This chapter shows you how to install MacPorts and its prerequisites step-by-step. Note that the section about installing Xcode is macOS-specific. If you wish to install MacPorts on another platform, first make sure you have a working C compiler installed, skip ahead to installing MacPorts from source, and continue to the end of the chapter.
Xcode is a package provided by Apple containing compilers, libraries and additional tools required to develop applications for macOS.
Always make sure to install the latest available version of Xcode for your macOS release; using outdated versions of Xcode may cause port install failures. Also note that Xcode is not updated via OS X's Software Update utility on OS versions prior to 10.6, and is updated via the Mac App Store starting with 10.7.
Follow the instructions for your version of macOS:
(Optional) Download the latest version of Xcode from the Apple developer website or get it using the Mac App Store.
A few ports require a full Xcode installation to use, but most don’t (read the description of the use_xcode keyword for specifics). If you are OK with being unable to use these ports, you do not need to install Xcode.
Next, open a terminal, run xcode-select --install, and
click the Install button to install the required command line developer tools. Don't worry if you see
a message telling you the software cannot be installed because it is not currently available from the
Software Update Server. This usually means you already have the latest version installed. You can also
get the command line tools from the
Apple developer website.
Download the latest version of Xcode from the Apple developer website or get it using the Mac App Store.
Xcode 4.3 and later do not automatically install the command line tools, but MacPorts requires them. To install them, open the Xcode application, go to the Preferences window, to the Downloads section, and click the Install button next to Command Line Tools. Be sure to return to this window after every Xcode upgrade to ensure that the command line tools are also upgraded.
If you wish to create Installer packages with port pkg, you will also need
to install PackageMaker, which is in the “Auxiliary Tools for Xcode” package as of
Xcode 4.3. The download page for this package can be opened via the Xcode -> Open Developer Tool ->
More Developer Tools... menu item. After downloading and mounting the disk image, drag the
PackageMaker application to your /Applications directory.
If you are using Mac OS X 10.6, there are two branches of Xcode which could be considered to be the latest, 3.2.x and 4.x. Xcode 4 costs money, but Xcode 3 is still available free of charge. There are two options for downloading it:
Xcode 3.2 - smaller download, but you will need to run Software Update after installing to get the latest version. Note that Apple might at some point discontinue providing these updates via their update servers.
Xcode 3.2.6 and iOS SDK 4.3 - includes the iOS SDK which is not needed for MacPorts.
Both are available from the Apple developer website. You may also be able to install Xcode 3.2 from your Mac OS X 10.6 DVD and then run Software Update to get the latest version.
Ensure that those of the following options that are available in the installer for your version of Xcode are selected:
If you have an earlier release of Mac OS X, you may download the latest version of Xcode for Mac OS X 10.5 (Xcode 3.0 and Xcode 3.1 Developer Tools) or 10.4 (Xcode 2.4.1 and Xcode 2.5 Developer Tools) from the Apple developer website.
Ensure that those of the following options that are available in the installer for your version of Xcode are selected: