Most Mac systems lack the GPU required to run Chroma, with the notable exception of the current 15” MacBook Pro (both Retina and Standard) models, which use an NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M GPU. These instructions have been tested on OS X 10.8, which ships with the above systems.
Xcode can be installed from the Mac App Store. Once installed, it is important to start Xcode and accept the license agreement. Once started, open the Preferences window and go to the Downloads pane. There should be a “Command Line Tools” component listed. Click the “Install” button next to it if it is not already listed as “Installed.”
XQuartz is the OS X port of the X.Org X Window system, and is a prerequisite for some packages used by Chroma. It is much more up to date than the X11.app that has been shipped with OS X in the past. Download XQuartz from here and install it.
CUDA on OS X requires a special driver. It can be downloaded from the CUDA Downloads Page. The package also includes the CUDA compiler and sample programs, installed to /Developer/NVIDIA/CUDA-5.0.
Once installed, you can ensure the CUDA compiler and libraries are in your path by adding the following lines to your bash login script ($HOME/.bashrc):
export PATH=/Developer/NVIDIA/CUDA-5.0/bin:$PATH
export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=/Developer/NVIDIA/CUDA-5.0/lib/:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH
There are several packaging systems that simplify the installation of Open Source software on the Mac. We have tested and recommend MacPorts, but other systems like Fink and Homebrew should also work if you install the same packages. We will assume MacPorts below.
Follow the MacPorts installation instructions. Once installed, open a terminal and run the following command:
sudo port install py27-matplotlib mercurial py27-game py27-virtualenv Xft2 xpm
sudo port select virtualenv virtualenv27
The rest of the installation process is described in Common Installation Guide.