> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://cockroachlabs.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Install CockroachDB on Mac

export const InternalLink = ({version, path = "", children, ...props}) => {
  let detectedVersion = version || "stable";
  if (typeof window !== 'undefined' && !version) {
    const match = window.location.pathname.match(/\/docs\/([^/]+)/);
    if (match) {
      detectedVersion = match[1];
    }
  }
  const normalizedPath = path.startsWith("/") ? path.slice(1) : path;
  return <a href={`/docs/${detectedVersion}/${normalizedPath}`} {...props}>
      {children}
    </a>;
};

<Tip>
  To try CockroachDB Cloud instead of running CockroachDB yourself, refer to the <InternalLink version="cockroachcloud" path="quickstart">Cloud Quickstart</InternalLink>.
  See <InternalLink version="releases" path="v23.1">Release Notes</InternalLink> for what's new in the latest release, . To upgrade to this release from an older version, see <InternalLink path="upgrade-cockroach-version">Cluster Upgrade</InternalLink>.
</Tip>

<Danger>
  On macOS ARM systems, <InternalLink path="spatial-data-overview">spatial features</InternalLink> are disabled due to an issue with macOS code signing for the [GEOS](https://libgeos.org/) libraries. Users needing spatial features on an ARM Mac may instead [use Rosetta](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/virtualization/running_intel_binaries_in_linux_vms_with_rosetta) to [run the Intel binary](#install-binary) or use the [Docker image](#use-docker) distribution.
</Danger>

Use one of the options below to install CockroachDB.

## Use Homebrew

For CockroachDB v22.2.x and above, Homebrew installs binaries for your system architecture, either Intel or ARM ([Apple Silicon](https://support.apple.com/HT211814)).

For previous releases, Homebrew installs Intel binaries. Intel binaries can run on ARM systems, but with a significant reduction in performance. CockroachDB on ARM for macOS is **experimental** and is not yet qualified for production use and not eligible for support or uptime SLA commitments.

1. [Install Homebrew](http://brew.sh/).
2. Instruct Homebrew to install CockroachDB:

   ```
   $ brew install cockroachdb/tap/cockroach
   ```
3. Keep up-to-date with CockroachDB releases and best practices:

<Tip>
  If you previously installed CockroachDB via Homebrew, you can <InternalLink path="upgrade-cockroach-version">upgrade</InternalLink> the CockroachDB binary to the next major version or to a patch version using HomeBrew. After updating the binary on each node, restart the `cockroach` process on the node. When upgrading to a new major version, you must complete additional steps to <InternalLink path="upgrade-cockroach-version#step-6-finish-the-upgrade">finalize</InternalLink> the upgrade. If you need to upgrade through multiple major versions, you must complete each major-version upgrade separately, including finalizing the upgrade, before beginning the next one.
  Before starting the upgrade, review the <InternalLink version="releases" path="v23.1">release notes</InternalLink>, including temporary limitations during the upgrade.
  To upgrade CockroachDB via HomeBrew:

  ```shell theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-mocha","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
  brew update
  ```

  ```shell theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-mocha","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
  brew update
  brew upgrade cockroach
  ```
</Tip>

## Download the binary

For CockroachDB v22.2.x and above, download the binaries for your system architecture, either Intel or ARM ([Apple Silicon](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211814)).

For previous releases, download Intel binaries. Intel binaries can run on ARM systems, but with a significant reduction in performance. CockroachDB on ARM for macOS is **experimental** and is not yet qualified for production use and not eligible for support or uptime SLA commitments.

1. Visit <InternalLink version="releases" path="index">Releases</InternalLink> to download the CockroachDB archive for the architecture of your macOS host. The archive contains the `cockroach` binary and the supporting libraries that are used to provide <InternalLink path="spatial-data-overview">spatial features</InternalLink>.

   You can download the binary using a web browser or you can copy the link and use a utility like `curl` to download it. If you download the ARM binary using a web browser and you plan to use CockroachDB's spatial features, an additional step is required before you can install the library, as outlined in the next step.

   Extract the archive and optionally copy the `cockroach` binary into your `PATH` so you can execute <InternalLink path="cockroach-commands">cockroach commands</InternalLink> from any shell. If you get a permission error, use `sudo`.

   If you plan to use CockroachDB's <InternalLink path="spatial-data-overview">spatial features</InternalLink>, you must complete all of the following steps. Otherwise, your installation is now complete.
2. CockroachDB uses custom-built versions of the <InternalLink path="architecture/glossary#geos">GEOS</InternalLink> libraries. To install those libraries:

   1. Note that <InternalLink path="known-limitations#spatial-features-disabled-for-arm-macs">spatial features are currently disabled for Mac ARM users</InternalLink>, for whom these steps do not apply. For an upcoming patch release where this functionality is reenabled, if you downloaded the CockroachDB ARM binary archive using a web browser, macOS flags the GEOS libraries in the extracted archive as quarantined. This flag must be removed before CockroachDB can use the libraries. To remove the quarantine flag from the libraries:

      ```shell theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-mocha","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
      xattr -d com.apple.quarantine lib/libgeos\*
      ```

      This step is not required for Intel systems.
   2. Copy these libraries to one of the locations where CockroachDB expects to find them. By default, CockroachDB looks for external libraries in `/usr/local/lib/cockroach` or a `lib` subdirectory of the CockroachDB binary's current directory. If you place these libraries in another location, you must pass the location in the <InternalLink path="cockroach-start">`--spatial-libs` flag to `cockroach start`</InternalLink>. The instructions below assume the `/usr/local/lib/cockroach` location.
      1. Create the directory where the external libraries will be stored:

         ```
         mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/cockroach
         ```
      2. Copy the library files to the directory:

         ```
         cp -i cockroach-VERSION.darwin-10.9-amd64/lib/libgeos.dylib /usr/local/lib/cockroach/
         ```

         ```
         cp -i cockroach-VERSION.darwin-10.9-amd64/lib/libgeos_c.dylib /usr/local/lib/cockroach/
         ```

         If you get a permissions error, prefix the command with `sudo`.
3. Verify that CockroachDB can execute spatial queries.

   1. Make sure the `cockroach` binary you just installed is the one that runs when you type `cockroach` in your shell:

      ```
      which cockroach
      ```

      ```
      /usr/local/bin/cockroach
      ```
   2. Start a temporary, in-memory cluster using <InternalLink path="cockroach-demo">`cockroach demo`</InternalLink>:

      ```
      cockroach demo
      ```
   3. In the demo cluster's interactive SQL shell, run the following command to test that the spatial libraries have loaded properly:

      ```
      > SELECT ST_IsValid(ST_MakePoint(1,2">Releases</InternalLink>);
      ```

      You should see the following output:

      ```shell theme={"theme":{"light":"catppuccin-mocha","dark":"catppuccin-mocha"}}
      st_isvalid
      --------------
      true
      (1 row)
      ```

      If your `cockroach` binary is not properly accessing the dynamically linked C libraries in `/usr/local/lib/cockroach`, it will output an error message like the one below.

      ```
      ERROR: st_isvalid(): geos: error during GEOS init: geos: cannot load GEOS from dir "/usr/local/lib/cockroach": failed to execute dlopen
                Failed running "sql"
      ```

* Keep up-to-date with CockroachDB releases and best practices:

## Use Kubernetes

To orchestrate CockroachDB locally using [Kubernetes](https://kubernetes.io/), either with configuration files or the [Helm](https://helm.sh/) package manager, see <InternalLink path="orchestrate-a-local-cluster-with-kubernetes">Orchestrate CockroachDB Locally with Minikube</InternalLink>.

## Use Docker

For CockroachDB v22.2.beta-5 and above, Docker images are [multi-platform images](https://docs.docker.com/build/building/multi-platform/) that contain binaries for both Intel and ARM ([Apple Silicon](https://support.apple.com/HT211814)). Multi-platform images do not take up additional space on your Docker host.

Docker images for previous releases contain Intel binaries only. Intel binaries can run on ARM systems, but with a significant reduction in performance.

CockroachDB on ARM for macOS is **experimental** and is not yet qualified for production use and not eligible for support or uptime SLA commitments.

1. Install [Docker for Mac](https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-mac/install/). Please carefully check that you meet all prerequisites.
2. Confirm that the Docker daemon is running in the background:

   ```
   $ docker version
   ```

   If you do not see the server listed, start the **Docker** daemon.
3. Pull the image for the release of CockroachDB from [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com/r//):

   ```
   $ docker pull :
   ```
4. Keep up-to-date with CockroachDB releases and best practices:

## Build from source

See the [public wiki](https://wiki.crdb.io/wiki/spaces/CRDB/pages/181338446/Getting+and+building+CockroachDB+from+source) for guidance. When building on the ARM architecture, refer to [Limitations](#limitations).

<a id="best-practices" />

## Limitations

CockroachDB runtimes built for the ARM architecture have the following limitations:

* CockroachDB on ARM for macOS is **experimental** and is not yet qualified for production use and not eligible for support or uptime SLA commitments.
* Clusters with a mix of Intel and ARM nodes are untested. Cockroach Labs recommends that all cluster nodes have identical CockroachDB versions, hardware, and software.
* Floating point operations may yield different results on ARM than on Intel, particularly [Fused Multiply Add (FMA) intrinsics](https://developer.arm.com/documentation/dui0375/g/Compiler-specific-Features/Fused-Multiply-Add--FMA--intrinsics).
* When [building from source](#install-source) on ARM, consider disabling FMA intrinsics in your compiler. For GCC, refer to [Options That Control Optimization](https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Optimize-Options.html) in the GCC documentation.

## What's next?

* If you're just getting started with CockroachDB:
  * <InternalLink path="start-a-local-cluster">Start a cluster locally</InternalLink> and talk to it via the built-in SQL client
  * <InternalLink path="learn-cockroachdb-sql">Learn more about CockroachDB SQL</InternalLink>
  * <InternalLink path="example-apps">Build a simple application</InternalLink> with CockroachDB using PostgreSQL-compatible client drivers and ORMs
  * <InternalLink path="demo-replication-and-rebalancing">Explore CockroachDB features</InternalLink> like automatic replication, rebalancing, and fault tolerance
* If you're ready to run CockroachDB in production:
  * Review the <InternalLink path="recommended-production-settings">Production Checklist</InternalLink>
  * <InternalLink path="manual-deployment">Deploy CockroachDB manually</InternalLink> or <InternalLink path="kubernetes-overview">use an orchestration system like Kubernetes</InternalLink>