How to uninstall all unused versions of a macports package at once

When maintaining macports packages, I prefer to remove old packages when I replace them with new ones. However, over time as packages are upgraded, you end up with problems like:

$ sudo port uninstall -f postgresql83
--->  The following versions of postgresql83 are currently installed:
--->    postgresql83 @8.3.3_0
--->    postgresql83 @8.3.7_0
--->    postgresql83 @8.3.8_1 (active)
Error: port uninstall failed: Registry error: Please specify the full version as recorded in the port registry.

Is there a macports command to remove all versions of a package at once?

Solution 1:

If you want to uninstall all the old (non-active) versions try this:

port -y -u uninstall
  # if you like what you see, change “port -y” to “sudo port”

If you mean that you want to uninstall all the versions (non-active and active) of (e.g.) the postgresql83 port, then try this:

port -y uninstall installed and postgresql83
  # if you like what you see, change “port -y” to “sudo port”

Solution 2:

sudo port uninstall inactive

This will remove your inactive ports.