.. _installing_zephyr_mac:

Install macOS Host Dependencies
###############################

.. important::

   Go back to the main :ref:`getting_started` when you're done here.

This section describes how to set up a Zephyr development environment on macOS.

These instructions have been tested on the following macOS versions:

* Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan)
* macOS Sierra 10.12

Update Your Operating System
****************************

Before proceeding with the build, ensure your OS is up to date.

.. _mac_requirements:

Install Requirements and Dependencies
*************************************

.. NOTE FOR DOCS AUTHORS: DO NOT PUT DOCUMENTATION BUILD DEPENDENCIES HERE.

   This section is for dependencies to build Zephyr binaries, *NOT* this
   documentation. If you need to add a dependency only required for building
   the docs, add it to doc/README.rst. (This change was made following the
   introduction of LaTeX->PDF support for the docs, as the texlive footprint is
   massive and not needed by users not building PDF documentation.)

Zephyr requires Python 3, while macOS only provides a Python 2
installation. After following these instructions, the version of Python 2
provided by macOS in ``/usr/bin/`` will sit alongside the Python 3 installation
from Homebrew in ``/usr/local/bin``.

First, install :program:`Homebrew` by following instructions on the `Homebrew
site`_. Homebrew is a free and open-source package management system that
simplifies the installation of software on macOS.  While installing Homebrew,
you may be prompted to install additional missing dependencies; please follow
any such instructions as well.

Now install these host dependencies with the ``brew`` command:

.. code-block:: console

   brew install cmake ninja gperf ccache dfu-util qemu dtc python3

.. _Homebrew site: https://brew.sh/

Additional notes for MacPorts users
***********************************

While MacPorts is not officially supported in this guide, it is possible to use MacPorts instead of Homebrew to get all the required dependencies on macOS.
Note also that you may need to install ``rust`` and ``cargo`` for the Python dependencies to install correctly.