4.7 Dealing with Broken Ports

If you come across a port that does not work for you, there are a few things you can do, including:

1. Find out if there is a fix pending for the port in the Problem Report database. If so, you may be able to use the proposed fix.

2. Ask the maintainer of the port for help. Type make maintainer or read the Makefile to find the maintainer's email address. Remember to include the name and version of the port (send the $FreeBSD: line from the Makefile) and the output leading up to the error when you email the maintainer.

   Note: Some ports are not maintained by an individual but instead by a mailing list. Many, but not all, of these addresses look like freebsd-listname@FreeBSD.org. Please take this into account when phrasing your questions.

   In particular, ports shown as maintained by freebsd-ports@FreeBSD.org are actually not maintained by anyone. Fixes and support, if any, come from the general community who subscribe to that mailing list. More volunteers are always needed!

   If you do not get a response, you can use send-pr(1) to submit a bug report (see Writing FreeBSD Problem Reports).

3. Fix it! The Porter's Handbook includes detailed information on the “Ports” infrastructure so that you can fix the occasional broken port or even submit your own!

4. Grab the package from an FTP site near you. The “master” package collection is on ftp.FreeBSD.org in the packages directory, but be sure to check your local mirror first! These are more likely to work than trying to compile from source and are a lot faster as well. Use the pkg_add(1) program to install the package on your system.