Installing Samtools on MacOS

[kriskris]

Hi,

I'm trying to install samtools on my Mac (OS X 10.6.8). I downloaded samtols-0.2.1.18tar.bz2 and unzipped it on my desktop. Then in terminal, I entered that directory and typed "make". It says "command not found".

I saw that zlib is required, so I also downloaded that and put the samtools into that directory and tried typing "make", which gave the same "command not found" message.

I'm new to unix but have successfully installed and used other programs (Bowtie, etc.), so I'm not sure why I'm having such problems with Samtools.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[maubp]

Have you installed Apple's Xcode? That provides gcc, make, etc. Get it free from the Apple App Store (big download).

[kriskris]

I have not installed Xcode, as I was told it wasn't was required for samtools. Is it necessary? I did a quick search at the Apple App store and it seems that only Xcode 4, which isn't compatible with my OS X 10.6.8, is freely available. Do you know where I could find the appropriate version of Xcode if I need it?

Thanks!

[Wallysb01]

Xcode for OSX 10.6 is $5, I think. Its free if you have OSX 10.7. You can still download Xcode 4 for 10.6, and you will need it for samtools or any program that requires a "make" command.

[maubp]

I have not installed Xcode, as I was told it wasn't was required for samtools. Is it necessary? I did a quick search at the Apple App store and it seems that only Xcode 4, which isn't compatible with my OS X 10.6.8, is freely available. Do you know where I could find the appropriate version of Xcode if I need it?

Thanks!

It used to be on the DVD that came with your Mac.

[mbblack]

I have not installed Xcode, as I was told it wasn't was required for samtools. Is it necessary? I did a quick search at the Apple App store and it seems that only Xcode 4, which isn't compatible with my OS X 10.6.8, is freely available. Do you know where I could find the appropriate version of Xcode if I need it?

Thanks!

Strictly speaking, XCode is not necessary, but you need a gcc compiler and tools in order to compile Samtools. There are open source tools available for OS X, but by far the simplest to set up would be to spring for XCode and install it.

XCode is only available from Apple, either through the App store or by paying to register as a developer.

[ChrisBird]

Solution to make: command not found

If you have OSX Lion, then Xcode does not automatically install the command line tools.

When trying to install SAM Tools using Make, you will get the error message that make isn't found.

You have to open Xcode, goto Preferences/Downloads, and then install the command line tools.

[HESmith]

FYI, the latest version of Xcode doesn't include some standard GNU compiling components (e.g., automake, autoconf, libtools), even after installing the Command Line Tools as suggested.

-Harold

[HESmith]

Follow up: apparently, Autotools was dropped by Apple due to GPLv3 licensing issues. Also, gcc in current Xcode is actually a symlink to llvm-gcc (which doesn't have the licensing issue).

-Harold