# MacOS - Crow
Here's how you can install Crow on your Mac.

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# MacOS

Here's how you can install Crow on your Mac.

## Getting Crow

### From a release

#### Archive

Crow provides an archive containing the framework and CMake files, You will only need the `include` folder inside that archive.

#### Single header file

You can also download the `crow_all.h` file which replaces the `include` folder.

### From Source

To get Crow from source, you only need to download the repository (as a `.zip` or through `git clone https://github.com/CrowCpp/Crow.git`).

#### include folder

Once you've downloaded Crow's source code, you only need to take the `include` folder.

#### Single header file

You can generate your own single header file by navigating to the `scripts` folder with your terminal and running the following command:

    python3 merge_all.py ../include crow_all.h

This will generate a `crow_all.h` file which you can use in the following steps

Warning

`crow_all.h` is recommended only for small, possibly single source file projects. For larger projects, it is advised to use the multi-header version.

## Setting up your Crow project

### Using XCode

1. Download and install Homebrew.
2. Run `brew install asio` in your terminal.
3. Create a new XCode project (macOS -> Command Line Tool).

4. Change the following project settings:

   Multiple Headers
   1. Add header search paths for crow's include folder and asio's folder (`/usr/local/include`, `/usr/local/Cellar/asio/include`, and where you placed Crow's `include` folder)
   2. Add linker flags (`-lpthread`)
   Single Header
   1. Place `crow_all.h` inside your project folder and add it to the project in XCode (you need to use File -> Add files to "project_name")
   2. Add header search paths for asio's folder:
   3. `/usr/local/include`, and
   4. Silicon: `/opt/homebrew/Cellar/asio/<asio_version>/include`
   5. Intel: `/usr/local/Cellar/asio/<asio_version>/include`
   6. Add linker flags (`-lpthread` for g++, `-pthread` for clang++)

5. Write your Crow application in `main.cpp` (something like the Hello World example will work).

6. Press `▶` to compile and run your Crow application.

## Building Crow's tests/examples

Note

This tutorial can be used for Crow projects built with CMake as well

1. Download and install Homebrew.
2. Run `brew install cmake asio` in your terminal.
3. Get Crow's source code (the entire source code).
4. Run the following Commands:
   1. `mkdir build`
   2. `cd build`
   3. `cmake ..`
   4. `make -j12`

Note

    You can add options like `-DCROW_FEATURES="ssl;compression"` or `-DCROW_AMALGAMATE` to `cmake ..` to build optional tests/examples for HTTP Compression or HTTPS.

## Compiling using a compiler directly

All you need to do is run the following command:

    g++ main.cpp -lpthread

Note

You'll need to install GCC via `brew install gcc`. the Clang compiler should be part of XCode or XCode command line tools.

You can use arguments like `-DCROW_ENABLE_DEBUG`, `-DCROW_ENABLE_COMPRESSION -lz` for HTTP Compression, or `-DCROW_ENABLE_SSL -lssl` for HTTPS support, or even replace g++ with clang++.

If GCC throws errors and your program does not compile, you may be using C++03 instead of ≥C++11. Use the flag `-std=c++11`.