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layout: documentation title: Installing Bazel on macOS

Install Bazel on macOS (OS X)

Install Bazel on macOS (OS X) using one of the following methods:

• Use Homebrew (recommended)
• Use the binary installer
• Compile Bazel from source

Bazel comes with two completion scripts. After installing Bazel, you can:

• access the bash completion script
• install the zsh completion script

Install using Homebrew

1. Install JDK 8

JDK 8 can be downloaded from Oracle's JDK Page.

Look for “Mac OS X” under “Java SE Development Kit”. This will download a DMG image with an install wizard.

2. Install Homebrew on macOS (OS X)

Installing Homebrew is a one-time setup:

/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

3. Install Bazel Homebrew Package

brew install bazel

You are all set. You can confirm Bazel is installed successfully by running

bazel version

Once installed, you can upgrade to a newer version of Bazel with:

brew upgrade bazel

Install using binary installer

The binary installers are on Bazel's GitHub releases page.

The installer contains the Bazel binary and the required JDK. Some additional libraries must also be installed for Bazel to work.

1. Install XCode command line tools

Xcode can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Site (this link redirects to their App Store).

For objc_* and ios_* rule support, you must have Xcode 6.1 or later with iOS SDK 8.1 installed on your system.

Once XCode is installed you can trigger signing the license with the following command:

sudo gcc --version

2. Download the Bazel installer

Note: In the installer file names listed in this document, replace <version> with the appropriate Bazel version number.

Go to Bazel's GitHub releases page.

Download the binary installer bazel-<version>-installer-darwin-x86_64.sh. This installer contains the Bazel binary and the required JDK, and can be used even if a JDK is already installed.

Note that bazel-<version>-without-jdk-installer-darwin-x86_64.sh is a version of the installer without embedded JDK 8. Only use this installer if you already have JDK 8 installed.

3. Run the installer

Run the installer:

The --user flag installs Bazel to the $HOME/bin directory on your system and sets the .bazelrc path to $HOME/.bazelrc. Use the --help command to see additional installation options.

4. Set up your environment

If you ran the Bazel installer with the --user flag as above, the Bazel executable is installed in your $HOME/bin directory. It's a good idea to add this directory to your default paths, as follows:

export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/bin"

You can also add this command to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.profile file.

You are all set. You can confirm Bazel is installed successfully by running

bazel version

When Bazel is installed using the binary installer, updating Bazel is only possible by downloading and installing a new release.