Setup Guide for Development Environment on macOS (Apple Silicon + Intel) for GCC

Table of Contents

• Install Basic Tools and Dependencies

• Install CMake

• Install Ninja Build System

• Install Python

• Install OpenOCD

• Install the Arm GNU GCC Compiler

Install Basic Tools and Dependencies

First, install Homebrew if it’s not already installed.

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Then install essential tools:

brew update
brew install git wget make zip unzip python

Install CMake

Download CMake 4.1.2 for macOS.

curl -LO https://github.com/Kitware/CMake/releases/download/v4.1.2/cmake-4.1.2-macos-universal.tar.gz

Extract the archive:

tar -xzf cmake-4.1.2-macos-universal.tar.gz

Move CMake to a system directory:

sudo mv cmake-4.1.2-macos-universal /opt/cmake-4.1

Add CMake to PATH:

echo 'export PATH="/opt/cmake-4.1/CMake.app/Contents/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Verify installation:

cmake --version

Install Ninja Build System

Ninja is a small build system with a focus on speed, which CMake can utilize to manage builds.

Download Ninja v1.13.1 for macOS:

curl -LO https://github.com/ninja-build/ninja/releases/download/v1.13.1/ninja-mac.zip

Unzip the archive:

unzip ninja-mac.zip

Create the target directory and copy the binary:

sudo mkdir -p /opt/ninja/
sudo cp ninja /opt/ninja/

Make the binary executable:

sudo chmod a+x /opt/ninja/*

Add to PATH:

echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/opt/ninja' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Verify installation:

ninja --version

Install Python

Python 3.13.x or newer is required to run configuration tools (menuconfig, kconfig) and to execute scripts used during SDK build and setup.

Choose one of the options below:

Option A: System Python (if already 3.13.x+)

python3 --version

Option B: pyenv (recommended if you need to install Python 3.13.x)

brew install pyenv
export PATH="$HOME/.pyenv/bin:$PATH"
eval "$(pyenv init -)"
eval "$(pyenv virtualenv-init -)"

pyenv install 3.13.7
pyenv local 3.13.7
python3 --version

Optional: make pyenv available in future shells (skip this if you prefer to enable pyenv manually per shell):

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.pyenv/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'eval "$(pyenv init -)"' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'eval "$(pyenv virtualenv-init -)"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

If you chose the optional lines above, restart your shell or run source ~/.zshrc to apply them.

Install OpenOCD

brew install openocd
openocd --version

Install the Arm GNU GCC Compiler

Check your architecture:

uname -m

Download Arm GNU Toolchain 13.2.rel1 for macOS:

# Apple Silicon (arm64)
curl -Lo gcc-arm-none-eabi.tar.xz https://developer.arm.com/-/media/Files/downloads/gnu/13.2.rel1/binrel/arm-gnu-toolchain-13.2.rel1-darwin-arm64-arm-none-eabi.tar.xz

# Intel (x86_64)
curl -Lo gcc-arm-none-eabi.tar.xz https://developer.arm.com/-/media/Files/downloads/gnu/13.2.rel1/binrel/arm-gnu-toolchain-13.2.rel1-darwin-x86_64-arm-none-eabi.tar.xz

Create a target directory for installation:

sudo mkdir -p /opt/gcc-arm-none-eabi

Extract the archive into the target directory:

sudo tar -xf gcc-arm-none-eabi.tar.xz --strip-components=1 -C /opt/gcc-arm-none-eabi

Environment variables for the Arm GNU Toolchain:

echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/opt/gcc-arm-none-eabi/bin' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'export GCC_TOOLCHAIN_13_2_1=/opt/gcc-arm-none-eabi/bin' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc