Gazebo logo

Installation (OS X)

Gazebo relies on a number of third-party libraries that make installation a little bit tricky. If things go wrong, please check the install_os_problems section and the archives of the Gazebo mailing list. Please read the instructions below carefully before posting to the mailing lists.

These are the OS X installation instructions, Linux users should go here.

Preparing your system

The OS X installation is a little tricker than the Linux installation, partly because of the large number of dependencies that need to be installed, and partly because of the quirky file system layout. As a first step, you must prepare your system:

To save some time, there is a shell script that will apt-get pre-compiled versions on the required packages (thanks to Lars Cremean). Look on the packages page:

Fink installs everything in a rather unusual location (/sw) and you must your paths approppriately; if you are using the bash shell, add the following lines to your .bashrc script:

export CPATH=/usr/X11R6/include:/sw/include:$CPATH
export LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/X11R6/lib:/sw/lib:$LIBRARY_PATH
export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/sw/lib:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH
export PYTHONPATH=/sw/lib/python2.3/site-packages:$PYTHONPATH

The last line sets the path for Python extensions (the version number should match the version of Python you have installed; type "python -V" if in doubt).

You should also set the following compiler flag:

export CPPFLAGS=-no-cpp-precomp 

This prevents some common bugs with Apple's "smart" pre-compiler.

Selecting an installation method

irst-time users should read the section on minimal installations to get a basic version of Gazebo up and running. More advanced users may wish to consult one of the following:

Minimal installation

The minimal Gazebo build requires the OpenDynamicsEngine (ODE), which is very probably not installed on your system (or not installed correctly).

Gazebo is now ready to run; try:

$ gazebo /sw/share/gazebo/worlds/example1.world

This will start the server in console mode (no GUI). Assuming you have all the GUI dependencies installed, you can run in graphical mode using:

$ wxgazebo /usr/local/share/gazebo/worlds/example1.world

Full installation (with OPCODE support)

Some models (e.g., terrains and roads) require the OPCODE collision detection library (now part of the ODE distribution). The following steps are required to build ODE with OPCODE support.

To test the terrain model, try:

$ gazebo /sw/share/gazebo/worlds/terrain.world

Local installation (does not require root access)

Some developers prefer to install Gazebo in our home directory (e.g., /home/[username]/local) rather than in a system directory. This is useful if you are working on shared machines and/or lack root access. Naturally, local installs can make it a bit tricky for Gazebo (and other packages) to find the right headers, libs and so on. Here, then, is the recommended way to do it:

Everything should now work seamlessly, and your locally installed packages will be used in preference to any system-wide defaults.

Problem-solving

TODO

Last updated 12 September 2005 21:38:45