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Set install_name and rpath at link time on macOS - #334

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AcademySoftwareFoundation:developfrom
OlafRocket:fix/macos-bundle-rpath
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Set install_name and rpath at link time on macOS#334
OlafRocket wants to merge 1 commit into
AcademySoftwareFoundation:developfrom
OlafRocket:fix/macos-bundle-rpath

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Summarize your change.
Set macOS install_name and rpath at link time via CMake target properties, and remove the post-build and post-install install_name_tool passes that previously patched the bundle after the fact.

Describe the reason for the change.
The bundle relied on install_name_tool running after the fact to rewrite library ids and add rpaths. Those passes ran after codesigning had already happened during macdeployqt, invalidating the signatures of every binary they touched.

Setting the paths at configure time means the linker emits them directly, so there is nothing left to rewrite and nothing to invalidate.

A second benefit: using additive BUILD_RPATH rather than BUILD_WITH_INSTALL_RPATH keeps CMake's linker-derived paths in the build-tree binaries. build/xSTUDIO.app now launches from a fresh checkout without a preceding install step, which makes iterating on source changes much faster.

Describe what you have tested and on which operating system.
Built on Mac Air M1, MacOS Sequoia 15.7.4

Add a list of changes, and note any that might need special attention during the review.
cmake/macros.cmake — internal libraries gain INSTALL_NAME_DIR "@rpath" with BUILD_WITH_INSTALL_NAME_DIR, plus INSTALL_RPATH and additive BUILD_RPATH.
src/launch/xstudio/src/CMakeLists.txt — the executable gains the same INSTALL_RPATH / BUILD_RPATH pair; drops the fixup_macos_bundle.cmake post-build command.
src/launch/xstudio/src/fixup_macos_bundle.cmake — deleted, now redundant.
src/launch/xstudio/src/macdeploy.cmake.in — drops the install_name_tool -id / -change calls; passes -always-overwrite to macdeployqt so a stale bundle from a prior install cannot leave frameworks unsigned.
src/global/src/CMakeLists.txt — removes the per-target APPLE rpath block now covered by macros.cmake.
docs/reference/build_guides/macos.md — documents the incremental build workflow.

Notes for review:

BUILD_RPATH is additive, whereas BUILD_WITH_INSTALL_RPATH TRUE would replace CMake's computed build rpath. The additive form is deliberate: it is what allows the build-tree bundle to find Qt and other external dependencies before macdeployqt has copied them in. macdeployqt strips the extra rpath on install, so the shipped bundle is unchanged.
Libraries and the executable are configured consistently; INSTALL_NAME_DIR applies only to the libraries because executables have no install name.
The docs change is included here because the fast-iteration workflow it describes is only possible as a result of this change.

macOS-only. Linux and Windows paths are untouched.

The bundle relied on post-build and post-install install_name_tool passes
to rewrite library ids and add rpaths. Those ran after codesigning had
already happened during macdeployqt, invalidating the signatures they
touched. Set the properties at configure time instead, so the linker emits
the right paths and no rewriting is needed:

  - INSTALL_NAME_DIR "@rpath" with BUILD_WITH_INSTALL_NAME_DIR makes
    internal libraries self-identify as @rpath/libfoo.dylib, replacing the
    install_name_tool -id pass.
  - INSTALL_RPATH plus additive BUILD_RPATH on both the libraries and the
    executable. BUILD_RPATH keeps CMake's linker-derived paths alongside
    @executable_path/../Frameworks, so build/xSTUDIO.app runs on a fresh
    checkout without a preceding install. macdeployqt strips the extra
    rpath on install, leaving the shipped bundle unchanged.

Drop the now-redundant fixup_macos_bundle.cmake and the install_name_tool
calls in macdeploy.cmake.in, and remove the per-target rpath block in
src/global that macros.cmake now covers. Pass -always-overwrite to
macdeployqt so a stale bundle from a prior install cannot leave frameworks
unsigned.

Also document the incremental build workflow in the macOS build guide:
after an initial install, cmake --build alone relinks in seconds.

Signed-off-by: Olaf <8780533+OlafRocket@users.noreply.github.com>
@OlafRocket
OlafRocket force-pushed the fix/macos-bundle-rpath branch from f29a868 to 759bb4c Compare September 4, 2026 15:22
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