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How do I do that? The normal installers (with .pkg files) ask for a root password. It is possible to run normal mac software without root access, but how do I run and install this shell software?

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Why can’t you add yourself to the sudoers file? – Martín Marconcini Sep 19 '10 at 15:49

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You can compile it yourself or use HomeBrew, that doesn't require root access.

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I can't install homebrew without root: user@mac is not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported. Failed during: /usr/bin/sudo /bin/mkdir /usr/local – Anton Sep 19 '10 at 11:37
And compiling it myself also requires a lot of sudo - which I can't do. Hell, there is no gcc and cc on this mac. – Anton Sep 19 '10 at 11:43
Without gcc you will be unable to install it, with or without homebrew. Btw homebrew can be installed anywhere, see the official documentation. – Carmine Paolino Sep 19 '10 at 13:29
"NOTE: This method might not work for machines managed with Directory Services." - which is exactly the case for my machine. – Anton Mar 17 '11 at 8:04
If you get an error regarding the SSL cert for the mc download be sure to upgrade homebrew first, as there is a fix in the latest release. – Kris Sep 13 '11 at 15:00
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Compile it elsewhere on a Mac where you do have the necessary tools installed. Move the binary over to the other machine.

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