PortAuthority provides a graphical user interface for the MacPorts package management system for Mac OS X. MacPorts is a powerful command-line tool for installing and updating a variety of Unix-based applications for the Mac.

Its power, though, comes at the cost of some complexity; in the past the only way to utilize MacPorts was to type in various commands into the Mac's Terminal application, which can be intimidating for those users without a Unix background.

PortAuthority aims to bring the power of MacPorts to the traditional Mac user by providing a user-friendly graphical interface to MacPorts. Using a familiar combination of windows, icons, and menus, PortAuthority users can search, install, update, and remove MacPorts programs and the MacPorts infrastructure itself.

To install, just download and move the Port Authority folder to your /Applications directory.

Here are some key features of "Port Authority":

￭ Easy-to-use solution for managing MacPorts.
￭ Actively-developed; new enhancements come regularly.
￭ Thorough documentation.


Requirements:

￭ A MacPorts installation


Limitations:

￭ 30-day trial

What's New in This Release: [ read full changelog ]

� Numerous improvements and bug fixes for compatability with Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5)
� Visual integration: New large icons.
� Stability: No longer crashes when saving file or accessing help menu.
� Additional UI enhancements: Native notebook tabs; toolbar now toggles visibility via window toolbutton.
� Dock icon now bounces when long-running tasks completed.
� Updated to most recent Tcl/Tk libraries (8.5).