Install Unison, simple way

Is there any simple way to install Unison (text version), on OSX?

On Ubuntu it's 'sudo apt-get install unison'. And that's it.

I have read the following guide: http://mirrors.ustc.edu.cn/freebsd/distfiles/unison-2.45.28/unison-2.45.28-manual.pdf it's on page 8, lower half. But it strikes me as strange for they claim unix systems to need this complex procedure for installing as I have clearly seen none of this is necessary on Ubuntu. Therefore I wonder if there is not a comparably simple procedure available for OSX.

Solution 1:

The difference is that you are using a pre-built package under Linux but are looking at the compile-it-yourself instructions (which would work both for Linux and for OS X).

There are at least two options to solve that:

• Use one of the package managers available for OS X, e.g. Homebrew and install Unison by running

  brew install unison
  

  You will need Xcode installed as well for this

• Follow the "Download" link on http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison and download pre-compiled versions from here.

Solution 2:

MacPorts works perfect for me if you don't mind the general MacPorts principle of keeping many system libraries in additional versions.

1. Install MacPorts

2. sudo port install unison

Macports will download binaries for most setups of OSX but can in some cases download source code and compile it. If it can use the binary which is on a Macports' server it will not matter that the source code server is down.