macOS Installation - PeP et al. Toolbox Workshop

We recommend installing the 64-bit version if you are using a 64-bit operating system. If you are unsure: almost every system nowadays is 64-bit.

All steps (Installation, Testing, Updating) must be completed!

If you are not participating in the LaTeX course, TeXLive is optional. However, if you choose not to install it, you will be unable to use TeX within Matplotlib (this means less aesthetically pleasing plots).

If you are only participating in the LaTeX course, you should install at least VSCodium (or another text editor), as well as MacTeX.

Installation¶

Terminal¶

The terminal is included in every OS X distribution.
Search for “Terminal” using Spotlight.
The application is located at /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app.

Command Line Tools¶

The Command Line Tools include (among other things) Git and a C/C++ compiler. To install them, enter the following into the Terminal:

xcode-select --install

Execute the command by pressing Enter. Select “Install” and wait. The download size is approximately 130 MB.

Python Installation: Miniforge3¶

Here, the following lines must be entered into the Terminal individually and sequentially:

cd

curl -LO "https://github.com/conda-forge/miniforge/releases/latest/download/Miniforge3-$(uname)-$(uname -m).sh"

bash Miniforge3-$(uname)-$(uname -m).sh

Depending on the size of your terminal, you may need to press Enter repeatedly to scroll through the entire license agreement. Then, you can accept it by typing yes. We specified the installation location in the third command; simply confirm the prompt by pressing Enter. After the installation process, a message similar to the following should appear:

Do you wish to update your shell profile to automatically initialize conda?
This will activate conda on startup and change the command prompt when activated.
If you'd prefer that conda's base environment not be activated on startup,
   run the following command when conda is activated:

conda config --set auto_activate_base false

You can undo this by running `conda init --reverse $SHELL`? [yes|no]
[no] >>>

Accept it by typing yes.

With this, the base Python environment is installed.

Next, create a dedicated Python environment specifically for the Toolbox Workshop using:

mamba create -y -n toolbox python=3.13 ipython numpy matplotlib scipy uncertainties sympy

Activate this environment with:

mamba activate toolbox

Once the installation is complete, you may delete the installation file. It should be located in your current directory; to verify this, type the following command in a terminal:

ls

The output list should include Miniforge3-Darwin-arm64.sh (or a similar filename). If it appears in the list, the file can be deleted with with:

rm Miniforge3-Darwin-arm64.sh

or with the corresponding file name. If you are unsure, you can also speak to us about these instructions during the workshop.

Text Editor VSCodium¶

The binaries provided by Microsoft for VSCode are proprietary and contain tracking software. For this reason, we recommend VSCodium, an open-source variant of VSCode.

Download the newest version of the file VsCodium-darwin-<VERSION>.zip from this Website.
You can find the program “VSCodium.app” in the ZIP file in the Downloads folder. Move it to Applications.
Next, open the app. On newer versions of macOS, the system may prevent the app from launching. in this case, you must first go to System Settings, navigate to “General” -> “Security,” and click the “Open Anyway” button.
In VSCodium, open the command palette with Shift + Cmd + P and type the following:
```
Shell Command: Install 'codium' command in PATH
```
Execute this by pressing Enter. This ensures that VSCodium will open whenever you type codium in a terminal.

To configure Git to use VSCodium, enter the following command in a terminal:

git config --global core.editor "codium --wait"

MacTeX¶

To install LaTeX, you can download the MacTeX.pkg file from this webpage. Once the download is complete, simply install the package.

Now, test your installation!

Testing¶

In the following section, we will verify that the installations were successful, so that you can start the workshop with ease.

Git¶

Open a terminal window and enter the following commands one by one. We will explain what output you should expect to see alongside each command.

git

The Git help text should appear.

You can also configure some additional settings for Git within a terminal. Type the following lines one by one in a terminal and confirm each with Enter, but use your own details!:

git config --global user.name "Max Mustermann"
git config --global user.email "max.mustermann@udo.edu"
git config --global rebase.stat true
git config --global merge.conflictstyle diff3

Python¶

To test Python, you must first activate the environment installed above within your terminal:

mamba activate toolbox

Next, you can launch the ipython program:

ipython

The ipython program should launch, and instead of the $ prompt, you will see a numbered prompt. Now, type in the part of each line that appears after the :, confirming each entry with Enter:

In [1]: %matplotlib
In [2]: import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
In [3]: import numpy as np
In [4]: import scipy
In [5]: import sympy
In [6]: import uncertainties
In [7]: plt.plot([1, 2, 4])

A window containing a plot should appear. Close the window and exit ipython by typing:

In [8]: quit

Make¶

Type

make

into a terminal and execute it. The following output should appear:

make: *** No targets specified and no makefile found.  Stop.

TeX¶

Once again, we are in the terminal; type

luatex

The following (or a similar) output should appear:

This is LuaTeX, Version 1.24.0 (TeX Live 2026)
restricted system commands enabled.
**

You can terminate the process with Ctrl + c. Next, we’ll test

biber

The Biber help text should appear.

texdoc texlive

The TeXLive documentation should open (in a PDF viewer).

Updating¶

Python Update¶

In a terminal:

mamba update -n toolbox --all

TeXLive¶

In a terminal:

sudo tlmgr update --self --all --reinstall-forcibly-removed