Mac OS X Link Path Editing

Mon, 27 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Dynamically linked libraries sometimes go missing under Mac OS X. Maybe you updated that old library you compiled against a year ago and you do not feel like recompiling your code right now or maybe you got this executable from a trusted source, but your system doesn't find the library at path /Users/iusedstaticpaths/lib.dylib.

Regardless, there is a solution: install_name_tool.

First, check the library dependencies of your executable or dynamic library (-D) with: otool -L /path/to/my/runtime

Then, call install_name_tool to replace any path you want:

install_name_tool -change "/path/to/unknown/lib.0.0.dylib" lib.dylib runtime

In this example I also removed the version numbering, which is not always recommended, but will commonly work if your lib hasn't undergone significant API changes.

Lastly, if your dynamic library still can't be found, make sure it is inside the DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH or maybe DYLD_FALLBACK_LIBRARY_PATH. For more options please read man install_name_tool.

What is this for?

Mon, 27 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I needed a place to put tweaks, hacks, findings or whatever you would like to call it. Others may also find them usefull - at least it will allow me to remember them later on.

I am using the basic jekyll-now repository, which appears to work well. First recommendation is therefore to check out: Jekyll Now repository on GitHub.

Christoph Russ

Mac OS X Link Path Editing

What is this for?