Something wrong with MacPorts package installer?

[Ryan Schmidt]

On Oct 1, 2017, at 23:24, Merton Campbell Crockett wrote:

> After installing the MacPorts package for macOS High Sierra, I discovered that the ownership of all system directories were changed to root:wheel.  I can no longer build something simple as mtr without encountering the following error.
> 
> SPIELPLATZ:~ mcc$ port install mtr
> Error: Insufficient privileges to write to MacPorts install prefix.
> SPIELPLATZ:~ mcc$ 
> 
> The version of mtr I built using the MacPorts package for macOS Sierra worked fine until I removed it.  It now gets an error of not being able to obtain a raw socket.
> 
> My CCC backup of my system disk made just after completing the upgrade to macOS shows all files in / owned by mcc:root.  After installing the MacPorts package, all files in / are owned by root:wheel.

It is correct for things at the top level of your drive ("/") to be owned by root:wheel. Not sure why that wasn't the case for you before. I wasn't aware that our installer would fix the ownership of items at the top level of your drive. Maybe it's a feature of Apple's Installer.

You'll need to use "sudo" to have sufficient privileges to install ports, e.g. "sudo port install mtr".

The error of mtr not being able to open a socket is probably a bug we've just discovered in MacPorts today that affects only High Sierra:

https://trac.macports.org/ticket/54963

A new version of MacPorts to be released soon will fix it.