MacOS Setup

The following instructions set up a PX4 development environment for macOS. This environment can be used to build PX4 for:

• Pixhawk and other NuttX-based hardware

• jMAVSim Simulation

• Gazebo Classic Simulation

:::tip This setup is supported by the PX4 dev team. To build other targets you will need to use a different OS (or an unsupported development environment). :::

Video Guide

@youtube

Base Setup

The "base" macOS setup installs the tools needed for building firmware, and includes the common tools that will be needed for installing/using the simulators.

Environment Setup

:::details Apple M1 Macbook users! If you have an Apple M1 Macbook, make sure to run the terminal as x86 by setting up an x86 terminal:

1. Locate the Terminal application within the Utilities folder (Finder > Go menu > Utilities)

2. Select Terminal.app and right-click on it, then choose Duplicate.

3. Rename the duplicated Terminal app, e.g. to x86 Terminal

4. Now select the renamed x86 Terminal app and right-click and choose *Get Info

5. Check the box for Open using Rosetta, then close the window

6. Run the x86 Terminal as usual, which will fully support the current PX4 toolchain :::

First set up the environment

1. Enable more open files by appending the following line to the ~/.zshenv file (creating it if necessary):

   echo ulimit -S -n 2048 >> ~/.zshenv

   :::note If you don't do this, the build toolchain may report the error: "LD: too many open files" :::

2. Enforce Python 3 by appending the following lines to ~/.zshenv

   # Point pip3 to MacOS system python 3 pip
   alias pip3=/usr/bin/pip3

Common Tools

To setup the environment to be able to build for Pixhawk/NuttX hardware (and install the common tools for using simulators):

1. Install Homebrew by following these installation instructions.

2. Run these commands in your shell to install the common tools:

   brew tap PX4/px4
   brew install px4-dev

3. Install the required Python packages:

   # install required packages using pip3
   python3 -m pip install --user pyserial empty toml numpy pandas jinja2 pyyaml pyros-genmsg packaging kconfiglib future jsonschema
   # if this fails with a permissions error, your Python install is in a system path - use this command instead:
   sudo -H python3 -m pip install --user pyserial empty toml numpy pandas jinja2 pyyaml pyros-genmsg packaging kconfiglib future jsonschema

Gazebo Classic Simulation

To setup the environment for Gazebo Classic simulation:

1. Run the following commands in your shell:

   brew unlink tbb
   sed -i.bak '/disable! date:/s/^/  /; /disable! date:/s/./#/3' $(brew --prefix)/Library/Taps/homebrew/homebrew-core/Formula/[e-mail]
   brew install tbb@2020
   brew link tbb@2020

   :::note September 2021: The commands above are a workaround to this bug: PX4-Autopilot#17644. They can be removed once it is fixed (along with this note). :::

2. To install SITL simulation with Gazebo Classic:

   brew install --cask temurin
   brew install --cask xquartz
   brew install px4-sim-gazebo

3. Run the macOS setup script: PX4-Autopilot/Tools/setup/macos.sh The easiest way to do this is to clone the PX4 source, and then run the script from the directory, as shown:

   git clone https://github.com/PX4/PX4-Autopilot.git --recursive
   cd PX4-Autopilot/Tools/setup
   sh macos.sh

jMAVSim Simulation

To setup the environment for jMAVSim simulation:

1. Install a recent version of Java (e.g. Java 15). You can download Java 15 (or later) from Oracle or use Eclipse Temurin:

   brew install --cask temurin

2. Install jMAVSim:

   brew install px4-sim-jmavsim

   :::warning PX4 v1.11 and beyond require at least JDK 15 for jMAVSim simulation.

   For earlier versions, macOS users might see the error Exception in thread "main" java.lang.UnsupportedClassVersionError:. You can find the fix in the jMAVSim with SITL > Troubleshooting). :::

Next Steps

Once you have finished setting up the command-line toolchain:

• Install VSCode (if you prefer using an IDE to the command line).

• Install the QGroundControl Daily Build

  :::tip The daily build includes development tools that are hidden in release builds. It may also provide access to new PX4 features that are not yet supported in release builds. :::

• Continue to the build instructions.