By: jsplifer
Hello fellow Blender users. Compiling Blender on the Macintosh couldn't be easier. Here is my solution to getting the Blender3D application running on Mac OS 10.3 Panther.
Step #1 Dependencies
The first step, is to make sure you have the necessary dependencies needed for compiling Blender. I found the easiest way to do this is through the use of Fink. This is a package manager that will retrieve and install many open source projects. I highly recommend this application, please get it from here in the downloads section:
http://fink.sourceforge.net/
Once the disk image has downloaded and mounted, you will see the package Installer, and a folder named FinkCommander. Double click the FinkCommander folder to expose the FinkCommander application, drag this to your "/Applications" folder. Go back up a level and install the Fink 0.6.2 Installer.pkg by double clicking it.
After the installation is complete you will want to execute FinkCommander now hopefully located in your "/Applications" folder. Upon opening it is recommended that you update the installation and list of programs. Do this by clicking "Source" in the toolbar and selecting "Selfupdate-rsync". Fink will retrieve the latest version info. To view the full list of applications goto FinkCommander's "Preferences..." window and choose "Fink" from the tabs. Select "Use unstable packages" and "Use unstable cryptography packages". You may need to "Selfupdate-cvs" again to make this setting stick. You should see about 2,500 packages. Note, you will need admin permissions to use this application, you will also need Apple's X11, BSD subsystem and Developer tools installed, all included in your Panther 10.3 disks. Talk to you system administrator if you need help.
In the upper right hand corner of FinkCommander is a search box, use it to quickly locate the following package:
python23
scons
You may also choose to download other packages used by Blender via the FinkCommander. The following are available either on your system now or are located in the Blender CVS repository so they are not a necessary download for compiling, however they will be the most recent for development purposes:
libpng
libjpeg
These are installed by highlighting their name in the list and then accessing "Source" in the toolbar and choosing "Install". You should see Fink fetching the source code and then compiling the source into an executable. Onto Step #2

Step #2 CVS Checkout
Much the same way Fink goes about fetching source code and compiling it, we will do the same, but manually. One of us Mac people should really decide to maintain a Blender package available through Fink. Hint Hint.
I will now have you install a graphical user interface for CVS, it is what FinkCommander is to Fink. You can get it here:
http://www.heilancoo.net/MacCVSClient/
Once the compressed package has downloaded, double click it and install the application into your "/Applications" folder. Once installed run the application and enter the program's "Preferences..." In the "Login Profiles" tab enter a descriptive name for this profile. I have used "BF-Blender" as my profile name. The remainder of the settings:
Repository access method: Pserver
Host: cvs.blender.org
Port: Default 2401
Root: /cvsroot/bf-blender
User: anonymous
Password: No Password
You can hit "Test" and see if the client connects. Push "OK". From "Repository" in the menu bar, choose "Check Out..." and enter the following:
Login: BF-Blender
Module: blender
Folder: Here you must choose a spot for this stuff.
After downloading is complete get the extra stuff. Most of these extra libraries are available through Fink or accessible through your newly installed cvs client. Some editing of files will be necessary if you choose this route however you can be assured of having the most current version, which can be good for development purposes. But again, the Blender devels are kind enough to supply them all in one download, so continue to download from cvs by choosing "Repository", "Check Out..." with these settings:
Login: BF-Blender
Module: lib/darwin-6.1-powerpc
Folder: Here choose the same folder where you put the blender module
Ok, a few edits and we can sit back and let the cpu do the rest, lets go...
Step #3 Edit
If you are using OSX Panther you have long surpassed the Darwin version of 6.1. If you keep your OS current by using the Software Update feature than you will most likely be at version 7.5.0 at the time of this writing.
It seems Blender is looking for things in the folder named "/darwin-6.1-powerpc" but at the same time it's needing a folder for the current version "/darwin-7.5.0-powerpc". The solution is a symbolic link. Using the Terminal application, located in"/Applications/Utilities/Terminal", goto the folder containing "/darwin-6.1-powerpc". In my installation, I typed:
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jaspermine$ cd /Volumes/MacFilez/Development/Blender/lib/
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jaspermine$ ls
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jaspermine$ ln -s darwin-6.1-powerpc darwin-7.5.0-powerpc
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jaspermine$ ranlib /Volumes/MacFilez/Development/Blender/lib/darwin-6.1-powerpc/freetype/lib/libfreetype.a
jaspermine$ ranlib /Volumes/MacFilez/Development/Blender/lib/darwin-6.1-powerpc/ftgl/lib/libftgl.a
jaspermine$ ranlib /Volumes/MacFilez/Development/Blender/lib/darwin-6.1-powerpc/gettext/lib/libintl.a
jaspermine$ ranlib /Volumes/MacFilez/Development/Blender/lib/darwin-6.1-powerpc/jpeg/lib/libjpeg.a
jaspermine$ ranlib /Volumes/MacFilez/Development/Blender/lib/darwin-6.1-powerpc/ode/lib/libode.a
jaspermine$ ranlib /Volumes/MacFilez/Development/Blender/lib/darwin-6.1-powerpc/openal/lib/libopenal.a
jaspermine$ ranlib /Volumes/MacFilez/Development/Blender/lib/darwin-6.1-powerpc/png/lib/libpng.a
jaspermine$ ranlib /Volumes/MacFilez/Development/Blender/lib/darwin-6.1-powerpc/qhull/lib/libqhull.a
And:
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jaspermine$ ranlib /Volumes/MacFilez/Development/Blender/lib/darwin-6.1-powerpc/sdl/lib/libSDL.a
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jaspermine$ sudo ranlib /Volumes/MacFilez/Development/Blender/lib/darwin-6.1-powerpc/solid/lib/libsolid.a
Step #4 Scons
If you've made it this far, Congratulations! This is the final step and errors past this point I will be unsure about as it worked on my machine. I take no responsibility, bla bla, so on, so forth, read the licenses, work in progress. Ok, just type scons already!!! Do this from Terminal:
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jaspermine$ cd /Volumes/MacFilez/Development/Blender/blender/
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jaspermine$ scons
