If you're looking for a particular program, try browsing at the link above or using the "port search" command (more on that later). Others are arguably not as good but are still free. You'll find some apps that are as good or better than commercial counterparts, such as the Emacs and VIM text editors. Not only that, but they're installed and maintained in a very Unix-like but still integrate nicely with macOS.
If you're familiar with Linux, there's a good chance your favorite apps are among the 19,000+ available.
The MacPorts repository is full of all the same great open source applications you'll find on Linux and related operating systems. You can even re-build the entire system from source with the "make world" command. The below image shows the contents of the port for KDE's Amarok music player. The makefile literally builds the application from scratch: downloads the source code, compiles it, and configures it.
#UPDATE MACPORTS HOW TO#
In the FreeBSD world, the ports system helps users compile software from source: MacPorts is the collection of that software, as well as the application that acts as a "store" or installer. This makes it very easy for developers to create a "port" of free software applications that will run on Macs. Actually, it descends from the Ports system of FreeBSD.ĭid you know Mac OS X started its life as a fork of FreeBSD called Darwin? Even today macOS has a solid UNIX-based foundation. It's very similar in function and use to the Red Hat Package Management (RPM) system and Advanced Package Tools (APT), which install DEB packages on Linux. MacPorts is your "app store" for all this great software.
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