Building Tcl/Tk on Mac OS

Submitted by peter on Thu, 11/01/2018 - 11:50
  • Tcl/Tk version = 8.6.8
  • Mac OS version = 10.13.2 (High Sierra)
  • Can also be built with threads enabled. I disabled them because I like a simple life.

Tcl

$ ./configure --prefix=/Users/Shared/tcl8.6.8 --disable-framework --disable-threads
$ make
$ make install

Tk

$ ./configure --prefix=/Users/Shared/tcl8.6.8 --disable-framework --disable-threads --enable-aqua=yes
$ make
$ make install

After build and install

  • Create softlink to "tcl8.6.8" in installation directory from "tcl" at same location.
  • Create useful aliases for tclsh and wish, and maybe add relevant paths to your PATH and MANPATH environment variables because you won't be able to modify/replace /usr/bin/wish and /usr/bin/tclsh due to Apple's protection mechanism.

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