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Installing HDDS on macOS

This guide covers installing HDDS on macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon).

Prerequisites​

  • macOS 12+ (Monterey or later)
  • Xcode Command Line Tools: xcode-select --install
  • Homebrew (recommended): brew.sh

Quick Install (Homebrew)​

The easiest way to install HDDS on macOS:

# Add the HDDS tap
brew tap hdds/hdds

# Install HDDS
brew install hdds

# Verify installation
hdds --version

This installs:

  • HDDS runtime library
  • C/C++ headers
  • CLI tools (hdds_gen, hdds_viewer)
  • Python bindings

Cargo Installation (Rust)​

For Rust development:

# Ensure Rust is installed
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

# Add HDDS to your project
cargo add hdds

# Install CLI tools
cargo install hdds-gen

# Verify
hdds-gen --version

Feature Flags​

[dependencies]
hdds = { version = "1.0", features = ["async", "security"] }
Apple Silicon

HDDS is fully native on Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3). No Rosetta needed.

Python Installation​

# Using pip
pip3 install hdds

# Using Homebrew Python
brew install python
pip3 install hdds

# Verify
python3 -c "import hdds; print(hdds.__version__)"

C/C++ Development​

After installing via Homebrew:

# Check pkg-config
pkg-config --cflags --libs hdds

# Compile a C program
clang -o myapp myapp.c $(pkg-config --cflags --libs hdds)

CMake Integration​

find_package(hdds REQUIRED)

add_executable(myapp main.cpp)
target_link_libraries(myapp PRIVATE hdds::hdds)

Verify Installation​

# Check version
hdds --version

# Run self-test
hdds self-test

# List interfaces
hdds interfaces

Expected output:

HDDS 1.0.0
Platform: macOS arm64
RTPS Version: 2.5
Security: Enabled

Self-test: PASSED (12/12 tests)

Network Interfaces:
  - en0: 192.168.1.100 (multicast: enabled)
  - lo0: 127.0.0.1 (multicast: disabled)

macOS-Specific Configuration​

Firewall​

macOS Firewall may block DDS traffic. Allow it:

  1. Open System Preferences → Security & Privacy → Firewall
  2. Click Firewall Options
  3. Add your application or allow incoming connections

Or via command line:

# Disable firewall for testing (not recommended for production)
sudo /usr/libexec/ApplicationFirewall/socketfilterfw --setglobalstate off

Multicast​

macOS supports multicast by default. Verify:

# Check multicast route
netstat -rn | grep 239

# If missing, add route
sudo route add -net 239.255.0.0/16 -interface en0

Sleep Prevention​

For long-running DDS applications:

# Prevent sleep while app runs
caffeinate -i ./my_dds_app

Troubleshooting​

"Library not loaded" Error​

# Set library path
export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH

Multicast Not Working​

# Check interface multicast capability
ifconfig en0 | grep MULTICAST

# Check firewall
sudo /usr/libexec/ApplicationFirewall/socketfilterfw --listapps

Apple Silicon Compatibility​

HDDS is native ARM64. If you see Rosetta warnings:

# Verify architecture
file $(which hdds)
# Should show: Mach-O 64-bit executable arm64

Next Steps​