Tools

Mandatory tools

In order to compile R for macOS, you will need the following tools: NOTE: In order to retain compatibility with native R we recommend using above tools. Although it is possible to compile R using tools from other package managers such as Homebrew, MacPorts or Fink, such binaries are by definition incompatible with macOS native libraries and applications. If you choose one of those package managers, make sure you compile everything using those tools including R and all packages and libraries you intend to use.

Additional information on the OpenMP page is available for those interested in OpenMP support which is not supported by Apple, but still possible with additional libraries.

Mandatory libraries

Old versions of R provided fall-back versions of dependend libraries. This is no longer the case, the following libraries are not present in most recent macOS (or are too old) and have to be installed before R can be compiled: Binaries for the above libraries are available from the "Binaries of libraries and tools for macOS page" (also the /bin directory) for the builds we use.

Those are binaries used by CRAN and are built using the recipes system, thus can be transparently re-built accordingly. If you wish to compile all dependencies yourself (only recommended for expert users) use the following commands:

git clone https://github.com/R-macos/recipes.git
cd recipes
./build.sh r-base-dev

This will build and install all dependencies necessary to compile R including optional capabilities such as cairo, tiff, jpeg, png and texinfo. On Intel Macs the default prefix is /usr/local (another recommended alternative is /opt/R/x86_64) and on arm64 Macs it is /opt/R/arm64. It may be convenient to setup the target to be managed by the current user, e.g.:

sudo mkdir -p /opt/R/arm64
sudo chown $USER /opt/R/arm64

after which sudo is no longer required. For more details, please see the documentation of the recipes build system.

Optional tools and libraries

The following tools and libraries are optional. R can be compiled without them, but they provide additional capabilities to R.


(sources for open source software not linked directly)

Old version of this page for much older OS X versions.

Disclaimer

All software is provided "as is" and any express or implied warranties, including, but but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are disclaimed. In no event shall the publisher, copyright owner or contributors be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental,special, exemplary, or consequential damages (including, but not limited to, procurement of substitute goods or services; loss of use, data or profits; or business interruption) however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of this software, even if advised of the possibility of such damage.