FAQ What is Portage

From Gentoo Linux Wiki

This article is part of the FAQ series.

General • Portage • Wiki

[edit] What is Portage?

Portage is the heart of Gentoo Linux, and performs many key functions.

For one, Portage is the software distribution system for Gentoo Linux.

To update your local "Portage tree" over the internet with the latest software for Gentoo Linux, run:

emerge --sync

Your Portage tree contains a complete collection of scripts that can be used by Portage to create and install the latest Gentoo packages. Currently, we have over 10000 packages in our Portage tree, with new ones being added all the time.

The command to install a package is emerge <packagename>. For instance, to install bash-completion you would run:

emerge bash-completion

[edit] See Also

• MAN portage
• MAN emerge
• Official Gentoo package list
• Unofficial Gentoo-Portage.com
• Gentoo Linux Portage