How to compile a C++ Panda3D program on macOS

This short guide explains how to build a Panda3D game written in C++ game under Mac OS.

In order to compile you need also to have the Clang compiler. The compiler is not pre-installed in macOS; you will need to install Xcode command-line tools which comes with the macOS installer CDs or DVDs. You can alternatively download it from the Apple developer site. You will need to register for an account.

Having these two components, we can proceed to compile:

First we must create .o file from our cxx file. We need to link to the Panda3D include files and to the Python include files. Note: only i386 arch is supported for Panda3D versions before 1.9.0, so for those versions you need to include the arch i386 flag.

clang++ -c filename.cxx -o filename.o -std=gnu++11 -g -O2 -I{pythoninclude} -I{panda3dinclude}

Please change the paths in these commands to the appropriate locations. A list of locations is at the end of the page.

Secondly, we need to generate an executable, you can use the following command:

clang++ filename.o -o filename -L{panda3dlibs} -lp3framework -lpanda -lpandaexpress -lp3dtoolconfig -lp3dtool -lp3pystub -lp3direct

As mentioned above, we need to change the paths accordingly, the paths for macOS are listed below:

{pythoninclude}

The path to your Python include folder. For version 2.7, this is /usr/include/python2.7 by default.

{panda3dinclude}

Change this to the path to your Panda3D include directory. This would probably look like /Developer/Panda3D/include/

{panda3dlibs}

Change this to the path to your Panda3D libraries. This is /Developer/Panda3D/lib.

And lastly, to run the created executable, type:

./filename

  • If you get warnings like “missing required architecture x86_64 in file” or “Undefined symbols: “_main”, referenced from:” you need to use the -arch i386 flag.

  • If you get errors like “Undefined symbols: “TypedObject::_type_handle”, referenced from: ” you are not including some panda3d libraries needed or missing the -arch i386 flag.

  • If you get an error running your executable like “dyld: Library not loaded: @executable_path/../Library/Frameworks/Cg.framework/Cg” means you need to install Cg library from https://developer.nvidia.com/cg-toolkit-download