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Installation

Manimble runs on macOS 13 (Ventura) or later, on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Windows and Linux versions are planned.

Install the app

  1. Download Manimble-macOS.dmg from the latest release.
  2. Open the disk image and drag Manimble to the Applications folder.
  3. Open Manimble from Applications.

The app is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens like any other app.

First launch: Python and LaTeX

Manimble draws slides with Manim, which needs Python, and typesets formulas with LaTeX. On first launch Manimble looks for both and offers to install whatever is missing. You don't need Homebrew or the Terminal.

Component What Manimble installs Size Where
Python with Manim A self-contained Python runtime with Manim, Manim Slides and the other packages Manimble uses about 150 MB download ~/Library/Application Support/Manimble/python
LaTeX TinyTeX and the LaTeX packages Manim uses about 80 MB download ~/Library/TinyTeX

Both go into your user Library, so no administrator password is needed. Click Install in the setup window to install them, or Not Now to skip and install later.

If your Mac already has what Manimble needs, it uses that instead:

  • Python: any Python that can import Manim. Click Use Another Python… in the setup window, or choose Manimble ▸ Choose Python… later, to pick one.
  • LaTeX: an existing TeX installation such as MacTeX. If it lacks some of the packages Manim uses, Manimble adds them. That step asks for your password, because a system-wide TeX lives in a system folder.

To open the setup window again, choose Manimble ▸ Install Dependencies….

How Manimble finds Python

On launch Manimble checks, in order: the MANIMBLE_PYTHON environment variable, the Python you chose with Choose Python…, its own installed runtime, a .venv in a source checkout, and the Python on your login shell's PATH. It uses the first one that can import Manim and Pillow.

Update Manimble

Download the latest DMG from the Releases page and drag Manimble to Applications, replacing the old copy. Your Python and LaTeX installations are kept.

After some updates the first opening of a deck re-renders every slide, because the way slides are rendered changed. This happens once per deck.

Optional extras

  • Keynote is needed only to import and export Keynote files.
  • An AI coding agent such as Claude Code, Codex or Gemini CLI, if you want to build slides with one. Manimble offers to install the agent you pick the first time you run it. See The terminal.
  • Extra LaTeX packages for decks that use them. Install one with tlmgr install <package>; use sudo tlmgr install <package> for a system-wide TeX such as MacTeX.

Build from source

To build Manimble yourself you need Xcode or the Xcode command line tools, and Homebrew.

git clone https://github.com/pachterlab/Manimble.git && cd Manimble
./install_manimble.sh                   # installs dependencies and builds the app
open "$HOME/Applications/Manimble.app"  # then File ▸ Open Deck or Project… and try examples/hello/deck

The installer creates a Python environment in ~/Library/Application Support/Manimble/python, installs BasicTeX and the LaTeX packages Manim uses if no TeX is present, and builds ~/Applications/Manimble.app. Run it again after pulling changes.

Remove Manimble

Drag Manimble from Applications to the Trash. To remove everything it installed, also delete:

  • ~/Library/Application Support/Manimble (the Python runtime, render caches and working copies)
  • ~/Library/TinyTeX, if Manimble installed TinyTeX and nothing else uses it

Your decks are never stored inside these folders.