Install Prerequisites on macOS

Who this is for: macOS users (Apple Silicon or Intel) setting up the SandGrain SDK.

What you'll accomplish: Install Git, Node.js, build libraries, and Docker using Homebrew.

Install Homebrew (if you don't have it)

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

Install the tools

brew install git node mosquitto libftdi 
xcode-select --install  
brew install mosquitto tmux python@3.12

brew install --cask docker  #installs Docker Desktop

Don't want Docker Desktop? Lighter alternatives that work transparently with docker and docker compose:

brew install orbstack, free for personal use, much faster startup than Docker Desktop
brew install colima docker docker-compose, open-source, CLI-only

Launch Docker Desktop once

Open Docker Desktop from /Applications. Accept the license, click Finish, and wait for the whale icon in the menu bar to be solid (not animated). After this it auto-starts at login.

Verify the install

Open a new terminal:

git --version node --version           # must be v20.x or higher 
npm --version docker --version 
docker compose version 
gcc --version            # only if you'll build the SDK

All should print version info; none should say "not found."

Verify Docker is ready

Make sure the whale icon in the menu bar is solid, then:

docker info    # look for the "Server Version:" line

If you see "Cannot connect to the Docker daemon", Docker Desktop isn't fully started, wait another 30 seconds and retry.

Next step

Continue to Get the Code & Run the Setup Script.