I would add that the last time I used LFS was almost 20 years ago. I don't know if the procedure got more complex. From what I skimmed it looks manageable (I gu

I would add that the last time I used LFS was almost 20 years ago. I don't know if the procedure got more complex. From what I skimmed it looks manageable (I guess that's the whole point). The reason for not using LFS would actually be security. It is possible to just install whatever you want and then use it for a long time (akin to LTS Ubuntu distribution). But you still need to somehow notice there are critical security updates and you definitely don't want to miss them. Another reason is that distro developers create a huge amount of convenient mechanisms and choices for the users. As an example, getting software X to work might not be a problem, but getting X to work along Y and Z when they might have conflicting dependencies might already be a headache. Distro developers will ensure various dependencies are tested and make sense together. If you install something on Gentoo (sorry, I don't have experience with Arch) and it doesn't work, there is a good chance it is possible to make it work and you can Google the solution. When you install something on LFS and it doesn't work you are pretty much on your own.