oak-editor/docs/build_macos.md

macOS Build Guide

Deprecated (2026): this guide describes the old C++/CMake build. The current Rust workspace build is documented in build.md (中文：zh/build.md).

This document describes how to build Oak Video Editor from source on macOS.

For the Chinese version, see build-macos-zh.md.

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Prerequisites

• macOS 12.0 (Monterey) or later
• Homebrew package manager
• Xcode Command Line Tools

Install Xcode Command Line Tools

xcode-select --install

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Install Dependencies

1. Install Homebrew (if not already installed)

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

2. Install Build Tools and Libraries

brew update
brew install cmake ninja pkg-config

3. Install Qt 6

brew install qt@6

Add Qt 6 to your PATH (you may want to add this to your ~/.zshrc):

echo 'export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/qt@6/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

4. Install FFmpeg

brew install ffmpeg

5. Install Image/Color Libraries

brew install openimageio opencolorio openexr

6. Install Audio and XML Libraries

brew install portaudio expat

7. Install Vulkan Backend Dependencies (Optional)

Only needed for the Vulkan render backend. Oak builds the OpenGL backend regardless and falls back to it at runtime if Vulkan is unavailable:

brew install molten-vk vulkan-headers vulkan-loader

Point CMake at the loader so find_package(Vulkan) succeeds (add to ~/.zshrc if you build regularly):

export VULKAN_SDK="$(brew --prefix vulkan-loader)"

8. Install Test Framework (Optional)

Only needed if you plan to build and run tests:

brew install googletest

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Build OpenTimelineIO (Required)

OpenTimelineIO enables importing/exporting timeline data in OTIO format. It is a required dependency.

# Clone the repository
git clone --depth 1 --branch v0.16.0 https://github.com/PixarAnimationStudios/OpenTimelineIO.git
cd OpenTimelineIO

# Configure and build
cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja \
  -DOTIO_SHARED_LIBS=ON \
  -DOTIO_PYTHON_BINDINGS=OFF \
  -DOTIO_FIND_IMATH=ON \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="${PWD}/install"

cmake --build build
cmake --install build

Note the installation path (e.g., ${PWD}/install), you'll need it for the OTIO_LOCATION CMake option.

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Clone and Build Oak Video Editor

1. Clone the Repository

git clone --recursive https://github.com/OakVideoEditorCommunity/oak.git
cd oak

Note: Make sure to use --recursive to clone submodules, as Oak depends on several external libraries included as submodules.

2. Configure with CMake

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DOCIO_LOCATION=$(brew --prefix opencolorio) \
  -DOTIO_LOCATION=/path/to/otio/install \
  -DBUILD_TESTS=ON

3. Build

cmake --build build --config Release

The build process may take 10-30 minutes depending on your hardware.

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Run the Application

After successful build, you can run Oak Video Editor:

./build/app/oak-editor

Or open the app bundle (if generated):

open ./build/app/Oak.app

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Run Tests (Optional)

If you built with -DBUILD_TESTS=ON:

ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failure -C Release

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Build Options

Option	Default	Description
BUILD_TESTS	OFF	Build unit tests
BUILD_DOXYGEN	OFF	Build Doxygen documentation
USE_WERROR	OFF	Treat warnings as errors
OTIO_LOCATION	-	Path to OpenTimelineIO installation (required)
OCIO_LOCATION	-	Path to OpenColorIO installation

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Troubleshooting

Qt 6 Not Found

If CMake cannot find Qt 6, ensure it's in your PATH:

export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/qt@6/bin:$PATH"
export CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/qt@6"

For Intel Macs, the path may be /usr/local/opt/qt@6 instead.

OpenColorIO Not Found

Make sure to specify the correct OCIO_LOCATION:

-DOCIO_LOCATION=$(brew --prefix opencolorio)

OpenImageIO Not Found

Try reinstalling OpenImageIO:

brew reinstall openimageio

PortAudio Issues

If you encounter audio-related build errors:

brew reinstall portaudio
export PKG_CONFIG_PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/portaudio/lib/pkgconfig:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH"

Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) Specific Issues

On Apple Silicon Macs, Homebrew installs to /opt/homebrew instead of /usr/local. Make sure your environment variables are set correctly:

export PATH="/opt/homebrew/bin:$PATH"
export LIBRARY_PATH="/opt/homebrew/lib:$LIBRARY_PATH"
export CPATH="/opt/homebrew/include:$CPATH"

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Creating an App Bundle

To create a distributable .app bundle, you may need to use macdeployqt:

/opt/homebrew/opt/qt@6/bin/macdeployqt build/app/Oak.app

This will bundle the required Qt libraries into the app.

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Uninstall

To remove the built application:

rm -rf build

To remove Homebrew dependencies (optional):

brew uninstall qt@6 ffmpeg openimageio opencolorio openexr portaudio expat googletest