Downloading MacPorts dependencies without installing

Question

The default MacPorts installation downloads each dependency, builds and installs it, then downloads, builds and installs the next dependency, and so on. This means that a constant network connection is required throughout the installation. In my configuration, a constant network connection is not feasible. This means that installation of a large-dependency package can take a very long time.

How do I download all dependencies for a specified MacPorts package at the beginning (while connected to the network) and then build and install each dependency (no network connection required)?

Answer 1

While connected to the network, use:

port fetch rdepof:<packagename> <packagename>

Then, with no network connection required, use:

port clean rdepof:<packagename> <packagename>
port install <packagename>

rdepof: is a recursive list of all of the package's dependencies. The clean command removes any previous builds of the package or its dependencies.