MacPorts

Name: MacPorts
Rating: 4.7917 (6 reviews)

2.6.2

21 October 2019

Install open-source software on Darwin OSes (was DarwinPorts).

Overview

Note: The screenshot shown in this listing comes from Pallet, a separate resource available here.

MacPorts Project's main goal is to provide an easy way to install various open-source software products on the Darwin OS family (OpenDarwin, OS X, and Darwin).

What's new in MacPorts

Version 2.6.2:

Added support for zsh to the pkg installer's PATH setup code.
Allow individual ports to change prefix without disabling binary
distribution for them.
Added warning to install the Command Line Tools when using
Xcode 10 or later and headers corresponding to the current OS
version are not available.
Always try macports-gcc on ppc systems if system compilers are
blacklisted.

26 MacPorts Reviews

See all

Over the years, MacPorts has evolved from being just a "nice to have" tool for command line geeks, and is now a critical part of the infrastructure of OS X. Apple, because of their fear of version 3 of the General Public License (GPL), has completely abandoned updating many of the open source components in OS X. This has affected the BSD userland the most. In some cases, they've tried replacing established tools with their own, but mostly, programs have simply been allowed to languish with no updates past those that were released under the GPLv2. That's where package managers like MacPorts come in, to keep your system from becoming a decrepit and obsolete pile of trash, due to Apple's neglect. This is a key example of why the *nix brethren and sistren among us need to maintain things ourselves, because Apple has once again thrown us under the bus.

Like (4)

Version 2.1.2

I'm mainly a homebrewer, but for the occasional other package, I need MacPorts, and I like it a lot. Though the weird thing is that the latest update 2.5.4 doesn't support Xcode 10 on High Sierra; to use MacPorts 2.5.4 with Xcode 10, you need to be on Mojave.

Like (1)

Version 2.5.4

After years of using and then now struggling with Homebrew, I've finally come home with MacPorts. Markedly better, more offerings that cater to user needs and wants (much more so than just being developer-centric like 'Brew). Our team has even started contributing to MacPorts and are finding development really nice with TCL and the dev community's also less hostile.

Like (1)

Version 2.4.4

2 answer(s)

cig0

06 July 2018

I'm curious, what kind of issues you have ran into with Homebrew lately?

MichaelHaeusler

03 October 2018

Homebrew has gotten pretty great. I mainly brew, but use both Homebrew & MacPorts, with no issues so far, even though `brew doctor` and `port diagnose` always print warnings regarding the other package manager.

wintermute

19 August 2015

Anyone get Pallet to work with MacPorts on OS X v. 10.10.5? I keep getting an error about MacPorts_Framework. I'm a newbie to MacPorts and don't understand how to solve the issue when reading through the user wiki. Somebody posted a bunch of diff patches for download that are supposed to address the problem. How are these applied? It looks like this problem with Pallet has been around for over a year... that is pretty sad considering that adding a GUI (which Pallet does) is likely the first thing a newbie (like me) would do to make managing and viewing packages easier.

Like (1)

Version 2.3.3

1 answer(s)

anonymous-deer-2515

29 December 2015

You may wish to consider using JPortsUI (free/Java-based) or PortAuthority (paid) as a MacPorts GUI at this time.

The published Pallet 1.1 port file is for subversion revision 86,930 from 2011.11.06
--> https://trac.macports.org/browser/trunk/dports/sysutils/Pallet/Portfile

On 2015.12.13 (subversion revision 143494) updates from the 2015 Google Summer of Code (GSoC) for Pallete where checked into the repository. However ... these recent changes have not yet be propagated to the portfile.
--> https://svn.macports.org/repository/macports/contrib/Pallet

So, at this time, one needs to build Pallete from the SVN repository (not trivial) or use an alternative.

Jazzyguy

18 October 2014

@wordWeaver Update: "Thanks to help form Ryan Schmidt, I was finally able to install MacPorts 2.3.1 on my Yosemite 10.10 Public Beta 1 iMac, running Xcode 6 beta 5. The problem was that I had to set the path to the Xcode beta app in the Terminal, and also install a brand new installation of MacPorts using the source tarball. In other words, if you are also running the Yosemite beta or DP, you cannot use the MacPorts 2.3.1 DMG file, or the "sudo port -v selfupdate" command in the Terminal. You must install a fresh copy of MacPorts under Yosemite using the source tarball. It will then also allow you to update your ports as well. Hope this helps someone." Please Help. How do I get The Developer Tools BETA edition you mentioned in your comment? How do i get the SDK? I am sort of a novice.Ionly want to install Pan on my copy of Yosemite and maybe Kstars if I am successful.

Version 2.3.2

6 answer(s)

Jazzyguy

18 October 2014

ALSO....how doI get the Tarball you referred to?

WordWeaver

19 October 2014

@Jazzguy: You might try here. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the latest version:

https://distfiles.macports.org/MacPorts/

Jazzyguy

19 October 2014

Thank You WordWeaver I will attempt to install on my external drive which is 500GB but where do I get the Developer Tools. Italics like I need 6.2 the Developer Tools 6.1 is available. Do I need 6.2?

Jazzyguy

19 October 2014

The correction speller got me. The sentence should read It looks like I need Developer Tools 6.2.

WordWeaver

19 October 2014

@Jazzguy: I am sorry, but I don't understand your comment. The latest version of the Developer Tools -- a.k.a. Xcode -- is 6.0.1. There is no 6.1 or 6.2 yet.

Xcode is free. You can obtain it here:

https://developer.apple.com/xcode/downloads/

Please notice that the page says that 6.1 will be available shortly in the App Store, but not yet, so you can only download 6.0.1.

You can also downloaded the latest version of the Command Line Tools for Xcode on this page:

https://developer.apple.com/downloads/index.action?=command%20line%20tools

You should bookmark both of those pages for future reference, because you will need them.

WordWeaver

19 October 2014

You can also type the following the following in the Terminal in order to install the Command Line Tools:

xcode-select --install

If you already have them installed, it will direct you to Software Update instead, which is now incorporated into the App Store app.

WordWeaver

09 August 2014

Would I be correct to assume that the Yosemite public beta has broken MacPorts? I just typed "sudo port -v selfupdate" in the Terminal and the resulting error I got is as follows: Error: Current platform "darwin 14" does not match expected platform "darwin 13" Error: If you upgraded your OS, please follow the migration instructions: https://trac.macports.org/wiki/Migration OS platform mismatch while executing "mportinit ui_options global_options global_variations" Error: /opt/local/bin/port: Failed to initialize MacPorts, OS platform mismatch I guess I am off to that migration URL to see what is going on with MacPorts.

Version 2.3.1

5 answer(s)

WordWeaver

09 August 2014

For those of you who are interested, it appears that MacPorts will not install or update on a machine running Yosemite Public Beta 1, Xcode 6 beta 5 and the latest version of the Command Line Tools.

I tried following the migration instructions on the aforementioned page, and in spite of that, whether I use the MacPorts DMG package, or command line, MacPorts will not allow me to install it or uninstall it, because apparently it is not yet compatible with darwin 14.

RyanDesign

09 August 2014

It works fine. Feel free to email me privately (ryandesign at macports dot org) if you're having trouble, since we're not supposed to discuss the beta publicly.

WordWeaver

09 August 2014

Thank you RydanDesign. I am typing up an email for you at this very moment. I'll send it off shortly.

WordWeaver

10 August 2014

Update: Thanks to help form Ryan Schmidt, I was finally able to install MacPorts 2.3.1 on my Yosemite 10.10 Public Beta 1 iMac, running Xcode 6 beta 5.

The problem was that I had to set the path to the Xcode beta app in the Terminal, and also install a brand new installation of MacPorts using the source tarball.

In other words, if you are also running the Yosemite beta or DP, you cannot use the MacPorts 2.3.1 DMG file, or the "sudo port -v selfupdate" command in the Terminal.

You must install a fresh copy of MacPorts under Yosemite using the source tarball. It will then also allow you to update your ports as well.

Hope this helps someone.

umaromc

30 August 2014

I just figured this roadblock out when trying to use MacPorts to install the latest version of GIMP and I eventually ran across this closed support ticket; https://trac.macports.org/ticket/44107 with the response noting we'd have to "roll our own" I assume until Yosemite is finalized and they can finalize an installer.

amaloney

26 July 2013

When I try to install Pallet, I get a failure. The following message appears. What am I doing wrong? ============ ---> Building webkit-gtk Error: org.macports.build for port webkit-gtk returned: command execution failed Please see the log file for port webkit-gtk for details: /opt/local/var/macports/logs/_opt_local_var_macports_sources_rsync.macports.org_release_ports_www_webkit-gtk/webkit-gtk/main.log Error: Unable to upgrade port: 1 Error rebuilding webkit-gtk while executing "error "Error rebuilding $portname"" (procedure "revupgrade_scanandrebuild" line 382) invoked from within "revupgrade_scanandrebuild broken_port_counts $opts" (procedure "macports::revupgrade" line 5) invoked from within "macports::revupgrade $opts" (procedure "action_revupgrade" line 2) invoked from within "action_revupgrade $action $portlist $opts" (procedure "action_target" line 96) invoked from within "$action_proc $action $portlist [array get global_options]" (procedure "process_cmd" line 93) invoked from within "process_cmd $remaining_args" invoked from within "if { [llength $remaining_args] > 0 } { # If there are remaining arguments, process those as a command set exit_status [process_cmd $remaining..." (file "/opt/local/bin/port" line 4857)

Version 2.2.0

Derekcurrie

24 July 2013

Pallet: A quick note to point out that if you would like to use a GUI for MacPorts v2.x, use Pallet. It is available here: https://trac.macports.org/wiki/MacPortsGUI Do NOT bother with Porticus or PortAuthority. They no longer work properly with MacPorts v2. GUIs for MacPorts have never been perfect, but Pallet is a reasonably easy way to learn about available ports. As for installing ports, I've found using the CLI to be easier to use. And I hate CLI commands! I ended up writing the commands then dragging them out of Terminal as clippings. Whenever I need to use the commands I just drop them on Terminal, finish the commands as required, and let Terminal do the work.

Like (2)

Version 2.2.0

1 answer(s)

Codebykevin

25 July 2013

How does PortAuthority no longer work?

Like (2)

Like (4)

Version 2.1.2

6 answer(s)

Essadee

05 February 2013

I'd like to know what you think the GPL has to do with BSD userland, since by definition BSD code falls under the BSD license which is actually free.

Like (4)

sjk

05 February 2013

A system doesn't necessarily become "a decrepit and obsolete pile of trash" because of lack of updates. Plenty of people are satisfied with "if it ain't broke don't fix it" usage, even when updates are available. But I agree with the intention of your comment for whoever and whatever it applies to. :) OS X still includes lots of stuff covered by the GPL, as the Licenses column on this page will attest to: Mac OS X 10.8.2 - Source http://www.opensource.apple.com/release/mac-os-x-1082/ But that all refers to the GPL 2 license; I don't know if OS X includes anything covered by GPL 3.

Like (3)

Essadee

05 February 2013

When there is a BSD alternative, Apple ships the BSD version. e.g. curl instead of wget. This is more political and cultural than due to some plot to throw people that don't know better under a bus. Look who the Director of Engineering of Unix Technologies is. (Hint: it isn't Richard Stallman)

Like (3)

SickTeddyBear

05 February 2013

@Essadee I used the term "BSD userland" generically. It's obvious that OS X is a mixed userland of BSD, GPL, and other licensed components. The point is that many well-known and respected *nix apps, like rsync, are no longer being updated by Apple, and those that care about command line tools need to be aware of that.

Like (2)

Essadee

05 February 2013

License precludes Apple from updating it.

Like (1)

Ryde

14 February 2013

What is so different and dangerous about GPL v3 versus v2 that Apple should be vary of it? [ I am not a licensing expert but somewhat familiar with GPL v2 and BSD licenses. Your statements about v3 (which I don't know yet) got me interested, so I'd appreciate if you could elaborate a bit. ]

Like (2)

The best software available to get apps like kstars, which is a great astronomy app as well as other open source apps. It is a great addition to OSX.

Like (1)

Version 2.1.2

MacPorts

Overview

What's new in MacPorts

26 MacPorts Reviews

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