Paludis/Installation

Gentoo by default comes set up with Portage as package manager. Using Portage it is very easy to install and begin using Paludis. It is recommended you use the official guide to install Paludis. If you are pretty sure you want to stick with Paludis, you should follow the "Automatically migrating" method. Although it is always possible to back out of a Paludis installation and resume using Portage at any point.

USE flags
Before emerging paludis, you may want to set some USE Flags.

Here are several of possible USE flags for Paludis: For information about setting USE flags, see USE Flags.
 * - This enables portage compatibility. If you are just trying out Paludis and are not sure you intend to keep it, enable this flag.
 * - Adds support for Ruby bindings. This is needed for additional tools like reconcilio (a revdep-rebuild replacement.)
 * - Adds threads support for various packages.

Example:

Emerging Paludis
Because Paludis is unoffical it's not marked as "stable" in the Gentoo repositories. So you must first unmask Paludis. For example:

When complete, you can then emerge Paludis.

Initial Configuration
Paludis supports several configurations for you to use depending on your situation. If you are just trying out Paludis for the first time and are not sure what configuration to use, Pick. If you decide you like Paludis and want to keep it around, you can always reinstall Paludis without the "portage" USE flag and create a Paludis configuration later.

Using an existing Portage configuration
Using your existing configuration is the easiest way to try Paludis without doing too much work. In fact, you have to do exactly nothing! If built with the "portage" USE flag, Paludis will use your existing Portage configuration files. Using Paludis this way will not be as fast as a native configuration, but if you decide you don't like/want to use Paludis, you just have to unmerge it.

Automatically migrating your Portage configuration
Paludis provides a portage2paludis script that will automatically generate /etc/paludis and all of the configuration files in it based on settings in your /etc/make.conf file. Download the portage2paludis script here. Save it somewhere on your system as portage2paludis.

Now make portage2paludis executable.

Run portage2paludis. In order to use the default configuration directory (/etc/paludis) the script will need to be run as root.

Answer all of the questions prompted by the script. If you are unsure, just accept the default.

If instructed by the script, create a .cache directory for each repository (the portage tree, overlays, etc.)

You also need to give Paludis permissions to write to the cache directory.

If the portage2paludis script asked you to create the /var/db/pkg/.cache directory, create it now.

Give Paludis write permissions

Paludis also needs a writeable directory for logging. Create the log directory now.

Make the directory writeable by paludis

Initial Sync
Before running Paludis for the first time it needs to be aware of what packages are installed on the system. To do this run:

Paludis should be all ready to go. You can now sync your portage tree and any other configured repositories.