How do I get a list of packages that macOS has when you go to update software in the terminal?

macOS IS NOT Linux ‼️

While 25'ish years ago Mac OS X was loosely based on Carnegie Mellon's MACH micro-kernel and FreeBSD's kernel APIs, commands and utilities, it has evolved a lot since then.

It has. never had a Linux style package manager, as Apple focuses on the GUI interface. The Unix side of macOS (Darwin) is not a bad Unix as long as you do not expect to drop any old Unix/Linux bases source code into macOS compile and run it without any issues.

With rare exceptions, none of the Apple macOS apps are available for individual downloads. Safari being an exception in that the WebKit versions, which are Apple experiments with future Safari versions can be downloaded and installed separately. The macOS Command Line Tools are available via the xcode-select command run in a terminal emulator. But that is about it.

Some other Apple software, such as Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Xcode, etc... are available via the macOS App Store.

As far as I know, there have been three 3rd party packages managers for open source software.

• fink (the first)
• MacPorts (the second)
• Homebrew (the third and currently most popular)

These package managers DO NOT deal with Apple provided software, just open source software. Some command line based, and some GUI based. And some of the GUI based also require XQuartz X11 Display Server for GUI support.

And of course if the open source software does have a macOS port, or you can get it from GitHub, you can compile and install it yourself. Many open source packages that have a Mac port often also have a .dmg or .zip file you can download and drag the resulting app to the Applications folder.

Commercial 3rd party software vendors use a mixed of distribution methods, very few of which are command line based. Some distribute via the macOS App Store. Some offer downloads from their web sites, with a GUI based installer. Some offer a .dmg file download, and you drag and drop the app into the Applications folder.

As a Unix/Linux cross platform file system developer, I spend most of my time in a Unix or Linux environment, using iTerm2, ssh, tmux and Vim working with hosted development systems in my company's data centers. I am very familiar with using the Unix side of macOS, and it is definitely NOT Linux. There are a lot of similarities because both have the original Bell Labs UNIX philosophy, but there are tons of differences, and you cannot assume you are going to see Linux elements on a macOS system.

Keep in mind that Apple is focused on creating a GUI based operating system for Mom, Dad and Aunt Susie. While macOS does have a Unix style command line environment, it is not a priority for Apple. In fact Apple is PROHIBITED from including any Unix/Linux commands, utilities, apps that use the GPLv3 license. Many of the Linux commands you are used to have GPLv3 licenses. You can thank Richard Stallman for that.

If you really want Linux, then install a virtual machine and run Linux on your Mac, or get an inexpensive intel PC and run Linux on that. You can VNC or RDC to the Linux box for access from your Mac. There are also some versions of Linux that will boot a Mac if you want to repurpose your Mac hardware as a Linux system.

Although Apple does have a softwareupdate command-line tool, it is for compatible macOS Apple updates that pertain to the currently installed operating system. As macOS is a UNIX operating system at the command-line, and not based on Linux, there is no Apple-provided command-line package tool to look at non-apple products.

Apple does have the Mac App Store which is a GUI tool included with the operating system and by default should be on the Dock.

skip_033 wrote:

I need to reinstall some software that isnt acting correctly.

If they are part of the macOS installation, then install macOS over top of itself.

This is a pointer to the full 13.6.6 macOS installer via Apple.com:

https://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/39/23/052-64249-A_9F709WX21B/y8u836xffflrewihfvnacmy3p4v8rm3w57/InstallAssistant.pkg

the .pkg file will put “Install macOS Ventura” into the Applications folder.

The “Install macOS Ventura” will install the most recent macOS Ventura over your existing copy of macOS. All your data will be untouched. But it is always wise to take a backup first, because any operating system install.

If it is some app from the App Store, delete the app (drag it to the trash) and install it again from the App Store.

Anything else follow the app vendor’s installation instructions.

BobHarris wrote:

skip_033 wrote:

I need to reinstall some software that isnt acting correctly.

If they are part of the macOS installation, then install macOS over top of itself.

This is a pointer to the full 13.6.6 macOS installer via Apple.com:

https://swcdn.apple.com/content/downloads/39/23/052-64249-A_9F709WX21B/y8u836xffflrewihfvnacmy3p4v8rm3w57/InstallAssistant.pkg

the .pkg file will put “Install macOS Ventura” into the Applications folder.

The “Install macOS Ventura” will install the most recent macOS Ventura over your existing copy of macOS. All your data will be untouched. But it is always wise to take a backup first, because any operating system install.

If it is some app from the App Store, delete the app (drag it to the trash) and install it again from the App Store.

Anything else follow the app vendor’s installation instructions.

Another alternative is to start a new post, and describe the problem(s) you ate having, and maybe it is know, with someone providing an answer.

Or at least suggesting ways to diagnose the issue. For example, you say some software is not acting correctly, but all the apps provided during the macOS install are stored on a read-only partition, so unless there is a storage failure, it is unlikely that installing macOS over top of itself will change anything.

But on your read/write data volume are caches, app preferences/settings, etc… that are not going to change when reinstalling the app.

skip_033 wrote:

Im not going to burn down a house to get rid of a fly.

Installing macOS over itself is more like repainting the house the same color. Areas that had not faded, will look the same, and the areas that needed to be retouched, will now match the rest of the house.

A nuke and pave, would be burning down the house. Erasing you disk, and installing everything from scratch, then manually restoring your data from backups, and manually resetting all you system and app settings back to the way you like them.

I am not suggesting a nuke and pave. Just a paint job.

skip_033 wrote:

its still the same thing,not going that route to solve something that can easilly be fixed with a simple command, thanks. If somebody else would like to chime in who does have experience with the terminal, it would be appreciative.

You can't uninstall parts of the OS. Even if you use Terminal. If you want to re-install apps that may not be working, BobHarris's suggestion is the correct one.

Of course, as you haven't ever explained your specific problem, it's going to be very hard for anyone to judge if the problem lies within an app or somewhere else.

skip_033 wrote:

The app is not the problem, just need to reinstall some some software that is not acting correctly in the os.

If it's part of macOS, the only way to do that is as BobHarris explained.

Or, you could explain what the problem is and let someone help you.

skip_033 wrote:

its still the same thing,not going that route to solve something that can easilly be fixed with a simple command, thanks. If somebody else would like to chime in who does have experience with the terminal, it would be appreciative.

FYI: I live in a terminal emulator. My day job is working on a commercial Linux file system for a Fortune 100 company. I've been using the iTerm and iTerm2 terminal emulator on Mac OS X since around 2001. While I do not know every trick that can be done in the terminal, I know enough that macOS is stored on a Read-Only volume and cryptographically signed. You cannot just sneak in and replace 1 program.

I also know that Apple does not have an rpm, yum, get-apt, brew, etc... repository that you can pull down single macOS apps. Apple bundles everything in the macOS installer, and it all or nothing.

At best, you could download the macOS installer, then dig into the installer and find the app you want to replace, then figure out how to make the read-only volume read/write, replace the app (which may have bits in the .app directory, or it may have bits in the /System/Library/... or /Library/... directory tree. And once you have replaced the file, then you figure out how to re-cryptographically sign the read-only partition, then reboot.

That is what you are going to have to do, so you now have enough information to google the details on each step.

Or you could just repaint the house. It will take at most an hour, and all your bits will be the current as shipped macOS bits.

skip_033 wrote:

The app is not the problem, just need to reinstall some some software that is not acting correctly in the os.

Can you specify exactly what is not acting correctly?

While macOS is significantly different than Linux, both in design and community of practice, it's a bit closer to things like Solaris. In some cases, you can use pre-Linux methods to create your own environment with executable and dynamic library paths. This is pretty easy for command line tools. It might be possible with GUI tools in some cases. That's why it would be good to know exactly what you are trying to accomplish.

I don't quit understand your question. Here are the basic rules for any Mac. Its operating system can be upgraded to a newer operating system only so far, based on the year and model. OS updates may be installed (or not) when one is released by Apple. It is recommended that the latest update or upgrade be installed when released. When an upgrade is installed, it also installs an updated version of Apple's provided apps at the same time (apps such as Safari, Time Machine, etc.). Any non-Apple installed apps must be individually updated when updated are released by the vendor. So, no, there is not a list as such, other than what Apple lists as what is installed as part of its operating system. May I ask why this is an issue to you?