# genkernel vs genkernel-next

## depontius

I'm a bit lazy, so I use genkernel, though I manually keep track of my own kernel configs.  I like clicking "Exit" out of xconfig, walk away, and when I get back my new kernel's done.

For systemd purposes genkernel-next recently came out.  I'm not using systemd, but I recognize that genkernel-next might well be the real upstream for genkernel, and am wondering if it's preferable to be there.

1 - Is genkernel-next really the upstream, as I'm wondering?

2 - Does genkernel-next work for non-systemd?

3 - If the answer to #1 is True and #2 is False, does that mean that it's time for me to think about moving off of genkernel and back to manually running kernel builds?

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## John R. Graham

Just answering #2: genkernel-next certainly does work for non-systemd systems. I've been using it since January with no systemd in the house.  :Wink: 

- John

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## mv

 *depontius wrote:*   

> I like clicking "Exit" out of xconfig, walk away, and when I get back my new kernel's done

 

If you don't need an initrd or other fancy stuff but just use it to build and install the kernel, you might want to try sys-kernel/kernel from the mv overlay (which essentially is just a wrapper for basic commands with the important part being to drop the permissions in between). Or you can easily roll your own script, of course.

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## depontius

 *John R. Graham wrote:*   

> Just answering #2: genkernel-next certainly does work for non-systemd systems. I've been using it since January with no systemd in the house. 
> 
> - John

 

At the moment I'm struggling to get a new system to boot with UEFI, and I don't think I'm going to mess with the rest of the formula quite yet.  OTOH, once I do have the new system running the "emergency system" I'm using now will be ripe to try this out on.  Then if it's successful there I can look at moving the other systems.

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## depontius

 *mv wrote:*   

>  *depontius wrote:*   I like clicking "Exit" out of xconfig, walk away, and when I get back my new kernel's done 
> 
> If you don't need an initrd or other fancy stuff but just use it to build and install the kernel, you might want to try sys-kernel/kernel from the mv overlay (which essentially is just a wrapper for basic commands with the important part being to drop the permissions in between). Or you can easily roll your own script, of course.

 

So far I've been using an initrd out of laziness.  At one point I had a kernel that wouldn't boot without, and it was just easier to add the initrd to grub than to debug it.  But now that I'm starting to fiddle with booting UEFI, it seems to take everything that grub did simply and make it more complex, including the initrd.  Also out of laziness it was easier to pick up genkernel than to script through it.  I may take a look at yours, presuming I move away from initrd.

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