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x86 (aka 80x86, 8086 family)

Processor compatibility

The x86 32-bit architecture was developed by Intel 1985; it has been succeeded by amd64.
There are two builds of the x86 architecture: i486 and i686.
Processors prior to the Intel Pentium Pro or Pentium II require the i486 variant to be used.

Downloads

Gentoo Handbook Please see the Gentoo Handbook for the complete installation documentation. It explains which files you need at what stage of the installation process. In brief,
  • Boot media allow you to boot from, e.g., an USB stick or CD and install Gentoo using a Stage.
  • A Stage (previously called Stage 3) is a minimal set of Gentoo binaries to build a system in any way possible.
  • Containers and Images provide a ready-to-use Gentoo system, e.g. for cloud or virtual machine usage.
  • All release files are signed with an official OpenPGP key and distributed via world-wide download mirrors.

Boot media

Minimal Installation CD

Minimal Installation CD 2026-02-03
Minimal Installation CD

This is a small bootable ISO image that can be burned on CD or written onto USB sticks. It contains system administration tools (for installing Gentoo), but no automated installer and no compilers or graphical environment. Use the handbook!

Stages (advanced)

musl stage archives

Stage i686 | openrc | musl 2026-02-17 Stage i686 | systemd | musl
musl stages

For additional information on using musl based Gentoo systems, please see the musl usage guide. Note that users of musl stages will need to be comfortable filing bug reports and sometimes providing patches.

time64 stage archives

Stage i686 | t64 | sse | openrc 2026-02-17 Stage i686 | t64 | sse | systemd 2026-02-17 Stage i486 | t64 | openrc 2026-02-17 Stage i486 | t64 | systemd 2026-02-17
Experimental time64 stages

The time64 stages of 32-bit glibc architectures are using 64-bit time values to be year-2038 proof (details). This will become the default for Gentoo in the near future, and if you make a new 32-bit Gentoo installation and are feeling a bit experimental, we recommend using these stages already.
Switching over an existing installation from 32-bit time values to 64-bit time values is possible but not entirely trivial; instructions including helper software will be published soon. This applies to glibc only; musl has already switched to 64-bit time values in 2020.

Hardened time64 stage archives

Hardened stage i686 | t64 | openrc 2026-02-17 Hardened stage i686 | t64 | systemd