Fink - Debian like package management for OS X

15 November 2005

Probably the most popular package management system for OS X is 'Fink', it brings Debian-style tools such as apt-get to Mac OS X. As usual you need Xcode Tools installed.

To get Fink you need to download the dmg file from the Fink homepage. Choose the nearest mirror to you to speed up the download a little.

You then open the file and the installer which looks like this:

Fink installer

Just keep pressing the buttons and reading the text.

Using Fink

To install a package and its dependencies type:

sudo apt-get install lynx

To sync the list of available packages, you use the command:

sudo apt-get update

To upgrade your installed software use:

apt-get upgrade

It is as easy as that. Dselect is a menu-based interface to apt-get. If you want to tick lots of boxes, instead of using the above commands, then type:

sudo dselect

Note according to the Fink handbook, you may need run the following command first in order to sort out the display of your xterm:

export TERM=xterm-color

If you are going to use Fink, you should have a little read of the documentation on the Fink website, which is also contained in the Fink package that you downloaded earlier.

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