Docs: Update mac instructions to gmake
What the developer wrote
Authored by Dusty Daemon
Docs: Update mac instructions to gmake
Apple bundles a rather old version of GNU Make: 3.81. Our Makefiles use the &: feature which requires version 4.3. Apparently Apple isn’t updating GNU Make anymore due to a licensing issue.
Switching the instructions over to using gmake installed from the brew package manager, which currently installs 4.4.1
Changelog-None
What changed, and why it matters
This commit only updates the macOS build instructions in the documentation. It tells users to install a newer version of GNU Make (called 'gmake') from Homebrew instead of using the old 'make' that Apple ships. There is no code change and no security issue.
No security action needed. This is a routine documentation update for build compatibility on macOS.
Security signals we found
No strong security signals were identified.
Evidence from the diff
The diff modifies doc/getting-started/getting-started/installation.md to add ‘make’ to the Homebrew dependency list and replace ‘make’ with ‘gmake’ in build/install commands. The reason is that Apple’s bundled GNU Make 3.81 lacks the ‘&:’ grouped-target feature used by the project’s Makefiles, while Homebrew’s gmake 4.4.1 supports it. This is a documentation-only build-instruction fix.
Changed components
doc/getting-started/getting-started/installation.mdInspect captured patch +9 / −9
diff --git a/doc/getting-started/getting-started/installation.md b/doc/getting-started/getting-started/installation.md
index 692c72d9..e9a960ec 100644
--- a/doc/getting-started/getting-started/installation.md
+++ b/doc/getting-started/getting-started/installation.md
@@ -351,7 +351,7 @@ You are using brew in Intel compatibility mode. The simplest solution is to remo
Install dependencies:
```shell
-brew install autoconf automake libtool python3 gnu-sed gettext libsodium protobuf lowdown pkgconf openssl
+brew install autoconf automake libtool python3 gnu-sed gettext libsodium protobuf lowdown pkgconf openssl make
export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/:$PATH"
export CPATH=/opt/homebrew/include
export LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/homebrew/lib
@@ -398,7 +398,7 @@ uv sync --all-extras --all-groups --frozen
If you see `/usr/local` in the log, an Intel compatability dependency has been picked up. The simplest solution is to remove brew entirely, reinstall it, and start these instructions over.
```shell
-uv run make
+uv run gmake
```
Running lightning:
@@ -412,14 +412,14 @@ bitcoind &
./cli/lightning-cli help
```
-To install the built binaries into your system, you'll need to run `make install`:
+To install the built binaries into your system, you'll need to run `gmake install`:
```shell
-make install
+gmake install
```
You may need to use this command instead. Confirm the exported PATH, CPATH, and LIBRARY_PATH environment variables set earlier are still present.
```shell
-sudo make install
+sudo gmake install
```
## To Build on macOS Intel
@@ -428,7 +428,7 @@ Assuming you have Xcode and Homebrew installed.
Install dependencies:
```shell
-brew install autoconf automake libtool python3 gnu-sed gettext libsodium protobuf lowdown pkgconf openssl
+brew install autoconf automake libtool python3 gnu-sed gettext libsodium protobuf lowdown pkgconf openssl make
export PATH="/usr/local/opt/:$PATH"
export CPATH=/usr/local/include
export LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib
@@ -471,7 +471,7 @@ Build lightning:
```shell
uv sync --all-extras --all-groups --frozen
./configure
-uv run make
+uv run gmake
```
Running lightning:
@@ -485,9 +485,9 @@ bitcoind &
./cli/lightning-cli help
```
-To install the built binaries into your system, you'll need to run `make install`:
+To install the built binaries into your system, you'll need to run `gmake install`:
```shell
-make install
+gmake install
```
## To Build on Arch Linux
Why this scored 15/100
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