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

[Richard Townsend]

Yes, I believe we have. There seem to be ongoing issues with recent Xcode versions not playing well with software built using older versions.

That said, I recently upgraded my Mac Mini M1 to Tahoe (26.0.1) and then Xcode to 26.0.1 (as reported by xcodebuild -version), and — apart from some annoying warning messages about overriding deployment versions) — I can compile MESA (dev) without issue.

Will, can I ask what you are setting SDKROOT to? And, what is the output from the command

xcrun --sdk macosx --show-sdk-path

cheers,

Rich

> On Oct 28, 2025, at 10:57 AM, Philip Mocz <pmocz at flatironinstitute.org> wrote:
> 
> We've seen this error before, haven't we, Rich? But maybe this time it's related to Tahoe (26.0.1) ? (I still need to upgrade)
> 
> On Tue, Oct 28, 2025 at 11:53 AM William Stone via Mesa-users <mesa-users at lists.mesastar.org> wrote:
> Hi Rich,
> Thanks for getting back to me. Here is the error output starting from the C compilation that failed:
> CC ../private/utils_c_system.c
> In file included from ../private/utils_c_system.c:27:
> /Applications/mesasdk/lib/gcc/aarch64-apple-darwin20/13.3.0/include-fixed/stdio.h:81:8: error: unknown type name 'FILE'
>    81 | extern FILE *__stdinp;
>       |        ^~~~
> /Applications/mesasdk/lib/gcc/aarch64-apple-darwin20/13.3.0/include-fixed/stdio.h:82:8: error: unknown type name 'FILE'
>    82 | extern FILE *__stdoutp;
>       |        ^~~~
> /Applications/mesasdk/lib/gcc/aarch64-apple-darwin20/13.3.0/include-fixed/stdio.h:83:8: error: unknown type name 'FILE'
>    83 | extern FILE *__stderrp;
>       |        ^~~~
> 
> (... many similar errors related to types defined in stdio.h and stdarg.h ...)
> 
> fatal error: too many errors emitted, stopping compilation [-ferror-limit=]
> make: *** [utils_c_system.o] Error 1
> 
> /Users/will/MESA/mesa-24.08.1/utils/make
> FAILED
> 
> 
> /Users/will/MESA/mesa-24.08.1/utils
> ./build_and_test FAILED
> Just to confirm, my setup is:
> - macOS Tahoe 26.0.1 (Apple Silicon)
> - MESA r24.08.1
> - MESA SDK aarch64-macos-25.8.1.pkg
> Thanks again for looking into this,
> Will
> 
> On Tue, 28 Oct 2025 at 15:37, Richard Townsend <townsend at astro.wisc.edu> wrote:
> 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
> > https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://lists.mesastar.org/mailman/listinfo/mesa-users__;!!Mak6IKo!L1wrnZi69PFjkWjwe_wc1tMScjSkAAUbv4aWfKzFtDFidfnK2YKzI6d-suy12ttjKlLixJBh7ztiPyHKFnTiv56I1-T4Nkc$ 
> > 
> 
> --
> Rich Townsend • Professor of Astronomy
> Astronomy Department • University of Wisconsin-Madison
> Phone: 608-262-1752 • E-mail: rhtownsend at wisc.edu
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> mesa-users at lists.mesastar.org
> https://lists.mesastar.org/mailman/listinfo/mesa-users
> 

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





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