Installing Lazarus on macOS: what changed

Revision 5 to 6. Removed lines have a minus sign; added lines have a plus sign.

Old	New		Line
1	1		[![macOSlogo.png](/wiki-images/1/15/macOSlogo.png)](</File:macOSlogo.png>)
2	2
3	3		This article applies to [macOS](</Category:macOS> "Category:macOS") only.
4	4
5	5		See also: [[Multiplatform Programming Guide]]
6	6
7	7
8		-	~~****~~
9	8
10	9		Installing Lazarus on a Mac is not particularly difficult but it is critical that you do the install in the correct order. Skipping steps will almost certainly end in tears. In brief, here is what you need to do:
11	10
12	11		1. Download and install Xcode (optional depending on your needs - see below for details).
13	12		2. Install the global command line tools for Xcode. Definitely required.
14	13		3. Download and install the Free Pascal Compiler (FPC) binaries package and the FPC source package from the [Lazarus IDE file area](<https://sourceforge.net/projects/lazarus/files/>) (Important do this _before_ you install the Lazarus IDE)
15	14		4. Download and install the Lazarus IDE from the [Lazarus IDE file area](<https://sourceforge.net/projects/lazarus/files/>) or, perhaps more useful, download and compile Lazarus source code, eg [Lazarus Fixes 3.0](<https://gitlab.com/freepascal.org/lazarus/lazarus/-/tree/fixes_3_0?ref_type=heads>)
16	15		5. Configure LLDB - the Apple supplied (and signed) debugger from within the Lazarus IDE.
17	16
18	17		These steps are explained in more detail below.
19	18
20	19		### Lazarus IDE - Unable to "run without debugging"
21	20
22	21		If you are using the Lazarus IDE 2.0.10 and the _Run > Run without debugging_ menu option fails with a dialog similar to:
23	22
24	23		[![run dialog fail.png](/wiki-images/1/19/run_dialog_fail.png)](</File:run_dialog_fail.png>)
25	24
26	25		then you need to patch the Lazarus 2.0.10 source code ([Issue #37324](<https://bugs.freepascal.org/view.php?id=37324>) and [Issue #36780](<https://bugs.freepascal.org/view.php?id=36780>)). Specifically, patch `../ide/main.pp` as below (unpatched lines shown first, patched lines shown second):
27	26		```
28	27		7243,7245c7243,7245
29	28		< if RunAppBundle
30	29		< and FileExistsUTF8(Process.Executable)
31	30		< and FileExistsUTF8('/usr/bin/open') then
32	31		---
33	32		> if RunAppBundle then
34	33		> // and FileExistsUTF8(Process.Executable)
35	34		> //and FileExistsUTF8('/usr/bin/open') then
36	35		```
37	36
38	37		and recompile the Lazarus IDE.
39	38
40	39		Alternatively, you can omit patching the source code and simply recompile Lazarus 2.0.10 with FPC 3.0.4.
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42	41		A similar patching exercise and recompiling, or simply recompiling with FPC 3.0.4, needs to be done for Lazarus 2.0.8 if it has been compiled with FPC 3.2.0.
43	42
44	43		### Upgrading from Mojave (10.14) to Catalina (10.15)
45	44
46	45		* Run `sudo xcode-select --install`
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48	47		* To enable Lazarus to locate the `crt1.10.5.o` file change in `/etc/fpc.cfg` the -Fl behind "#ifdef cpux86_64" from
49	48
50	49		```
51	50		-Fl/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Toolchain...
52	51		```
53	52
54	53		to
55	54		```
56	55		-Fl/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/lib/
57	56		```
58	57
59	58		### Building the FPC compiler from Mojave (10.14) onwards
60	59
61	60		* To find the crt1.10.5.o file when building a later Free Pascal Compiler version from source, you need to specify:
62	61
63	62		```
64	63		OPT="-XR/Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/"
65	64		```
66	65
67	66		on the make command line because FPC ignores the `/etc/fpc.cfg` configuration file during builds of itself.
68	67
69	68		### Mac Installation FAQ
70	69
71	70		* See the [[Mac Installation FAQ]] for solutions to other common problems that may arise during (and after) installation of Lazarus and Free Pascal on macOS.
72	71
73	72		## Uninstalling Lazarus and Free Pascal
74	73
75	74		Refer to [[Uninstalling Lazarus on macOS]] for uninstallation options.
76	75
77	76		## Legacy Information
78	77
79	78		See [[Legacy Information: Installing Lazarus on Mac\|Legacy Information]] for details of:
80	79
81	80		* Installing Lazarus on Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger), Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion)
82	81		* Installing Lazarus 2.0.8, 2.0.10 with FPC 3.2.0 for macOS 10.10 and earlier
83	82		* Installing Lazarus 2.0.8 with FPC 3.2.0 for macOS 10.11+
84	83		* Installing Lazarus on PowerPC-based Macs
85	84		* Old Xcode versions
86	85		* Installing the gdb debugger
87	86		* Compatibility matrix for Lazarus 1.0.0 through 1.6.4 and FPC 2.6.0 through 3.0.2.
88	87
89	88		## See also
90	89
91	90		* [[Xcode]].
92	91		* [[Other macOS installation options]].
93	92		* [[Multiple Lazarus\|Installing multiple Lazarus versions]].
94	93		* [[Portal:Mac\|Mac Portal]] for an overview of development for macOS with Lazarus and Free Pascal.
95	94		* [[Mac Installation FAQ]] for solutions to the most frequent problems that may arise during (and after) installation of Lazarus and Free Pascal on macOS.
96	95
97	96		## External links
98	97
99	98		* [Lazarus daily development version download](<https://sourceforge.net/projects/macos-lazarus-snapshots/files/intel/>) (Intel x86_64)
100	99		* [Lazarus + FPC daily development version downloads](<https://sourceforge.net/projects/macos-lazarus-snapshots/files/arm64/>) (M1, ARM64, aarch64)
101	100		* [GIT Succinctly](<https://www.syncfusion.com/succinctly-free-ebooks/git>) \- Free Ebook (PDF, MOBI, EPUB) from SyncFusion.
102	101
103	102		---
104	103		From the Free Pascal wiki, page "Installing Lazarus on macOS", as the Internet Archive kept it on 2025-06-16, last changed on 2025-05-01. Copyright stays with the author who wrote it, according to the old wiki's [[Licensing]] page. If you have concerns about this material, [message the admin](/wiki-contact).

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