dnsmasq @2.59_1 does not respect it's own notes

[nonstop.server@…]

The notes for port dnsmasq state:

dnsmasq has the following notes:
  A startup item has been generated that will aid in starting dnsmasq with
  launchd. You must specify the path to resolv.conf. For your protection, this
  script is disabled by default. Execute the following command to start it, and
  to cause it to launch at startup: 
  
  sudo port load dnsmasq

However after a successfull installation or upgrade of dnsmasq the startup item gets loaded regardless of entering the load command.
The startup item gets loaded under the launched of user root after the first reboot of the system when dnsmasq is installed or upgraded.

As workaround one could immediately disable dnsmasqs startup item after first reboot using the unload command.

sudo port unload dnsmasq

The startup item will stay disabled until it gets loaded trough the load command.

[ryandesign (Ryan Carsten Schmidt)]

Replying to nonstop.server@…:

However after a successfull installation or upgrade of dnsmasq the startup item gets loaded regardless of entering the load command.
The startup item gets loaded under the launched of user root after the first reboot of the system when dnsmasq is installed or upgraded.

That's not how launchd works, based on my understanding, so I can't explain why that's happening for you. But I also haven't tested it myself.

[nonstop.server@…]

Replying to ryandesign@…:

Replying to nonstop.server@…:

However after a successfull installation or upgrade of dnsmasq the startup item gets loaded regardless of entering the load command.
The startup item gets loaded under the launched of user root after the first reboot of the system when dnsmasq is installed or upgraded.

That's not how launchd works, based on my understanding, so I can't explain why that's happening for you. But I also haven't tested it myself.

This is the only installed port with a startup item on my system which has this behavior.
There is a difference with ports like denyhosts or rsync, which also use a startup item that only gets loaded after the user issues the load command.
Those two ports use a daemondo wrapper along with a launchd.plist and this works as the creation message of the launch control script states at installation.
Except for the difference in using a daemondo support script I'm unable to come up with a reason why this is happening.

[nerdling (Jeremy Lavergne)]

Launchd item is now disabled by default, r87682.