When I try "sudo port -f clean --all", this is the output. I'm running MacPorts 1.4 on MacOSX 10.4.9 PPC on Powerbook G4Ti 667 ... powerbook:~ username$ sudo port -f clean --all Password: Can't map the URL 'file://.' to a port description file ("Could not find Portfile in ."). Please verify that the directory and portfile syntax are correct. To use the current port, you must be in a port's directory. (you might also see this message if a pseudo-port such as outdated or installed expands to no ports). Error: Unable to open port: Could not find Portfile in . So that doesn't appear to work. Mark -- At 01:57 +0200 13/4/07, Elias Pipping wrote:
${prefix}/var/db/dports contains five directories:
build ===== this is where all the temporary files go whenever you install something. unless you're building something, it should be empty (it can potentially contain a lot of sub-directories but those should themselves only contain an empty 'work' dir. If you've disabled cleaning after installation...
* through 'portautoclean no' in ${prefix}/etc/ports/ports.conf * through -k on the command line (e.g. 'sudo port -k install foo +bar)
...which you mostly likely haven't, the directory will *not* be empty but instead still contain files.
long story short: =================
unless another action is running, you're free to remove the directory, most likely not saving space, though. (see distfiles -> long story short)
distfiles =========
whenever a port is installed, files are fetched and put into this directory, so whenever you decide to uninstall something and feel like reinstalling it (the same version!) at a later point in time, you won't have to fetch any files that time.
long story short: =================
this is the directory you can safely get rid of. instead of deleting it, you might first want to...
sudo port -f clean --all
to clean both the distfiles and the build directory.
receipts ========
doesn't take up much space. i won't go into detail but this directory is essential for macports to run, don't delete it.
software ========
this is where both inactive and active ports go. activating or deactivating a port doesn't change anything about how much space it takes up on your hd. the file in ${prefix}/(bin|lib|include|...) are only links, which take up virtually no extra space.
long story short: =================
to save space, get rid of inactive ports.
port echo inactive
gets you a list. don't remove anything from this directory by hand!
sources =======
the portfiles for every port there is are placed here - assuming your macports installation is up to date.
sudo port sync
makes sure that is the case. removing this directory isn't really harmful, it's pointless, though because
* you won't be able to install anything without it * it'll be restored after every successful sync/selfupdate.
Regards,
Elias Pipping
On Apr 13, 2007, at 1:22 AM, Markus Weimer wrote:
Hi,
I just checked my system for places where I can get a few megabytes of diskspace back and found that /opt/local/var/db/dports contains quite a lot of files. Essentially all software packages I installed are there once again. Is it safe to delete them? Is there a general procedure to free as much space as possible while keeping the ports intact?
Thanks in advance for any pointers,
Markus _______________________________________________ macports-users mailing list macports-users@lists.macosforge.org http://lists.macosforge.org/mailman/listinfo/macports-users
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