Building

July 20, 2026 · View on GitHub

Pre-Build Requirements

Python

Having Python 3 isn't an absolute requirement but it makes the subsequent steps to install the dependencies easier.

Linux

Use the system package manager to install Python 3 and the venv module (on Debian and Ubuntu the package is python3-venv). A system-wide python3-pip install is optional if you follow the recommended virtual environment below: the virtual environment gets its own pip, which avoids touching the distribution's managed environment (PEP 668).

💬 Note: The -y option allows apt install to run non-interactively.

sudo apt install -y python3 python3-venv

Windows

Download the Python 3 installer from python.org and run it manually, or use the following PowerShell commands. Python 3.14.4 (64-bit Windows, latest stable release at the time) has been tested.

💬 Note: The ` is the PowerShell line continuation character.

Invoke-WebRequest `
  https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.14.4/python-3.14.4-amd64.exe `
  -OutFile python-3.14.4-amd64.exe

./python-3.14.4-amd64.exe /quiet PrependPath=1 Include_tcltk=0 Include_test=0

Confirm this Python is available on the PATH. Try closing and reopening the terminal if not.

python --version

Python Virtual Environment

For manual builds, a virtual environment in the repository root (for example, .venv) is recommended. It isolates the Python environment used for Conan and other pip-installed build tools from the system interpreter, pins compatible tool versions on PATH, and on Linux avoids PEP 668 "externally managed" errors when using the system Python.

Linux

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install --upgrade pip

Windows

From PowerShell, use the following commands.

python -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
# If PowerShell reports that "running scripts is disabled on this system"
# you can adjust the execution policy as follows and try again.
# Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
python -m pip install --upgrade pip

Or use Command Prompt instead.

python -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\activate.bat
python -m pip install --upgrade pip

To exit the virtual environment later, run deactivate (same on Linux and Windows).

CMake

The project requires CMake 3.17 or higher; dependencies may require a higher version.

There are x86_64 and arm64 packages for CMake 3.30.0 on the Python Package Index (PyPI) which have been tested.

Linux

pip install cmake~=3.17

Windows

pip install cmake~=3.17

Conan

Using Conan simplifies fetching, building, and installing the required C++ dependencies from Conan Center.

The project requires Conan 2.2 or higher; dependencies may require a higher version. Conan 2.28.0 (latest release at the time) has been tested.

Linux

pip install conan~=2.2 --upgrade
conan profile detect

The detected profile is displayed, along with some WARN messages. For example, the following profile has been tested.

[settings]
arch=x86_64
build_type=Release
compiler=gcc
compiler.cppstd=gnu17
compiler.libcxx=libstdc++11
compiler.version=13
os=Linux

Windows

pip install conan~=2.2 --upgrade
conan profile detect
notepad (conan profile path default)

You may wish to edit the detected profile. Conan Center prebuilt binaries target MSVC 193/194, not 195 (Visual Studio 2026). Pin MSVC 194 so conan install downloads packages instead of building from source, with compiler.version=194 and compiler.cppstd=17.

The following settings have been tested.

[settings]
arch=x86_64
build_type=Release
compiler=msvc
compiler.cppstd=17
compiler.runtime=dynamic
compiler.version=194
os=Windows

Building the NvNmos Library

Linux

Prepare a build directory adjacent to the src directory.

mkdir build

To install the dependencies using Conan, use the following command.

💬 Note: Replace <Release-or-Debug> with the necessary value. Passing --lockfile=src/conan.lock pins dependency versions per src/conan.lock (Conan Center nmos-cpp package graph). Do not pass -g CMakeToolchain or -g CMakeDeps; src/conanfile.py already generates them, and Conan fails if they are duplicated (for example when copying older command lines).

conan install src \
  --settings:all build_type=<Release-or-Debug> \
  --build=missing \
  --output-folder=src/conan \
  --lockfile=src/conan.lock

Use the following CMake command to configure the build.

💬 Note: Replace <Release-or-Debug> with the necessary value. The CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE path is resolved relative to the top-level src directory passed as the last argument.

cmake -B build \
  -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=conan/conan_toolchain.cmake \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=<Release-or-Debug> \
  src

Build the library and example application.

cmake --build build --parallel

Windows

Prepare a build directory adjacent to the src directory.

mkdir build

To install the dependencies using Conan, use the following command.

💬 Note: The ` is the PowerShell line continuation character. In the Windows command prompt, use ^ instead. Replace <Release-or-Debug> with the necessary value. Passing --lockfile=src/conan.lock pins dependency versions per src/conan.lock (Conan Center nmos-cpp package graph). Do not pass -g CMakeToolchain or -g CMakeDeps; src/conanfile.py already generates them, and Conan fails if they are duplicated (for example when copying older command lines).

conan install src `
  --settings:all build_type=<Release-or-Debug> `
  --build=missing `
  --output-folder=src/conan `
  --lockfile=src/conan.lock

Repeat the command for both Debug and Release if required.

Use the following CMake command to configure the build.

cmake -B build `
  -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" `
  -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE="conan/conan_toolchain.cmake" `
  -DCMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES="Debug;Release" `
  src

Build the library and application with the following command or manually using the generated Visual Studio solution.

💬 Note: Replace <Release-or-Debug> with the necessary value.

cmake --build build --config <Release-or-Debug> --parallel

Local nmos-cpp Checkout

To build against a clone of nmos-cpp while using Conan to resolve Boost, cpprestsdk, Avahi or mDNSResponder, and other dependencies:

  1. Clone it into a directory nmos-cpp in the same parent directory as nvnmos.

  2. Install Conan dependencies with the consumer option nmos_cpp_from_source=True and without the default lockfile, which is for the packaged nmos-cpp graph:

    Linux

    conan install src \
  --settings:all build_type=<Release-or-Debug> \
  --build=missing \
  --output-folder=src/conan \
  --lockfile="" \
  -o "&:nmos_cpp_from_source=True"

    Windows

    conan install src `
  --settings:all build_type=<Release-or-Debug> `
  --build=missing `
  --output-folder=src/conan `
  --lockfile="" `
  -o "&:nmos_cpp_from_source=True"

    💬 Note: With --lockfile="", versions of dependencies such as Boost and OpenSSL are not pinned. You may choose to create a lockfile for nmos_cpp_from_source=True installs (conan lock create per profile, then conan lock merge), then pass --lockfile=<path> on conan install.

  3. Configure and build as in Building the NvNmos Library above, adding -DUSE_ADD_SUBDIRECTORY=ON to the cmake configure step. (If you followed step 1, you do not need -DNMOS_CPP_DIRECTORY=<path-to-nmos-cpp/Development>.)

Run-Time Requirements

Linux

Install and run the Avahi Daemon.

apt update
apt install -y dbus avahi-daemon

/etc/init.d/dbus start
/etc/init.d/avahi-daemon start

💬 Note: Since Ubuntu 24.04, an init script is not provided for the Avahi daemon; run avahi-daemon --daemonize instead.

Windows

Install and start the Bonjour Service.

See Download Bonjour Print Services for Windows v2.0.2.