Install/Configuration Files

Configuring your system

As is expected from a Linux distribution, Funtoo Linux has its share of configuration files. The one file you are absolutely required to edit in order to ensure that Funtoo Linux boots successfully is /etc/fstab. The others are optional.

Using Nano

The default editor included in the chroot environment is called nano. To edit one of the files below, run nano as follows:

(chroot) # nano -w /etc/fstab

When in the editor, you can use arrow keys to move the cursor, and common keys like backspace and delete will work as expected. To save the file, press Control-X, and answer y when prompted to save the modified buffer if you would like to save your changes.

Configuration Files

Here are a full list of files that you may want to edit, depending on your needs:

File	Do I need to change it?	Description
/etc/fstab	YES - required	Mount points for all filesystems to be used at boot time. This file must reflect your disk partition setup. We'll guide you through modifying this file below.
/etc/localtime	Maybe - recommended	Your timezone, which will default to UTC if not set. This should be a symbolic link to something located under /usr/share/zoneinfo (e.g. /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/Montreal)
/etc/portage/make.conf	Maybe - recommended	Parameters used by gcc (compiler), portage, and make. Note that it is normal for this file to be empty in Funtoo Linux, as many settings have been migrated to our enhanced profile system.
/etc/conf.d/hostname	Maybe - recommended	Used to set system hostname. Set the hostname variable to the fully-qualified (with dots, ie. foo.funtoo.org) name if you have one. Otherwise, set to the local system hostname (without dots, ie. foo). Defaults to localhost if not set.
/etc/hosts	No	You no longer need to manually set the hostname in this file. This file is automatically generated by /etc/init.d/hostname.
/etc/conf.d/keymaps	Optional	Keyboard mapping configuration file (for console pseudo-terminals). Set if you have a non-US keyboard. See Funtoo Linux Localization.
/etc/conf.d/hwclock	Optional	How the time of the battery-backed hardware clock of the system is interpreted (UTC or local time). Linux uses the battery-backed hardware clock to initialize the system clock when the system is booted.
/etc/conf.d/modules	Optional	Kernel modules to load automatically at system startup. Typically not required. See Additional Kernel Resources for more info.
/etc/conf.d/consolefont	Optional	Allows you to specify the default console font. To apply this font, enable the consolefont service by running rc-update add consolefont.
profiles	Optional	Some useful portage settings that may help speed up intial configuration.

If you're installing an English version of Funtoo Linux, you're in luck, as most of the configuration files can be used as-is. If you're installing for another locale, don't worry. We will walk you through the necessary configuration steps on the Funtoo Linux Localization page, and if needed, there's always plenty of friendly, helpful support available. (See Getting Help)

Let's go ahead and see what we have to do. Use nano -w <name_of_file> to edit files -- the "-w" argument disables word-wrapping, which is handy when editing configuration files. You can copy and paste from the examples.

   Warning

It's important to edit your /etc/fstab file before you reboot! You will need to modify both the "fs" and "type" columns to match the settings for your partitions and filesystems that you created with gdisk or fdisk. Skipping this step may prevent Funtoo Linux from booting successfully.