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Setting Up Development Dependencies on macOS

You will need to install these tools on your machine:

  • Node.js
  • Yarn
  • Python 3
  • Xcode and Xcode Command Line Tools (Xcode -> Preferences -> Downloads)

Node.js

Let's see if you have the right version of node installed. Open a terminal and run this command inside the Desktop source directory:

$ node -v

If you see an error about being unable to find node, that probably means you don't have any Node tools installed. You can download Node from the Node.js website, install the package, and restart your shell.

You can verify that your installed version matches the one currently used by GitHub Desktop by looking at our .node-version file. Usually the same major version is enough but if you're running into problems building Desktop please try installing that exact version.

I need to use different versions of Node.js in different projects!

We currently support these Node version managers: nvm and asdf-nodejs.

Configuring nvm

  1. Install nvm using the instructions here.

  2. Within the Desktop source directory, install version of Node.js it requires:

$ nvm install
  1. Ensure you are running the right version:
$ nvm use
  1. Verify you have the right version by running node -v again:
$ node -v

If you see any version number, you're good to go.

Configuring asdf-nodejs

asdf is a little more involved to install. Check out the instructions here and here for more information.

Yarn

Follow this guide to install a system-level yarn. GitHub Desktop uses a local version of yarn, but it needs a version on your PATH to bootstrap itself.

This is important because yarn uses lock files to pin dependencies. If you find yourself changing packages, this will prevent mismatches in versions between machines.

If you're not familiar with yarn, please read this document to help familiarize yourself with how to do the common package tasks that are relevant to Desktop.

Python

macOS comes with Python pre-installed, and it happens to be the right version, so you're probably fine! But let's be sure. Open a terminal and run this command inside the Desktop source directory:

$ python3 --version

If you see the output Python 3.9.x, you're good to go!

I need to use different versions of Python in different projects!

For this, we recommend pyenv. (It's the only game in town.)

  1. Install pyenv according to the instructions.

  2. Within the Desktop source directory, install version of Python it requires:

pyenv install
  1. Verify you have the right version by running python3 --version again:
$ python3 --version

If you see the output Python 3.9.x, you're good to go!

Xcode Command Line Tools

Run this command to install the Xcode command line tools.

xcode-select --install

If you already have them, it'll say so!

Back to setup

Once you've installed the necessary dependencies, head back to the setup page to finish getting set up.