Option 1: Install software from OpenIndiana repositories via IPS

OpenIndiana uses the same package management system, IPS, as Oracle Solaris 11, and Oracle is thus far continuing Sun's practice of providing well written manuals:

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E19963-01/html/820-6572/index.html

The command line package manager is pkg(5).

Package management is done with super-user privileges (when running as a normal user with rights to elevate, prepend sudo or pfexec to the commands below).

Set a remote repository:

:; pkg set-publisher -O http://pkg.openindiana.org/dev openindiana.org

Search for a package (in remote repositories):

:; pkg search -pr git

Install a package:

:; pkg install git

The above is the "native" OpenIndiana package management, but some packages may be missing or outdated.

Option 2: Install software from SmartOS repositories via pkgin

All illumos-based operating systems, like OmniOS, OpenIndiana and SmartOS can use the repository from Joyent/SmartOS. Its main advantage is that you find there a lot of very up to date packages.

A list of available software: http://pkgsrc.joyent.com/packages/SmartOS/ in folder http://pkgsrc.joyent.com/packages/SmartOS/2013Q3/x86_64/  (or http://pkgsrc.smartos.org/packages/illumos/).

If you want to install software via pkgin (installs every package to /opt), you need to (console as root):

1. add /opt/local/{s,}bin where all software is installed to your PATH (in your shell, maybe save to your .profile):

   PATH=/opt/local/sbin:/opt/local/bin:$PATH export PATH

2. install the bootstrap-loader:

   :; curl http://pkgsrc.joyent.com/packages/SmartOS/bootstrap/bootstrap-2013Q2-x86_64.tar.gz | gtar -zxpf - -C /

3. update the repository database:

   :; pkgin -y update

4. install the needed package, for example – Apache 2.4.6:

   :; pkgin -y install apache-2.4.6

   or, just for newest 2.4:

   :; pkgin -y install apache-2.4

For more information see:

• http://wiki.smartos.org/display/DOC/Working+with+Packages
• http://www.perkin.org.uk/posts/whats-new-in-pkgsrc-2013Q2.html

Option 3: Compile yourself

You need a compiler like gcc; download the sources, switch to the folder with your sources (make the content of your sourcefolder executable recursively) and compile via:

:; cd /sourcefolder
:; ./configure
:; make
:; make install

You might want to first look into ./configure --help to see what options are available for building the software – quite often, some features useful for you might notbe a general choice enabled by default, or might require other dependency software to be available first in binary or source form, in order to compile.