opencv/doc/tutorials/introduction/macos_install/macos_install.markdown

Installation in MacOS {#tutorial_macos_install}
=====================

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|    |    |
| -: | :- |
| Original author | `@sajarindider` |
| Compatibility | OpenCV >= 3.4 |

The following steps have been tested for MacOSX (Mavericks) but should work with other versions as well.

Required Packages
-----------------

-   CMake 3.9 or higher
-   Git
-   Python 2.7 or later and Numpy 1.5 or later

This tutorial will assume you have [Python](https://docs.python.org/3/using/mac.html),
[Numpy](https://docs.scipy.org/doc/numpy-1.10.1/user/install.html) and
[Git](https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/install-git) installed on your machine.

@note
OSX comes with Python 2.7 by default, you will need to install Python 3.8 if you want to use it specifically.

@note
If you XCode and XCode Command Line-Tools installed, you already have git installed on your machine.

Installing CMake
----------------
-# Find the version for your system and download CMake from their release's [page](https://cmake.org/download/)

-# Install the dmg package and launch it from Applications. That will give you the UI app of CMake

-# From the CMake app window, choose menu Tools --> How to Install For Command Line Use. Then, follow the instructions from the pop-up there.

-# Install folder will be /usr/bin/ by default, submit it by choosing Install command line links.

-# Test that it works by running
    @code{.bash}
    cmake --version
    @endcode

@note You can use [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/) to install CMake with @code{.bash} brew install cmake @endcode

Getting OpenCV Source Code
--------------------------

You can use the latest stable OpenCV version or you can grab the latest snapshot from our
[Git repository](https://github.com/opencv/opencv.git).

### Getting the Latest Stable OpenCV Version

-   Go to our [downloads page](https://opencv.org/releases).
-   Download the source archive and unpack it.

### Getting the Cutting-edge OpenCV from the Git Repository

Launch Git client and clone [OpenCV repository](http://github.com/opencv/opencv).
If you need modules from [OpenCV contrib repository](http://github.com/opencv/opencv_contrib) then clone it as well.

For example
@code{.bash}
cd ~/<my_working_directory>
git clone https://github.com/opencv/opencv.git
git clone https://github.com/opencv/opencv_contrib.git
@endcode
Building OpenCV from Source Using CMake
---------------------------------------

-#  Create a temporary directory, which we denote as `build_opencv`, where you want to put
    the generated Makefiles, project files as well the object files and output binaries and enter
    there.

    For example
    @code{.bash}
    mkdir build_opencv
    cd build_opencv
    @endcode

    @note It is good practice to keep clean your source code directories. Create build directory outside of source tree.

-#  Configuring. Run `cmake [<some optional parameters>] <path to the OpenCV source directory>`

    For example
    @code{.bash}
    cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_EXAMPLES=ON ../opencv
    @endcode

    or cmake-gui

    -   set the OpenCV source code path to, e.g. `/home/user/opencv`
    -   set the binary build path to your CMake build directory, e.g. `/home/user/build_opencv`
    -   set optional parameters
    -   run: "Configure"
    -   run: "Generate"

-#  Description of some parameters
    -   build type: `CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release` (or `Debug`)
    -   to build with modules from opencv_contrib set `OPENCV_EXTRA_MODULES_PATH` to `<path to
        opencv_contrib>/modules`
    -   set `BUILD_DOCS=ON` for building documents (doxygen is required)
    -   set `BUILD_EXAMPLES=ON` to build all examples

-#  [optional] Building python. Set the following python parameters:
    -   `PYTHON3_EXECUTABLE = <path to python>`
    -   `PYTHON3_INCLUDE_DIR = /usr/include/python<version>`
    -   `PYTHON3_NUMPY_INCLUDE_DIRS =
        /usr/lib/python<version>/dist-packages/numpy/core/include/`
    @note
    To specify Python2 versions, you can replace `PYTHON3_` with `PYTHON2_` in the above parameters.

-#  Build. From build directory execute *make*, it is recommended to do this in several threads

    For example
    @code{.bash}
    make -j7 # runs 7 jobs in parallel
    @endcode

-#  To use OpenCV in your CMake-based projects through `find_package(OpenCV)` specify `OpenCV_DIR=<path_to_build_or_install_directory>` variable.

@note
You can also use a package manager like [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/)
or [pip](https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/) to install releases of OpenCV only (Not the cutting edge).