godot-docs/contributing/development/compiling/compiling_for_macos.rst

.. _doc_compiling_for_macos:

Compiling for macOS
===================

.. highlight:: shell

.. note::

    This page describes how to compile macOS editor and export template binaries from source.
    If you're looking to export your project to macOS instead, read :ref:`doc_exporting_for_macos`.

Requirements
------------

For compiling under macOS, the following is required:

- `Python 3.8+ <https://www.python.org/downloads/macos/>`_.
- `SCons 4.0+ <https://scons.org/pages/download.html>`_ build system.
- `Xcode <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/xcode/id497799835>`_
  (or the more lightweight Command Line Tools for Xcode).
- `Vulkan SDK <https://sdk.lunarg.com/sdk/download/latest/mac/vulkan-sdk.dmg>`_
  for MoltenVK (macOS doesn't support Vulkan out of the box).

.. note:: If you have `Homebrew <https://brew.sh/>`_ installed, you can easily
          install SCons using the following command::

              brew install scons

          Installing Homebrew will also fetch the Command Line Tools
          for Xcode automatically if you don't have them already.

          Similarly, if you have `MacPorts <https://www.macports.org/>`_
          installed, you can easily install SCons using the
          following command::

              sudo port install scons

.. seealso:: To get the Godot source code for compiling, see
             :ref:`doc_getting_source`.

             For a general overview of SCons usage for Godot, see
             :ref:`doc_introduction_to_the_buildsystem`.

Compiling
---------

Start a terminal, go to the root directory of the engine source code.

To compile for Intel (x86-64) powered Macs, use::

    scons platform=macos arch=x86_64

To compile for Apple Silicon (ARM64) powered Macs, use::

    scons platform=macos arch=arm64

To support both architectures in a single "Universal 2" binary, run the above two commands and then use ``lipo`` to bundle them together::

    lipo -create bin/godot.macos.editor.x86_64 bin/godot.macos.editor.arm64 -output bin/godot.macos.editor.universal

If all goes well, the resulting binary executable will be placed in the
``bin/`` subdirectory. This executable file contains the whole engine and
runs without any dependencies. Executing it will bring up the Project
Manager.

.. note:: If you want to use separate editor settings for your own Godot builds
          and official releases, you can enable
          :ref:`doc_data_paths_self_contained_mode` by creating a file called
          ``._sc_`` or ``_sc_`` in the ``bin/`` folder.

To create an ``.app`` bundle like in the official builds, you need to use the
template located in ``misc/dist/macos_tools.app``. Typically, for an optimized
editor binary built with ``dev_build=yes``::

    cp -r misc/dist/macos_tools.app ./Godot.app
    mkdir -p Godot.app/Contents/MacOS
    cp bin/godot.macos.editor.universal Godot.app/Contents/MacOS/Godot
    chmod +x Godot.app/Contents/MacOS/Godot
    codesign --force --timestamp --options=runtime --entitlements misc/dist/macos/editor.entitlements -s - Godot.app

.. note::

    If you are building the ``master`` branch, you also need to include support
    for the MoltenVK Vulkan portability library. By default, it will be linked
    statically from your installation of the Vulkan SDK for macOS.
    You can also choose to link it dynamically by passing ``use_volk=yes`` and
    including the dynamic library in your ``.app`` bundle::

        mkdir -p Godot.app/Contents/Frameworks
        cp <Vulkan SDK path>/macOS/lib/libMoltenVK.dylib Godot.app/Contents/Frameworks/libMoltenVK.dylib

Running a headless/server build
-------------------------------

To run in *headless* mode which provides editor functionality to export
projects in an automated manner, use the normal build::

    scons platform=macos target=editor

And then use the ``--headless`` command line argument::

    ./bin/godot.macos.editor.x86_64 --headless

To compile a debug *server* build which can be used with
:ref:`remote debugging tools <doc_command_line_tutorial>`, use::

    scons platform=macos target=template_debug

To compile a release *server* build which is optimized to run dedicated game servers,
use::

    scons platform=macos target=template_release production=yes

Building export templates
-------------------------

To build macOS export templates, you have to compile using the targets without
the editor: ``target=template_release`` (release template) and
``target=template_debug``.

Official templates are *Universal 2* binaries which support both ARM64 and Intel
x86_64 architectures.

- To support ARM64 (Apple Silicon) + Intel x86_64::

    scons platform=macos target=template_debug arch=arm64
    scons platform=macos target=template_release arch=arm64
    scons platform=macos target=template_debug arch=x86_64
    scons platform=macos target=template_release arch=x86_64 generate_bundle=yes

- To support ARM64 (Apple Silicon) only (smaller file size, but less compatible with older hardware)::

    scons platform=macos target=template_debug arch=arm64
    scons platform=macos target=template_release arch=arm64 generate_bundle=yes

To create an ``.app`` bundle like in the official builds, you need to use the
template located in ``misc/dist/macos_template.app``. This process can be automated by using
the ``generate_bundle=yes`` option on the *last* SCons command used to build export templates
(so that all binaries can be included). This option also takes care of calling ``lipo`` to create
an *Universal 2* binary from two separate ARM64 and x86_64 binaries (if both were compiled beforehand).

.. note::

    You also need to include support for the MoltenVK Vulkan portability
    library. By default, it will be linked statically from your installation of
    the Vulkan SDK for macOS. You can also choose to link it dynamically by
    passing ``use_volk=yes`` and including the dynamic library in your ``.app``
    bundle::

        mkdir -p macos_template.app/Contents/Frameworks
        cp <Vulkan SDK path>/macOS/libs/libMoltenVK.dylib macos_template.app/Contents/Frameworks/libMoltenVK.dylib

    In most cases, static linking should be preferred as it makes distribution
    easier. The main upside of dynamic linking is that it allows updating
    MoltenVK without having to recompile export templates.

You can then zip the ``macos_template.app`` folder to reproduce the ``macos.zip``
template from the official Godot distribution::

    zip -r9 macos.zip macos_template.app

Using Pyston for faster development
-----------------------------------

You can use `Pyston <https://www.pyston.org/>`__ to run SCons. Pyston is a
JIT-enabled implementation of the Python language (which SCons is written in).
Its "full" version is currently only compatible with Linux, but Pyston-lite is
also compatible with macOS (both x86 and ARM). Pyston can speed up incremental
builds significantly, often by a factor between 1.5× and 2×. Pyston can be
combined with alternative linkers such as LLD or Mold to get even faster builds.

To install Pyston-lite, run ``python -m pip install pyston_lite_autoload`` then
run SCons as usual. This will automatically load a subset of Pyston's
optimizations in any Python program you run. However, this won't bring as much
of a performance improvement compared to installing "full" Pyston (which
currently can't be done on macOS).

Cross-compiling for macOS from Linux
------------------------------------

It is possible to compile for macOS in a Linux environment (and maybe also in
Windows using the Windows Subsystem for Linux). For that, you'll need to install
`OSXCross <https://github.com/tpoechtrager/osxcross>`__ to be able to use macOS
as a target. First, follow the instructions to install it:

Clone the `OSXCross repository <https://github.com/tpoechtrager/osxcross>`__
somewhere on your machine (or download a ZIP file and extract it somewhere),
e.g.::

    git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/tpoechtrager/osxcross.git "$HOME/osxcross"

1. Follow the instructions to package the SDK:
   https://github.com/tpoechtrager/osxcross#packaging-the-sdk
2. Follow the instructions to install OSXCross:
   https://github.com/tpoechtrager/osxcross#installation

After that, you will need to define the ``OSXCROSS_ROOT`` as the path to
the OSXCross installation (the same place where you cloned the
repository/extracted the zip), e.g.::

    export OSXCROSS_ROOT="$HOME/osxcross"

Now you can compile with SCons like you normally would::

    scons platform=macos

If you have an OSXCross SDK version different from the one expected by the SCons buildsystem, you can specify a custom one with the ``osxcross_sdk`` argument::

    scons platform=macos osxcross_sdk=darwin15