notes

These installation notes and kernel config are configured for me and my computer (Lenovo G580). It can work for you but it does not have to. Feel free to follow my instructions, but keep in mind that you will probably have to add some drivers while kernel configuration and use different USE flags in /etc/portage/make.conf.

how it looks like

emerge cheatsheet

# install a package:
emerge <name>

# install a package and update all packages it depends on:
emerge -u <name> 

# update a package, all packages it depends on and all packages they depend on (--update --deep):
emerge -uD <name>

# uninstall a package:
emerge -C package

# search for packages - names only (--search):
emerge -s <keyword>

# search for packages (their description):
emerge -S <keyword>

# view what would have been installed (--pretend):
emerge -p <name>

# only download archive + dependencies (--fetchonly):
emerge -f <name>

# complete system update:
emerge -uD @world

# view what USE flags are used to configure and install a package:
emerge -pv <name>

# sync the Gentoo ebuild repository using the mirrors by obtaining a snapshot that is (at most) a day old:
emerge-webrsync

installation

0. view the Gentoo handbook during the installation

links https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook:AMD64

1. select a kernel

boot: gentoo

2. test the network

ping google.com

If there's no connection:

2.1 list interfaces

ip link

2.2 set the interface up

ip link set <interface> up

3. create the partitions

# -t dos option forces to read the partition table using the MBR format.
fdisk -t dos /dev/sda
    # create partitions:
    # /dev/sda1 -> /boot (Type 'a' to toggle the bootable flag)
    # /dev/sda2 -> /
    # /dev/sda3 -> /swap (optional)
    n - new partition
    ...
    a - makes bootable
    p - print all partitions
    l - list of partition codes
    t - change type of partitions
        82 - swap
        83 - Linux
    d - delete partitions
    w - write changes

4. create file systems

mkfs.ext2 /dev/sda1
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda2

5. activate the swap partition if exists

mkswap /dev/sda3
swapon /dev/sda3

6. mount the root partition

mount /dev/sda2 /mnt/gentoo
cd /mnt/gentoo

7. set date and time

date 
date MMDDhhmmYYYY

8. download the stage tarball

links www.gentoo.org/main/en/mirrors.xml
select server -> releases/amd64/autobuilds/stage3*.tar.bz2
tar xf stage3*

9. configure compile options

vi /mnt/gentoo/etc/portage/make.conf

CFLAGS="-march=native -O2 -pipe"
# Use the same settings for both variables
CXXFLAGS="${CFLAGS}"
MAKEOPTS="-j4"
VIDEO_CARDS="intel vesa"

INPUT_DEVICES="evdev keyboard mouse synaptics libinput"
NOTUSE="-qt4"
USE="${NOTUSE} X acpi alsa ffmpeg flac ftp fuse gif git ipv6 jpeg latex libnotify mp3 mp4 mpeg mtp mysql ncurses ogg opengl png python python3 ssl svg wifi xft zsh-completion"

# which software licenses are allowed
ACCEPT_LICENSE="*"
#ACCEPT_LICENSE="-* @FREE"

PORTAGE_TMPDIR=/var/tmp

# the location of the temporary files for Portage
PORTAGE_TMPDIR="/var/tmp"

# the location where Portage will store the downloaded source code archives
DISTDIR=/var/gentoo/distfiles

AUTOCLEAN="yes"

LINGUAS="pl en_US"

# BIOS/MBR is pc, 64-bit UEFI is efi-64, 32-bit UEFI is efi-32
GRUB_PLATFORMS="pc"

10. select mirrors

In order to download source code quickly it is recommended to select a fast/close mirror.

mirrorselect -i -r -o >> /mnt/gentoo/etc/portage/make.conf

A second important step in selecting mirrors is to configure the Gentoo ebuild repository via the /etc/portage/repos.conf/gentoo.conf. This file contains the sync information needed to update the package repository.

mkdir -p /mnt/gentoo/etc/portage/repos.conf

Next, copy the Gentoo repository configuration file provided by Portage

cp /mnt/gentoo/usr/share/portage/config/repos.conf /mnt/gentoo/etc/portage/repos.conf/gentoo.conf

11. copy DNS info

One thing still remains to be done before entering the new environment and that is copying over the DNS information in /etc/resolv.conf. This needs to be done to ensure that networking still works even after entering the new environment. /etc/resolv.conf contains the name servers for the network.

cp --dereference /etc/resolv.conf /mnt/gentoo/etc/

12. mount the necessary filesystems

In a few moments, the Linux root will be changed towards the new location. To make sure that the new environment works properly, certain filesystems need to be made available there as well.

mount -t proc /proc /mnt/gentoo/proc
mount --rbind /sys /mnt/gentoo/sys
mount --make-rslave /mnt/gentoo/sys
mount --rbind /dev /mnt/gentoo/dev
mount --make-rslave /mnt/gentoo/dev

13. enter the new environment by chrooting into it

This means that the session will change its root (most top-level location that can be accessed) from the current installation environment (installation CD or other installation medium) to the installation system (namely the initialized partitions). Hence the name, change root or chroot.

The root location is changed from / (on the installation medium) to /mnt/gentoo/ (on the partitions) using chroot

chroot /mnt/gentoo /bin/bash

14. reload /etc/profile

Some settings (those in /etc/profile) are reloaded in memory using the source command

source /etc/profile

15. change prompt

The primary prompt is changed to help us remember that this session is inside a chroot environment.

export PS1="(chroot) ${PS1}"

16. mount the boot partition

mkdir /boot
mount /dev/sda2 /boot

17. instal an ebuild repository snapshot from the web

mkdir /usr/portage
emerge-webrsync

18. update the Gentoo ebuild repository

emerge --sync

19. install vim

emerge app-editors/vim dev-vcs/git

20. choose the right profile

A profile is a building block for any Gentoo system. Not only does it specify default values for USE, CFLAGS, and other important variables, it also locks the system to a certain range of package versions. These settings are all maintained by Gentoo's Portage developers.

eselect profile list
eselect profile set <nr>

21. update the @world set

It is wise to update the system's @world set so that a base can be established for the new profile.

emerge --ask --update --deep --newuse @world

22. configure the USE variable

USE is one of the most powerful variables Gentoo provides to its users. Several programs can be compiled with or without optional support for certain items.

The easiest way to check the currently active USE settings is to run emerge --info | grep ^USE

A full description on the available USE flags can be found on the system in /usr/portage/profiles/use.desc.

Users who want to ignore any default USE settings and manage it completely themselves should start the USE definition in /etc/portage/make.conf with -*:

USE="-* X acl alsa"

23. timezone

echo "Europe/Warsaw" > /etc/timezone
emerge --config sys-libs/timezone-data

24. configure locales

vim /etc/locale.gen

locale-gen
eselect locale list
eselect locale set <nr>

25. reload the environment

env-update && source /etc/profile && export PS1="(chroot) $PS1"

26. install the Linux sources

emerge --ask sys-kernel/gentoo-sources

27. manual kernel configuration

git clone https://github.com/qeni/gentoo.git
cp gentoo/kernel-config /usr/src/linux/
cd /usr/src/linux
make menuconfig
> load kernel-config file

28. compile a kernel

make && make modules_install

29. copy the kernel image to /boot

make install

30. install firmware

Some drivers require additional firmware to be installed on the system before they work. This is often the case for network interfaces, especially wireless network interfaces.

emerge --ask sys-kernel/linux-firmware

31. edit /etc/fstab

vim /etc/fstab

/dev/sda1   /boot   ext2    defaults,noatime    0 2
/dev/sda2   /       ext4    noatime             0 1
/dev/sda3   none    swap    sw                  0 0

set /dev/sda3 only if you've created a swap partition

32. set host

vim /etc/conf.d/hostname

33. configure the network

emerge --ask net-misc/dhcpcd net-wireless/iw net-wireless/wpa_supplicant net-misc/wicd sys-firmware/b43-firmware sys-apps/iproute2 net-wireless/wireless-tools
rc-update add wicd default
rc-update add dhcpcd default

34. add a user and set passwords for him and root

useradd -G users,wheel,audio,portage,cron -s /bin/bash <username>
passwd
passwd <username>

35. edit sudoers file

emerge sudo
visudo

36. install grub

emerge -av sys-boot/grub:2
grub-install /dev/sda
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
vim /boot/grub/grub.cfg

37. reboot the system and login as a created user

exit
cd
umount -l /mnt/gentoo/dev{/shm,/pts,}
umount -l -R /mnt/gentoo{/boot,/proc,}
reboot

38. create directories in $HOME

mkdir -p $HOME/{tmp, mnt, documents, music, movies, downloads, repo, pictures/screenshots}

39. sync the Gentoo ebuild repository

sudo emerge-webrsync

40. install additional packages

sudo emerge --update --deep \
x11-base/xorg-server x11-apps/xinit x11-wm/i3-gaps x11-misc/rofi \
x11-misc/i3status x11-misc/i3lock media-gfx/scrot lxde-base/lxrandr \
x11-misc/redshift app-editors/vim app-vim/jedi net-misc/youtube-dl net-p2p/rtorrent \
app-text/zathura app-misc/mc x11-terms/xterm www-client/links \
sys-libs/ncurses media-sound/mpd media-sound/ncmpcpp media-sound/mpc media-video/vlc \
media-gfx/feh media-plugins/alsa-plugins media-sound/alsamixer-app media-libs/alsa-lib x11-apps/xbacklight \
dev-util/cmake net-misc/curl net-misc/dhcpcd sys-apps/dbus dev-lang/lua media-sound/gmtp \
app-misc/neofetch app-arch/p7zip app-arch/unrar app-portage/genlop app-editors/leafpad \
app-arch/unzip dev-lang/python sys-devel/gcc dev-vcs/git net-misc/openssh \
media-fonts/terminus-font app-shells/zsh sys-power/acpi sys-process/htop \
x11-apps/xbacklight sys-fs/ntfs3g games-roguelike/nethack www-client/firefox

41. re-initialize env variables

When the installation is finished, some environment variables will need to re-initialized before continuing.

sudo env-update
sudo source /etc/profile

42. clone dotfiles

git clone https://github.com/qeni/dotfiles /home/qeni/repo/dotfiles
rsync -rvlkEth /home/qeni/dotfiles/.* ~/

43. add daemons

rc-update add sshd default

44. change default shell to zsh

chsh -s /bin/zsh $USER

45. configure nethack

sudo mkdir -p /var/games/nethack
sudo mv ~/.nethack_record /var/games/nethack/record

46. go and conquer the world

startx