chrome is Google's proprietary (closed source) web browser. Much of the source code is released in parallel as Chromium, however there are binary blobs present in Chrome including a Pepper-based version PPAPI of Adobe Flash Player. |
| Chromium | (Chromium is the open source version of Google's Chrome web browser. It features a minimal user interface, powerful web development tools, and a built in task manager. The Chromium Project is at the forefront of implementing new web standards.) |
| Cronolio/GNOME3 | A frequently used desktop environment is GNOME. This guide tries to describe all aspects of GNOME, including installation, configuration, usage, and more! |
| Eselect/User guide | eselect is a modular framework for writing configuration utilities. This guide introduces the reader to the tool and its design principles. |
| GNOME/Guide | A frequently used desktop environment is GNOME. This guide tries to describe all aspects of GNOME, including installation, configuration, usage, and more! |
| GnuPG | This guide will teach Gentoo Linux users the basics of using GnuPG, a tool for secure communication. |
| Hwinfo | Hardware Information Tool (hwinfo) is a small utility created by OpenSUSE to gather information on system hardware. |
| IPv6 router guide | This guide explains how to use an IPv6 setup and routing on a Gentoo Linux system. |
| Jepio/cmus | An ncurses based music player with support for remote control. |
| Maffblaster/Drafts/Sopel | (Introductory paragraph goes here.) |
| Martijnlu/software | (Introductory paragraph goes here.) |
| Mumble | Mumble is open source, cross platform, low-latency, high quality voice over IP (VoIP) client. |
| Porting | A guide for porting Gentoo to new or alternative platforms. |
| Python | Python is the programming language that runs Portage and many other tools in Gentoo. It is extremely powerful and useful for many scripting tasks. |
| SSHFS | SSHFS (SSH File System) is a secure shell client used to mount remote filesystems to local machines. SSHFS uses fuse to mount filesystems in userspace. |
| Tcpdump | tcpdump is a network monitoring and data acquisition tool. It is capable of sniffing packets and "dumping" information. |
| VDR | This article contains instructions on how to prepare Gentoo Linux for DVB and VDR. |