[Mesa-users] MESA Install Fails on macOS Tahoe (26.0.1) - SDK Compatibility?

[Richard Townsend]

Hi Will —

Can you post the actual error message that’s output to the terminal?

cheers,

Rich

> On Oct 28, 2025, at 10:28 AM, William Stone via Mesa-users <mesa-users at lists.mesastar.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi mesa-users,
> I'm new to MESA and having trouble installing it on my Apple Silicon MacBook Air running the latest macOS Tahoe. The ./install script fails very quickly (in about 1-2 minutes) with C compilation errors like unknown type name 'FILE' when processing the utils module. It seems the main MESA library (libmesa.a) isn't being built.
> 
> My setup is as follows:
> - Mac: MacBook Air (Apple Silicon/aarch64)
> - OS: macOS Tahoe 26.0.1 (Build 25A362)
> - Xcode Tools: Version 26.0.0.0.1.1757719676
> - MESA Version: mesa-24.08.1 (from Zenodo)
> - MESA SDK Version: mesasdk-aarch64-macos-25.8.1.pkg (from http://user.astro.wisc.edu/~townsend/static.php?ref=mesasdk)
> 
> I've followed the standard Mac installation steps and troubleshooting, including:
> - Making sure Conda is deactivated.
> - Setting the MESA_DIR, MESASDK_ROOT, SDKROOT, and MESASDK_CLEAN_INCLUDE_PATH environment variables correctly in my .bash_profile / .bashrc.
> - Reinstalling the Xcode Command Line Tools.
> - Deleting and reinstalling both MESA and the MESA SDK from fresh downloads.
> 
> Even after all this, the C compilation error persists and I have a few questions:
> 1. Is this a known issue with MESA/SDK compatibility on the new macOS Tahoe (26.x)?
> 2. Is there any estimate for when a MESA SDK version supporting macOS Tahoe might be released?
> I'm wondering if I just need to wait for an updated SDK. Any information or confirmation would be greatly appreciated!
> Many thanks,
> Will Stone
> _______________________________________________
> mesa-users at lists.mesastar.org
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> 

--
Rich Townsend • Professor of Astronomy
Astronomy Department • University of Wisconsin-Madison
Phone: 608-262-1752 • E-mail: rhtownsend at wisc.edu