The Fink project is an effort to port and package open-source Unix programs to Mac OS X. Fink uses dpkg and APT (Debian's package management system), as well as its own frontend program, fink
(which is implemented as a set of Perl modules).
Fink features a binary distribution for quick and easy installation using APT, as well as a more extensive source distribution. In addition to command-line tools for handling packages, the shareware app Phynchronicity provides a GUI.
Fink can be used to install newer versions of packages installed by Mac OS X or to install packages not included in Mac OS X by Apple edict. Fink stores all its data in the directory /sw
by default (though this can be changed if initially compiling fink itself from source code). This goes against the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard's recommendation to use the /usr/local
prefix; the reasons given in the Fink FAQ are that other installers might overwrite Fink's files under /usr/local
, and that having an entirely separate directory makes it easier to disable the binaries and libraries that Fink installs. Within Fink's directory, a FHS-like layout (/sw/bin
, /sw/include
, /sw/lib
, etc.) is used.
Fink is a collaborative computing project to port Unix programs to Mac OS X.
Fink may also refer to:
As a name
Other uses:
Fink (from German, meaning the bird finch) is a surname, and may refer to: