Requirements¶

Nib requires:

Install via pip¶

The recommended way to install Nib is from PyPI:

pip install pynib

This installs the Python SDK and the pre-built Swift runtime binary. No Xcode or Swift toolchain required.

Verify the installation¶

After installing, confirm that the CLI is available:

nib -h

You should see output like:

usage: nib [-h] [-v] {create,build,run} ...

Nib - Build macOS menu bar apps with Python

positional arguments:
  {create,build,run}  Available commands
    create            Create a new nib project
    build             Build a standalone .app bundle
    run               Run a nib app with hot reload

options:
  -h, --help          show this help message and exit
  -v, --verbose       Enable verbose output

Using a virtual environment¶

It is good practice to install Nib inside a virtual environment:

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install pynib

Building from source¶

If you want to contribute to Nib or need the latest unreleased changes, you can build from source.

1. Clone the repository¶

git clone https://github.com/Bbalduzz/nib.git
cd nib

2. Build the Swift runtime and install¶

The make install command builds the universal Swift runtime binary (arm64 + x86_64) and installs the Python package in editable mode:

make install

This runs two steps under the hood:

1. Build the Swift runtime -- Compiles the Swift package in release mode and copies the nib-runtime binary into the Python SDK.
2. Install the Python SDK -- Runs pip install -e . so that changes to the Python code are reflected immediately.

Build the runtime only¶

If you only need to rebuild the Swift side without reinstalling the Python package:

make build-runtime

The compiled binary lands at sdk/python/nib/bin/nib-runtime.

Next steps¶

With Nib installed, head to the Quick Start to create and run your first project.