Where Does Gentoo Portage Store Config and Packages?
Portage reads config from /etc/portage, ebuilds from /var/db/repos/gentoo, and builds in /var/tmp/portage.
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Portage splits its state three ways: human config in /etc/portage, the ebuild repository in /var/db/repos, and temporary build trees in /var/tmp/portage. Installed package records sit in /var/db/pkg beside them.
That layout tells you what to back up and what to purge. Config and world files define the system; build trees and binpkgs are disposable weight. Disk hungry Gentoo boxes almost always find the answer in /var/tmp/portage.
Where Gentoo stores this, by platform
/etc/portage
make.conf, package.use, package.accept_keywords and related config. Ebuild repo at /var/db/repos/gentoo synced by emerge. Build scratch in /var/tmp/portage, safe to empty when idle.
Frequently asked questions
how do i free disk space on gentoo
Empty /var/tmp/portage build trees and prune distfiles in /var/cache/distfiles. The ebuild repo and config stay small; builds are the hog.
where is the list of explicitly installed packages
In /var/lib/portage/world. Copy it with /etc/portage to reproduce the system on fresh hardware.
where are use flags configured
In /etc/portage/package.use files plus make.conf defaults. Run emerge with --ask first to preview what a flag change rebuilds.
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