macOS Build Instructions and Notes

November 29, 2024 · View on GitHub

The commands in this guide should be executed in a Terminal application. The built-in one is located in /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app.

Preparation

Install macOS Command Line Tools (if not already installed):
```
xcode-select --install
```
When the popup appears, click Install.

Install Homebrew (if not already installed):

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Dependencies

Install the required dependencies using Homebrew:

brew install automake berkeley-db4 libtool boost miniupnpc openssl protobuf python qt libevent qrencode python-setuptools m4

In case you want to build the disk image with make deploy (.dmg / optional), you need RSVG:

brew install librsvg

After installing m4, it is important to note that m4 is a keg-only formula in Homebrew. This means it is not symlinked into /usr/local by default. To make sure m4 is available in your PATH, you'll need to link it manually with the --force flag:

brew link m4 --force

You can verify that m4 is properly linked and available by running:

which m4

This should output the path to the m4 binary, typically /opt/homebrew/bin/m4 on Apple Silicon Macs. If you do not use the --force flag, which m4 will likely output /usr/bin/m4, which is the system version and not the one installed via Homebrew.

Troubleshooting `m4` Issues

If m4 is not found even after installation and linking with --force, you may need to install Xcode to ensure that m4 is recognized:

Install Xcode from the Mac App Store.
Once installed, open Xcode at least once to complete the setup.

Berkeley DB

It is recommended to use Berkeley DB 4.8. If you have to build it yourself, you can use the installation script included in contrib/ like so:

./contrib/install_db4.sh

from the root of the repository.

Note: You only need Berkeley DB if the wallet is enabled (see Disable-wallet mode).

Build Instructions

Download the Source

Before building, download the Firo source code:

git clone https://github.com/firoorg/firo
cd firo

Build Firo Core

Prepare the build environment:
```
cd depends
make
cd ..
```

Configure and build Firo-core:

./autogen.sh
./configure --prefix=`pwd`/depends/`depends/config.guess`
make

(optional) It is recommended to build and run the unit tests:

./configure --prefix=`pwd`/depends/`depends/config.guess` --enable-tests
make check

(optional) You can also create a .dmg that contains the .app bundle:
```
make deploy
```

Running

Firo Core is now available at ./src/firod

Before running, it's recommended you create an RPC configuration file.

echo -e "rpcuser=bitcoinrpc\nrpcpassword=$(xxd -l 16 -p /dev/urandom)" > "/Users/${USER}/Library/Application Support/firo/firo.conf"

chmod 600 "/Users/${USER}/Library/Application Support/firo/firo.conf"

The first time you run firod, it will start downloading the blockchain. This process could take several hours.

You can monitor the download process by looking at the debug.log file:

tail -f $HOME/Library/Application\ Support/firo/debug.log

Other commands:

./src/firod -daemon # Starts the Firo daemon.
./src/firo-cli --help # Outputs a list of command-line options.
./src/firo-cli help # Outputs a list of RPC commands when the daemon is running.

Using Qt Creator as IDE

You can use Qt Creator as an IDE, for bitcoin development. Download and install the community edition of Qt Creator. Uncheck everything except Qt Creator during the installation process.

Make sure you installed everything through Homebrew mentioned above

Properly configure the build environment:

./configure --prefix=`pwd`/depends/`depends/config.guess` --enable-debug

In Qt Creator do "New Project" -> Import Project -> Import Existing Project
Enter "bitcoin-qt" as project name, enter src/qt as location
Leave the file selection as it is
Confirm the "summary page"
In the "Projects" tab select "Manage Kits..."
Select the default "Desktop" kit and select "Clang (x86 64bit in /usr/bin)" as compiler
Select LLDB as debugger (you might need to set the path to your installation)
Start debugging with Qt Creator

Notes

Tested on macOS 10.11 through 10.14 on 64-bit Intel processors, and on macOS 14.5 on an M2 chip.
Building with downloaded Qt binaries is not officially supported. See the notes in #7714