You can use any prefix you want, precompiled binaries or no. Just go ahead and do it.
It appears that you may be misinterpreting the docs. This page simply tells devs not to do stuff with installers that will conflict with existing files in /opt/local: https://guide.macports.org/#using.binaries.binary-packages That doesn’t affect you as a user. > On Aug 7, 2022, at 03:29, Jordan Ellis Coppard via macports-dev > <macports-dev@lists.macports.org> wrote: > > Hello, > > > I read in the docs that if MacPorts is installed anywhere other than > /opt/local that precompiled binaries can not be used. I cannot find this > statement again so I am unsure if there was additional explanation for why; > so.. why? > > I'd like to be able to use MacPorts at a custom prefix but still also use > precompiled binaries sometimes (particularly those using Rust) due to the > incredibly long compilation times. > > > /Jordan