Gentoo Linux is a source-based, rolling-release distribution built around the Portage package manager. Software is compiled locally and optimised for your exact CPU and your exact needs, which is why Gentoo is famously tailored by the choice of USE flags. The result is a highly customisable, fast and educational operating system where nothing is hidden.

Key Features

• Source-based builds – packages are compiled and optimised for your hardware rather than served as generic binaries
• Portage and emerge – a powerful package manager with advanced dependency resolution, used via the emerge command
• USE flags – toggles optional features per package, so you install precisely what you need and nothing more
• Ebuild repository – a large, actively maintained collection of build recipes for software
• Binary fallback – optional official binary host speeds up installation when you do not need custom flags
• Rolling release – continuous updates with no major version upgrades
• Extensive documentation – one of the best-maintained wikis and handbooks in the Linux world
• Broad architecture support – from x86 to ARM and beyond

Why Use Gentoo Linux?

Gentoo gives you total control and peak performance – every binary is tuned to your machine. It is also an outstanding way to learn how Linux actually works, because you see the build process and dependency tree rather than a black box.

Use Cases

• Power users who want maximum performance and customisation
• Embedded and specialised systems built to exact requirements
• Anyone who wants to understand Unix internals deeply
• Long-running servers tuned precisely to their workload

Platform

Linux (x86-64, IA-32, ARM and other architectures)

Licence

Free and open source. Portage is released under GPL-2.0; the distribution includes software under the GPL and other OSI-approved licences.

Website

gentoo.org