When I first started using Macs 5 years ago, I explored both macports and homebrew. As soon as I saw how homebrew screwed around with root, and how it installed

When I first started using Macs 5 years ago, I explored both macports and homebrew. As soon as I saw how homebrew screwed around with root, and how it installed itself in /usr/local and required strange machinations I looked more at Macports. Ports have a long history from the BSD Unices and Macports keeps that ethos. It installs neatly in /opt and doesn't screw around with MacOS except in the approved ways (eg for Java and Python frameworks). I still use Macports and it's had everything I've needed and when I hit bugs during the Big Sur beta, they were fixed quickly and directly, while still complying with Apple's beta policies. I've dabbled with Nix, but it's a bit too* prescriptive for me.