The make.conf file is critical in getting portage to work. The handbook provides you the very basics to creating a working make.conf file. This is all well and good, however, it is advisable to take a look at the make.conf.example file first. For convience, a copy of that file is provided here .

You must configure the CHOST, #CFLAGS="-mcpu=<platform> -O3 -pipe", and #CFLAGS="-march=<platform> -O3 -pipe". It is also recommended to add (or uncomment) #CXXFLAGS="${CFLAGS}".

Why are these important? As stated in the Gentoo Handbook, CHOST defines the build host information for the application's configure script. CFLAGS & CXXFLAGS define the desired compiler flags for C and C++ compiling.

Also important is MAKEOPTS="-j2". This is where you define how many parallel compilations should occur when you install a package. A good choice is the number of CPUs in your system plus one. Therefore, MAKEOPTS="-j2" is good for a single processor machine.

One convenient option which should be included before you perform your first emerge --sync or emerge --update world is CONFIGURE_PROTECT="-*". This option will cause the configuration files to be replaced with a newer version when software is updated.

For more information, please read the Gentoo Handbook, which is available through the Gentoo Linux website. Also, please checkout the make.conf.example file ( local copy ).