About 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.

What’s New in this Version
- Faster display of all MacPorts packages: only queries MacPorts database on startup and when package is installed or removed, not when “All” is selected from tree view.
- Growl support: Now displays Growl notifications on systems with Growl installed.
- Adds standard Mac “window” menu to better fit with system interface guidelines.
- Preferences now update immediately on window close; no need to hit “save” button. Better compliance with system interface guidelines.
- No longer connects to server on every startup to check for new version; user controls this process.
- New “license” menu item displays user’s serial number.
- User help now online; eliminates use of OS X help viewer.