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Gentoo Linux RSS Feed DistroWatch.com: Gentoo Linux

Gentoo Linux


Last Update: 2025-12-01 09:50 UTC


Gentoo Linux is a versatile and fast, completely free Linux distribution geared towards developers and network professionals. Unlike other distros, Gentoo Linux has an advanced package management system called Portage. Portage is a true ports system in the tradition of BSD ports, but is Python-based and sports a number of advanced features including dependencies, fine-grained package management, "fake" (OpenBSD-style) installs, safe unmerging, system profiles, virtual packages, config file management, and more.

Popularity (hits per day): 12 months: 55 (208), 6 months: 58 (228), 3 months: 61 (240), 4 weeks: 58 (267), 1 week: 80 (199)

Average visitor rating: 8.7/10 from 85 review(s).


Gentoo Summary
Distribution Gentoo Linux
Home Page https://www.gentoo.org/
Mailing Lists https://www.gentoo.org/get-involved/mailing-lists/
User Forums https://forums.gentoo.org/
Alternative User Forums
Documentation https://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/index.xml
https://wiki.gentoo.org/
Screenshots DistroWatch Gallery
Screencasts
Download Mirrors https://www.gentoo.org/downloads/mirrors/DistroWatch Torrent Archive
Bug Tracker https://bugs.gentoo.org/
Related Websites Planet GentooWikipediaGentoo e.V.Gentoo GermanyGentoo JapanGentoo Russia
Reviews 2023: DistroWatch
2016: DistroWatch
12.x: Blogspot
2008: It's a Binary World
2006: LXer
2005: BlogspotOSNewsViva O Linux (Portuguese) • DistroWatch
2004: Linux JournalLinux GazetteLXer
1.x: OSNews
Where To Donate, Buy or Try https://www.gentoo.org/donate/

Recent Related News and Releases
  Releases announcements with download links and checksums:
 • 2016-05-28: Distribution Release: Gentoo Linux 20160514
 • 2014-09-04: Distribution Release: Gentoo Linux 20140826
 • 2012-12-21: Distribution Release: Gentoo Linux 20121221
 • 2012-04-01: Distribution Release: Gentoo Linux 12.1
 • 2012-01-02: Distribution Release: Gentoo Linux 12.0
 • 2011-08-08: Distribution Release: Gentoo Linux 11.2
 • 2011-03-08: Distribution Release: Gentoo Linux 11.0
 • 2009-10-05: Distribution Release: Gentoo Linux 10.0
 • 2009-09-27: Development Release: Gentoo Linux 10.0 Test
 • 2008-07-06: Distribution Release: Gentoo Linux 2008.0
 • 2008-04-29: Development Release: Gentoo Linux 2008.0 Beta 2
 • 2008-04-01: Development Release: Gentoo Linux 2008.0 Beta 1
 • More Gentoo releases...

  Headlines:
 • 2025-04-30 Gentoo and other open source projects seek support for the Open Source Lab
 • 2025-02-24 Gentoo offers QCOW2 disk images
 • 2024-08-14 Gentoo dropping IA-64 hardware support
 • 2024-04-11 Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project
 • 2024-02-04 Gentoo expands binary package repositories to include optimized architectures
 • 2024-01-23 Gentoo reviews work from 2023 and plans for 2024
 • 2023-12-29 Gentoo offers a full range of binary packages
 • 2023-05-20 20 years of running Gentoo
 • 2023-02-09 Gentoo publishes overview of 2022
 • 2022-04-04 Gentoo is making a beautiful live GUI image
 • More Gentoo headlines...

Table Notes and Explanations

(Please refer to the table below.)
  • To compare the software in this project to the software available in other distributions, please see our Compare Packages page.
  • Notes: In case where multiple versions of a package are shipped with a distribution, only the default version appears in the table. For indication about the GNOME version, please check the "nautilus" and "gnome-shell" packages. The Apache web server is listed as "httpd" and the Linux kernel is listed as "linux". The KDE desktop is represented by the "plasma-desktop" package and the Xfce desktop by the "xfdesktop" package.
  • Colour scheme: green text = latest stable version, red text = development or beta version. The function determining beta versions is not 100% reliable due to a wide variety of versioning schemes.
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Feature unstable stable 20251116 12.1 11.2 10.1 2008.0 2007.0 2006.1 2005.1 2004.3 1.4 1.2 1.1a 1.0 Feature
Release Date 2025-12-01 2025-12-01 2025-11-16 2012-04-01 2011-08-07 2009-10-10 2008-07-06 2007-05-07 2006-08-30 2005-08-08 2004-11-15 2003-08-05 2002-06-05 2002-04-08 2002-03-31 Release Date
End Of Life                               End Of Life
Price (US$) Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Price (US$)
Image Size (MB)     700-4000                         Image Size (MB)
Free Download Packages Packages ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO Free Download
Installation Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Graphical Graphical Graphical Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Installation
Default Desktop -- -- KDE Plasma KDE KDE KDE Xfce GNOME -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Default Desktop
Package Management SRC (Portage) SRC (Portage) SRC (Portage) SRC (Portage) SRC (Portage) SRC (Portage) SRC (Portage) SRC (Portage) SRC (Portage) SRC (Portage) SRC (Portage) SRC (Portage) SRC (Portage) SRC (Portage) SRC (Portage) Package Management
Release Model Rolling Rolling Fixed Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Release Model
Office Suite GOffice, Calligra, LibreOffice GOffice, Calligra, LibreOffice LibreOffice GOffice, KOffice, LibreOffice GOffice, KOffice, LibreOffice GOffice, OO.o GOffice, KOffice, OO.o GOffice, KOffice, OO.o GOffice, KOffice, OO.o GOffice, KOffice, OO.o GOffice, KOffice, OO.o GOffice, KOffice, OO.o GOffice, KOffice, OO.o GOffice, KOffice KOffice Office Suite
Processor Architecture x86, alpha, amd64, arm, hppa, mips, ppc, ppc64, sparc amd64 amd64 x86, x86_64 x86, x86_64 x86, x86_64 x86, alpha, amd64, hppa, ia64, ppc, ppc64, sparc x86, alpha, amd64, arm, hppa, ia64, mips, ppc, ppc64, sparc x86, amd64, hppa, ppc, ppc64, sparc x86, amd64, hppa, ppc, ppc64, sparc x86, amd64, hppa, ppc, ppc64, sparc x86, HPPA, ppc, sparc, mips x86, ppc, sparc x86, ppc, sparc   Processor Architecture
Init Software OpenRC OpenRC OpenRC OpenRC OpenRC OpenRC OpenRC OpenRC OpenRC OpenRC OpenRC OpenRC OpenRC OpenRC OpenRC Init Software
Journaled File Systems ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS -- -- ext3, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ReiserFS, XFS Journaled File Systems
Multilingual Yes Yes Yes Yes en en Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Multilingual
Asian Language Support Yes Yes Yes Yes -- -- cn, jp, kr, tw cn, jp, kr, tw cn, jp, kr, tw cn, jp, kr, tw cn, jp, kr, tw cn, jp, kr, tw       Asian Language Support
Full Package List unstable stable 20251116 12.1 11.2 10.1           1.4 1.2 1.1a 1.0 Full Package List
Package unstable stable 20251116 12.1 11.2 10.1 2008.0 2007.0 2006.1 2005.1 2004.3 1.4 1.2 1.1a 1.0 Package
alsa-lib (1.2.14) 1.2.14 1.2.14 1.2.14 1.0.25 1.0.24.1 1.0.20 1.0.16 1.0.14rc3 1.0.11 1.0.9 1.0.6 0.9.2 0.9.0rc1 0.9.0beta10 -- alsa-lib (1.2.14)
amdgpu (25.0.0) -- -- 23.0.0 -- -- -- 8.471.3 8.32.5 8.21.7             amdgpu (25.0.0)
apparmor (4.1.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- apparmor (4.1.2)
apt (3.1.12) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- apt (3.1.12)
bash (5.3) 5.4al 5.3 5.2 4.2 4.2 4.0 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.0 2.05b 2.05b 2.05a 2.05a 2.05a bash (5.3)
bind (9.20.16) 9.20.16 9.18.42 9.18.38 -- -- -- 9.4.1-P1 9.3.4 9.3.2 9.2.5 9.2.2 9.2.2 9.2.1 9.2.0 -- bind (9.20.16)
chromium (142.0.7444.175) -- -- 142.0.7444.134 18.0.1025.142 13.0.782.107 --                   chromium (142.0.7444.175)
cinnamon (6.4.13) 6.4.13 6.4.13 -- 1.4 -- --                   cinnamon (6.4.13)
cups (2.4.15) 2.4.14 2.4.14 2.4.14 1.5.2 1.4.6 1.3.10 1.3.7 1.2.9 1.1.23 1.1.23 1.1.20 1.1.19 1.1.14 1.1.14 -- cups (2.4.15)
e2fsprogs (1.47.3) 1.47.3 1.47.3 1.47.3 1.42.1 1.41.14 1.41.3 1.40.9 1.39 1.39 1.38 1.35 1.33 1.27 1.27 1.27 e2fsprogs (1.47.3)
ffmpeg (8.0.1) 8.0.1 7.1.2 6.1.3 0.10.2 0.7.2 0.5                   ffmpeg (8.0.1)
firefox (145.0.2) 145.0.1 -- 140.5.0 11.0 5.0 3.5.3 2.0.0.15 2.0.0.3 1.5.0.6 1.0.6 1.0pre         firefox (145.0.2)
flatpak (1.16.1) 1.16.1 1.16.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- flatpak (1.16.1)
freetype (2.14.1) 2.14.1 2.14.1 2.14.1 2.4.9 2.4.6 2.3.9 2.3.7 2.3.3 2.1.10 2.1.9 2.1.5 2.1.4 2.1.0 2.0.9 -- freetype (2.14.1)
gcc (15.2.0) 15.2.1pre 15.2.1pre 14.3.0 4.5.3 4.5.2 4.3.2 3.4.6 4.1.1 4.1.1 3.4.4 3.4.1 3.2.3 2.95.3 2.95.3 2.95.3 gcc (15.2.0)
gimp (3.0.6) 3.0.6 2.10.38 2.10.38 2.6.12 2.6.11 2.6.4 2.4.2 2.2.14 2.2.12 2.2.6 2.0.4 1.2.4 1.2.3 1.2.3 -- gimp (3.0.6)
git (2.52.0) 4.0.6 2.51.2 2.51.0 1.7.8.5 1.7.6 1.6.3.3 1.5.6.1                 git (2.52.0)
glibc (2.42) 2.42 2.41 2.41 2.14.1 2.13 2.9 2.7 2.5 2.4 2.3.5 2.3.4 2.3.2 2.2.5 2.2.5 2.2.5 glibc (2.42)
gnome-shell (49.2) 48.6 48.5 -- 3.2.2.1 3.0.2 --                   gnome-shell (49.2)
grub (2.12) 2.14rc1 2.12 2.12 0.97 0.97 0.97 0.97 0.97 0.96 0.96 0.94 0.93 0.90 0.91 0.90 grub (2.12)
gtk (4.20.3) 4.20.3 4.18.6 4.16.13 3.2.4 3.0.12 2.16.6 2.12.9 2.10.9 2.8.19 2.6.7 2.4.9 2.2.1 2.0.2 1.2.10 -- gtk (4.20.3)
httpd (2.4.65) 2.4.65 2.4.65 -- -- -- -- 2.2.9 2.0.58 2.0.58 2.0.54 2.0.49 -- -- -- -- httpd (2.4.65)
inkscape (1.4.2) 1.4.2 1.4.2 1.4 0.48.3 0.48.2 0.46 0.46 0.45.1 0.43 0.41           inkscape (1.4.2)
kmod (34.2) 34.2 34.2 34.2 7 -- --                   kmod (34.2)
krita (5.2.13) 5.2.13 -- -- 2.3.3 2.3.3 --                   krita (5.2.13)
LibreOffice (25.8.3) 25.2.7 -- 25.2.5 3.5.1 3.4.2 3.1.1 2.4.1 2.1.0 2.0.3 1.1.4 1.1.3 1.0.3 1.0 641b -- LibreOffice (25.8.3)
Package unstable stable 20251116 12.1 11.2 10.1 2008.0 2007.0 2006.1 2005.1 2004.3 1.4 1.2 1.1a 1.0 Package
libselinux (3.9) 3.8.1 3.8.1 -- -- -- -- 1.34.14 1.30 1.30             libselinux (3.9)
linux (6.18) 6.17.9 6.12.58 6.12.54 3.3 3.0 2.6.30.5 2.6.25.9 2.6.19 2.6.17 2.6.12 2.6.9 2.4.19 2.4.18 2.4.18 2.4.17 linux (6.18)
mariadb (12.1.2) 12.0.2 11.8.3 11.8.3 -- -- --                   mariadb (12.1.2)
mate-desktop (1.28.2) 1.28.2 1.28.2 -- -- -- --                   mate-desktop (1.28.2)
mesa (25.3.0) 25.3.0 25.2.7 25.1.9 8.0.2 7.11 7.5.1                   mesa (25.3.0)
mysql (9.5.0) 8.0.44 8.0.43 -- 5.1.61 5.1.58 5.0.84 5.0.54 5.0.38 4.1.21 4.0.24 4.0.22 4.0.13 3.23.49 3.23.49 -- mysql (9.5.0)
nautilus (49.2) 48.4.1 48.4.1 -- 3.2.1 3.0.2 2.26.4 2.20.0 2.16.3 2.14.1 2.10.1 2.8.0 2.2.4 1.0.6 1.0.6 -- nautilus (49.2)
NVIDIA (580.105.08) 390.157 390.157 -- -- -- -- -- 1.0-8776               NVIDIA (580.105.08)
openjdk (25) 21.0.9p10 17.0.17p10 25 -- -- -- --                 openjdk (25)
openssh (10.2p1) 10.2p1 10.0p2 10.0p1 5.9p1 5.8p2 5.2p1 4.7p1 4.5p1 4.3p2 3.9p1 3.8.1p1 3.6.1p2 3.1p1 3.1p1 3.1p1 openssh (10.2p1)
openssl (3.6.0) 3.5.4 3.5.4 3.5.4 1.0.0h 1.0.0d 0.9.8k 0.9.8g 0.9.8d 0.9.7j 0.9.7e 0.9.7d 0.9.6j 0.9.6c 0.9.6c 0.9.6c openssl (3.6.0)
perl (5.42.0) 5.42.0 5.42.0 5.40.2 5.12.4 5.12.4 5.8.8 5.8.8 5.8.8 5.8.8 5.8.6 5.8.4 5.8.0 5.6.1 5.6.1 5.6.1 perl (5.42.0)
php (8.5.0) 8.5.0 8.3.26 -- -- -- -- 5.2.6rc4 5.2.2 5.1.4 4.4.0 4.3.9 4.3.2 4.2.0 4.1.2 -- php (8.5.0)
plasma-desktop (6.5.3) 6.5.3 -- 6.3.6 4.8.1 4.7.0 4.3.1                   plasma-desktop (6.5.3)
postfix (3.10.6) 3.11pre 3.10.4 -- -- -- 2.5.9 2.4.6 2.3.6 2.2.10 2.1.5 2.1.5 2.0.11 1.1.7 1.1.6 -- postfix (3.10.6)
postgresql (18.1) 18.1 18.1 -- -- -- -- 8.0.15 8.0.13 8.0.8 8.0.3 7.4.6 7.3.3 7.2 7.2 -- postgresql (18.1)
Python (3.14.0) 3.14.0p1 3.14.0 3.13.5 3.2.2 3.2 2.6.2 2.4.4 2.4.4 2.4.3 2.3.5 2.3.4 2.2.3 2.2.1 2.2 2.2 Python (3.14.0)
qt (6.10.1) -- 6.9.3 6.9.1 4.8.1 4.7.3 4.5.2 3.3.8 4.2.3 4.1.4 3.3.4 3.3.3 3.1.2 3.0.3 3.0.3 -- qt (6.10.1)
samba (4.23.3) 4.23.3 4.22.5 -- 3.6.3 3.6.0rc3 3.0.33 3.0.28a 3.0.24 3.0.22 3.0.14a 3.0.8 2.2.8a 2.2.4 2.2.3a -- samba (4.23.3)
systemd (258.2) 259rc2 257.9 -- -- -- --                   systemd (258.2)
thunderbird (145.0) 145.0 -- -- 11.0.1 5.0 2.0.0.23 2.0.0.14 1.5.0.10 1.5.0.5 1.0.6 0.8         thunderbird (145.0)
vim (9.1) 9.1 9.1 9.1 7.3 7.3 7.2 7.1 7.0 7.0 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.1 6.1 -- vim (9.1)
vlc (3.0.22) 3.0.22rc2 3.0.22rc1 3.0.22rc1 2.0.1 1.1.11 1.0.2 0.8.6g 0.8.6 0.8.4a 0.8.1           vlc (3.0.22)
wayland (1.24.0) 1.24.0 1.24.0 1.24.0 -- -- --                   wayland (1.24.0)
xfdesktop (4.20.1) 4.20.1 4.20.1 -- 4.8.3 4.8.2 4.6.1 4.4.2 4.4.0 4.2.3.2 4.2.2 4.0.6 3.8.18 3.8.16 3.8.14 -- xfdesktop (4.20.1)
xorg-server (21.1.21) 21.1.21 21.1.20 21.1.20 1.12.0 1.10.3 1.6.3.901 1.3.0.0 (7.2) (7.1) (6.8.2) (6.8.0) -- -- -- -- xorg-server (21.1.21)

Reader Ratings
Reader supplied reviews for Gentoo Linux

Average rating
8.7
from 85 review(s)



Version: stable
Rating: 10
Date: 2025-11-30
Votes: 1


Why is Gentoo easier for me than other distributions? No mysterious error messages No processes running in the background No services whose source I don't know Everything is under my control Every problem has a direct and clear solution The system remains fast and stable no matter how long it takes once you understand the basics, gentoo becomes easier than any other distribution because the system is built on the idea of ​​clarity and complete control after 15 years of daily use, I can confidently say gentoo isn't just a distribution… it's a way of interacting with the system.The Gentoo experience makes any other system seem limited or "closed" compared to you those who want a system ready to use immediately will find it difficult but those who want freedom, understanding, performance, stability, and control… won't find anything better and for me personally I will never abandon Gentoo, no matter what new distributions come out It's the most stable, fastest, clearest, and easiest to use in the long run.


Version: stable
Rating: 10
Date: 2025-11-11
Votes: 1


Gentoo is a source-based distribution built for those who like full control. Every package is compiled locally with user-defined options, resulting in a system that’s fast, lean, and tailored to your hardware. The installation may be challenging, but it teaches you more about Linux internals than any guide ever could. Once configured, Gentoo is rock-solid, endlessly customizable, and deeply rewarding for power users. from my usage over the months its been rock stable and never had any issues whatsoever.


Version: stable
Rating: 10
Date: 2025-10-29
Votes: 1


I first used Gentoo when it didn't have an option for a guided GUI installation (pretty sure this was before 1.0), and it will always be my favorite distro. That said, back then and too this day, I found/find it funny that there are SO MANY DISTROBUTIONS of Linux. I had used others, other "user friendly" distro's, back in the day before Gentoo, and it was Gentoo that really opened my eyes to the reality that what distro you use doesn't actually matter, they're all Linux/Unix. While I do HIGHLY recommend Gentoo the only honest reason I'd have for anyone asking why, It's the name. You see, as far as I'm aware Gentoo Linux is the only distribution named after a penguin, the Gentoo penguin of Antarctica. Bravo = )



See all 85 reader reviews of Gentoo Linux...



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