# Installing OR-Tools for Python from Binary on MacOS

## Introduction

This guide explains how to install OR-Tools for Python on MacOS.

Although these instructions might also work on other MacOS variants, we
have only tested them on machines meeting the following requirements:


- MacOS 13.0.1 (Ventura) Intel 64-bit (x86_64)
- MacOS 13.0.1 (Ventura) M1 (arm64)

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## Prerequisites

The following sections describe the prerequisites for installing OR-Tools.

### Homebrew

To install the remaining prerequisites, we recommend first installing the
"missing package manager for macOS" otherwise known as
[Homebrew](https://brew.sh/). To do so, open a terminal window and enter:

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

To verify that you've successfully installed brew:

    brew --version

You should see:

    Homebrew 1.6.9-8-g25542d7
    Homebrew/homebrew-core (git revision 0e0c84; last commit 2018-06-20)

### Python

You must have Python 3.8+ installed.

To install Python 3.8+, open a terminal window and enter:

    brew install python
    python3 -m pip install -U --user wheel six

Then verify your installation:

    python3 --version
    python3 -c "import platform; print(platform.architecture()[0])"
    python3 -m pip --version

## Installing OR-Tools

Assuming the prerequisite software is installed on your MacOS, take the
following steps:

    python3 -m pip install ortools

> [!TIP]
> **Tip:** You should install `ortools` in a [virtual environment](https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/guides/installing-using-pip-and-virtual-environments/#)

### Uninstalling OR-Tools

To uninstall OR-Tools, issue the following commands:

    python3 -m pip uninstall ortools

## Validate your installation

To test your Python installations, open a terminal window. Then enter the
following command:


    python3 -c "import ortools; print(ortools.__version__)"

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If it runs successfully, you are ready to
[get started with OR-Tools](https://developers.google.com/optimization/introduction/python).