Fink
The facts below are what the maker publishes about Fink, checked and dated. Our editors have not written about it yet.
Plans and prices
From Fink's own pricing page, checked 12 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Fink | Free | Free software distribution; binary packages and build from source |
The facts
Each one read from Fink's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Architecture
- The main development branch supports Intel x86_64 and Apple M1 and M2 arm64 for macOS 11 through macOS 13.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Build process
- Fink downloads original source code, applies patches as needed, configures and builds it, then creates a package archive for dpkg.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Current release availability
- The project says there is no current binary installer for macOS 10.6 through 10.15 and directs those users to source installation instructions.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Dependency resolution
- Yeschecked 21 Sep 2026
- Features
- Fink automates compilation and uses dependency management to ensure required libraries are present.checked 12 Oct 2026
- GUI packages
- Most Fink applications with graphical interfaces require an X11 implementation.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Installation requirement
- The project says Xcode must be installed before Fink, and building packages from source requires Developer Tools on supported OS versions.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Isolation
- Fink manages a separate directory tree under macOS and follows a policy intended to avoid interfering with the base system.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Offline installation
- Nochecked 21 Sep 2026
- Package formats
- Fink offers precompiled binary packages and an automated build from source system.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Package manager
- Fink uses Debian tools including dpkg, dselect, and apt-get, and adds its own package manager and build engine.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Package selection
- Users can install only the programs they need and choose whether to use X11.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Fink ports Unix open source software to macOS and packages it as a coherent distribution.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Support
- Fink offers documentation, an FAQ, user mailing lists, and an IRC channel on Libera.chat for help.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Who it is for
- Fink is intended for Mac users who want Unix command line tools and graphical applications developed for Linux and other Unix variants.checked 12 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Platforms
- The project reports work in progress support for macOS 11 through macOS 13, while its status page lists full support through macOS 10.15 and older versions with varying update availability.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Supported platforms
- macOS/Darwin; x86_64 and arm64 supported by the development branchchecked 21 Sep 2026
