macOS Development Setup

macOS Development Environment Setup

This guide covers setting up a complete development environment for Netcap on macOS.

Prerequisites

1. Install Homebrew

If you don't have Homebrew installed:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

2. Install Go

Install Go 1.21 or later:

brew install go

Verify installation:

go version

3. Install Protocol Buffers Compiler

Netcap uses Protocol Buffers for efficient data serialization. Install the protoc compiler:

brew install protobuf

Verify installation:

protoc --version

Protocol Buffer Plugins

Netcap generates Protocol Buffer code for multiple languages. Install all required plugins:

Go Plugin (gogofaster)

The gogofaster plugin generates optimized Go code:

go install github.com/gogo/protobuf/protoc-gen-gogofaster@latest

Verify installation:

which protoc-gen-gogofaster
# Should output: /Users/USERNAME/go/bin/protoc-gen-gogofaster

Swift Plugin

For Swift code generation:

brew install swift-protobuf

Verify installation:

which protoc-gen-swift
# Should output: /opt/homebrew/bin/protoc-gen-swift

JavaScript Plugin

For JavaScript code generation:

npm install -g protoc-gen-js

Verify installation:

which protoc-gen-js
# Should output: /Users/USERNAME/.npm-global/bin/protoc-gen-js (or similar)

Built-in Plugins

The following plugins are built into protoc and require no separate installation:

• Python (--python_out)

• Java (--java_out)

• C++ (--cpp_out)

• C# (--csharp_out)

Verify All Plugins

Run this command to verify all plugins are installed:

echo "✓ protoc: $(protoc --version)"
echo "✓ protoc-gen-gogofaster: $(which protoc-gen-gogofaster)"
echo "✓ protoc-gen-swift: $(which protoc-gen-swift)"
echo "✓ protoc-gen-js: $(which protoc-gen-js)"

Clone and Build Netcap

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/dreadl0ck/netcap.git
cd netcap

Install Zeus Build System

Netcap uses the Zeus build system:

go install github.com/dreadl0ck/zeus/cmd/zeus@latest

Build Netcap

Build the project:

zeus install

Or build manually:

go build -o /usr/local/bin/net github.com/dreadl0ck/netcap/cmd

Generate Protocol Buffers

Development Build (Go only)

For development, you typically only need Go code:

zeus gen-proto-dev

Or manually:

protoc --gogofaster_out=types/. netcap.proto

Release Build (All languages)

For a release build with all language bindings:

zeus gen-proto-release

Or manually:

mkdir -p types/{python,java,swift,cpp,csharp,js}
protoc --gogofaster_out=types/. \
       --python_out=types/python \
       --java_out=types/java \
       --swift_out=types/swift \
       --cpp_out=types/cpp \
       --csharp_out=types/csharp \
       --js_out=types/js \
       netcap.proto

Environment Variables

Go Binary Path

Ensure your Go binary directory is in your PATH. Add to ~/.zshrc (or ~/.bash_profile):

export PATH="$HOME/go/bin:$PATH"

Netcap Configuration

Set the configuration root if needed:

export NC_CONFIG_ROOT="$HOME/.config/netcap"

Troubleshooting

protoc-gen-* not found errors

If you get errors like protoc-gen-XXX: program not found or is not executable:

1. Ensure the plugin is installed

2. Check if it's in your PATH:

   echo $PATH

3. For Go plugins, ensure $HOME/go/bin is in your PATH

4. For Homebrew plugins, ensure /opt/homebrew/bin is in your PATH

Permission Issues

If you encounter permission errors when installing global npm packages:

# Configure npm to use a different directory
mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'

# Add to PATH in ~/.zshrc or ~/.bash_profile
export PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"

# Reload shell configuration
source ~/.zshrc

Protocol Buffer Version Mismatch

If you encounter version mismatch errors, ensure you're using compatible versions:

# Check current versions
protoc --version
go list -m github.com/gogo/protobuf

Additional Development Tools

Optional but Recommended

Install additional tools for development:

# Code formatting
go install golang.org/x/tools/cmd/goimports@latest

# Linting
brew install golangci-lint

# Testing utilities
go install github.com/rakyll/gotest@latest

# Profiling
go install github.com/google/pprof@latest

Next Steps

• Read the Contributing Guide

• Check the Development Notes

• Review the Testing Guide

• Explore the Architecture Documentation

See Also

• Installation Guide - For end-user installation

• Quickstart - Getting started with Netcap

• Configuration - Configuration options

• Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions