WeeWX: Installation on macOS systems

This is a guide to installing WeeWX on macOS.

Download

Download the source archive weewx-X.Y.Z.tar.gz from weewx.com/downloads.

Install prerequisites

Ensure that Python 2.7 is installed. Earlier versions will not work.

python2 -V

Make sure that a Python 2 version of pip has been installed on your system. If not, it may be as simple as: 

sudo easy_install pip

Now install the required Python packages using pip.

sudo python2 -m pip install pysqlite
sudo python2 -m pip install configobj
sudo python2 -m pip install Cheetah
sudo python2 -m pip install PIL
sudo python2 -m pip install pyserial
sudo python2 -m pip install pyusb

# For extended almanac information (optional):
sudo python2 -m pip install pyephem

Depending on the macOS and Python versions, you might have to use Pillow instead of PIL.

If the PIL or Cheetah installation fails, you might have to install xcode:

xcode-select --install

then try the pip install again.

Ensure that Python 3.5 or later is installed.

python3 -V

If not, Python 3 can be installed using Homebrew:

brew install python

This will also install the Python 3 version of pip.

Now install the required Python packages using pip.

sudo python3 -m pip install configobj
sudo python3 -m pip install Cheetah3
sudo python3 -m pip install Pillow
sudo python3 -m pip install pyserial
sudo python3 -m pip install pyusb

# For extended almanac information (optional):
sudo python3 -m pip install pyephem

If the Cheetah3 or Pillow installation fails, you might have to install xcode:

xcode-select --install

then try the pip install again.

Install WeeWX

Expand the source archive:

tar xvfz weewx-X.Y.Z.tar.gz

Change directory:

cd weewx-X.Y.Z

Modify home in setup.cfg to set the installation location to /Users/Shared/weewx

perl -pi -e 's%^home.*%home = /Users/Shared/weewx%' setup.cfg

Install:

python2 setup.py install
python3 setup.py install

The installer will prompt for a location, latitude/longitude, altitude, station type, and parameters specific to the station.

Run

Run the main program directly:

cd /Users/Shared/weewx
sudo python2 ./bin/weewxd weewx.conf
cd /Users/Shared/weewx
sudo python3 ./bin/weewxd weewx.conf

Or as a daemon automatically when the computer starts:

sudo cp /Users/Shared/weewx/util/launchd/com.weewx.weewxd.plist /Library/LaunchDaemons
sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.weewx.weewxd.plist

Logging

On the Mac, WeeWX logs to /var/log/weewx.log by default. Note that this is a privileged location: you will need root privileges to run the WeeWX applications.

An alternative is to log to an unprivileged location, allowing you to run applications as any user. For example, to log to /var/tmp/weewx.log (an unprivileged location) add this to the end of weewx.conf: 

[Logging]
    [[handlers]]
        [[[rotate]]]
            filename = /var/tmp/weewx.log

Verify

After about 5 minutes, open the station web page in a web browser. You should see your station information and data. If your hardware supports hardware archiving, then how long you wait will depend on the archive interval set in your hardware. 

file:///Users/Shared/weewx/public_html/index.html

Customize

To enable uploads such as Weather Underground or to customize reports, modify the configuration file /Users/Shared/weewx/weewx.conf. See the User Guide and Customization Guide for details.

WeeWX must be restarted for configuration file changes to take effect.

Start/Stop

To start/stop WeeWX:

sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.weewx.weewxd.plist
sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.weewx.weewxd.plist

Uninstall

To uninstall, simply delete the directory /Users/Shared/weewx. This will delete WeeWX, configuration files, and data. 

rm -r /Users/Shared/weewx
sudo rm /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.weewx.weewxd.plist

Layout

The instructions above will result in the following layout:

executable: /Users/Shared/weewx/bin/weewxd
configuration file: /Users/Shared/weewx/weewx.conf
skins and templates: /Users/Shared/weewx/skins/
sqlite databases: /Users/Shared/weewx/archive/
generated web pages and images: /Users/Shared/weewx/public_html/
documentation: /Users/Shared/weewx/docs/
examples: /Users/Shared/weewx/examples/
utilities: /Users/Shared/weewx/bin/wee_*

© Copyright Tom Keffer