If you decided to install Gentoo then here’s a small guide on the emerge command.

install packages

emerge tmux This installs the package called “tmux”.

emerge --ask tmux This asks you before installing “tmux”.

emerge --ask --autounmask Sometimes packages will be masked by: keywords, USE flags, and licenses. This outputs what should be written and to what location.

cleaning the system

emerge --clean Cleans up the system of old packages, not the newest versions, it keeps the most recently installed version even if it happens to be an older version.

emerge --depclean Running this by itself removes any packages that aren’t being used by other packages.

emerge --depclean tmux This is preferred way to remove a package from your system.

emerge --prune Removes all but the newest version of all packages. (Be very careful with this one.)

searching for packages

emerge --search tmux This searches for packages with “tmux” in its name. It’s not case sensitive.

emerge --searchdesc office to search by descriptions.

updating

emerge --sync This is the equivalent to apt update except its through rsync and should only be run once before updating.

emerge -uDU --keep-going --with-bdeps=y @world This updates all your packages including dependencies.