How to build ClamAV® using the CMake Build System on macOS

Autotools build system has been dropped.
CMake is now the required build system in the ClamAV 0.104.x.
Instead of Autotools (eg: ./configure && make && sudo make install), CMake is required to build ClamAV.
Besides CMake, you need some libclamav dependencies (libpcre2 for RegEx, openssl for Crypto, json-c for JSON) to build ClamAV. And it may also be necessary to install other libraries such as pkg-config.
For further information, see " ClamAV 0.104.0 released" and "Installation Instructions".

Starting with ClamAV 0.105.x, Rust toolchain is required to compile portions of libclamav.
See "Install Rust toolchain".

I'm running the latest stable release ClamAV 1.4.2 on macOS 15.4.1 Sequoia now.
ClamAV 1.4.2 is available on ClamAVNet Download page!
The release notes are here.

This memorandum describes how to build ClamAV using the CMake build system and includes the following:
  0) Important notes for building ClamAV 1.3.x on macOS Sonoma 14.x.
  1) Install CMake Build System
  2) Install Rust toolchain
  3) Install pkg-config
  4) Install Libcheck/Check
  5) Install PCRE2 Libraries
  6) Install OpenSSL Libraries
      6-1.When you use LibreSSL…
      6-2.When you use OpenSSL…
  7) Install JSON-C Libraries
  8) Install Ninja Build System
  9) Build ClamAV with CMake Build System
      9-1.When you use LibreSSL…
      9-2.When you use OpenSSL…
10) Build ClamAV with Ninja Build System
    10-1.When you use LibreSSL…
    10-2.When you use OpenSSL…
11) Links…

Regarding the Autotools build system, see "How to install ClamAV® from the Git sources on macOS".

0) Important notes for building ClamAV 1.3.x on macOS Sonoma 14.x.

1. Building ClamAV 1.3.x on macOS Sonoma 14.x may result in the following fatal error:

clamd
dyld[27427]: Library not loaded: @rpath/libjson-c.5.dylib
  Referenced from: <55D558AB-C718-3171-B72A-CBD668755360> /usr/local/clamXav/sbin/clamd
  Reason: tried: '/usr/local/clamXav/lib/libjson-c.5.dylib' (no such file),
'/System/Volumes/Preboot/Cryptexes/OS/usr/local/clamXav/lib/libjson-c.5.dylib' (no such file),
'/usr/local/clamXav/lib/libjson-c.5.dylib' (no such file), 
'/System/Volumes/Preboot/Cryptexes/OS/usr/local/clamXav/lib/libjson-c.5.dylib' (no such file)
Abort trap: 6

freshclam
dyld[27450]: Library not loaded: @rpath/libjson-c.5.dylib
  Referenced by: /usr/local/clamXav/bin/freshclam
  Reason: Attempted to use: '/usr/local/clamXav/lib/libjson-c.5.dylib' (no such file),
'/System/Volumes/Preboot/Cryptexes/OS/usr/local/clamXav/lib/libjson-c.5.dylib' (no such file), 
'/usr/local/clamXav/lib/libjson-c.5.dylib' (no such file),
'/System/Volumes/Preboot/Cryptexes/OS/usr/local/clamXav/lib/libjson-c.5.dylib' (no such file),
(security policy does not allow @ path expansion)
Abort trap: 6

2. To solve this problem, make symlinks to '/usr/local/clamXav/lib' as follows:

sudo ln -s /usr/local/json-c/lib/libjson-c.dylib /usr/local/clamXav/lib/libjson-c.5.dylib

3. That's it.
You can use clamAV again.

1) Install CMake

CMake is an open-source, cross-platform family of tools designed to build, test and package software.

1. Download the latest CMake
You can get CMake binary distribution for macOS.
Download CMake.app and place it in the Applications directory.

cd ~
curl -LO https://github.com/Kitware/CMake/releases/download/v4.0.1/cmake-4.0.1-macos-universal.tar.gz
tar xzf cmake-4.0.1-macos-universal.tar.gz
cp -r ~/cmake-4.0.1-macos-universal/CMake.app /Applications

2. For Command Line Use (to install symlinks to '/usr/local/bin')

sudo "/Applications/CMake.app/Contents/bin/cmake-gui" --install

3. You can confirm the installation:

which cmake
/usr/local/bin/cmake
cmake --version
cmake version 4.0.1

Without using CMake.app you can build binary by yourself.

1. Download the latest CMake

cd ~
curl -LO https://github.com/Kitware/CMake/releases/download/v4.0.1/cmake-4.0.1.tar.gz
tar xzf cmake-4.0.1.tar.gz

2. Bootstrap CMake

cd cmake-4.0.1
./bootstrap --prefix=/usr/local/cmake

3. Compile and install CMake

make && sudo make install

4. Set search path

export PATH="/usr/local/cmake/bin:$PATH"

2) Install Rust toolchain

1. Download rustup and Install Rust toolchain

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

2. Set search path

export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"

3. You can confirm the installation:

rustup --version
rustup 1.28.1 (f9edccde0 2025-03-05)
info: This is the version for the rustup toolchain manager, not the rustc compiler.
info: The currently active `rustc` version is `rustc 1.86.0 (05f9846f8 2025-03-31)`

rustc --version
rustc 1.86.0 (05f9846f8 2025-03-31)

cargo --version
cargo 1.86.0 (adf9b6ad1 2025-02-28)

4. You can maintain the toolchain by periodically executing:

rustup update stable
info: syncing channel updates for 'stable-x86_64-apple-darwin'
info: latest update on 2025-04-03, rust version 1.86.0 (05f9846f8 2025-03-31)
info: downloading component 'cargo'
info: downloading component 'clippy'
info: downloading component 'rust-docs'
 21.3 MiB /  21.3 MiB (100 %)  10.2 MiB/s in  1s         
info: downloading component 'rust-std'
info: downloading component 'rustc'
info: downloading component 'rustfmt'
info: removing previous version of component 'cargo'
info: removing previous version of component 'clippy'
info: removing previous version of component 'rust-docs'
info: removing previous version of component 'rust-std'
info: removing previous version of component 'rustc'
info: removing previous version of component 'rustfmt'
info: installing component 'cargo'
info: installing component 'clippy'
info: installing component 'rust-docs'
 21.3 MiB /  21.3 MiB (100 %)   7.1 MiB/s in  3s         
info: installing component 'rust-std'
 25.9 MiB /  25.9 MiB (100 %)  14.3 MiB/s in  1s         
info: installing component 'rustc'
 65.1 MiB /  65.1 MiB (100 %)  15.5 MiB/s in  4s         
info: installing component 'rustfmt'

  stable-x86_64-apple-darwin updated - rustc 1.86.0 (05f9846f8 2025-03-31) (from rustc 1.85.1 (4eb161250 2025-03-15))

info: checking for self-update

3) Install pkg-config

1. Download the latest pkg-config

cd ~
curl -O https://pkg-config.freedesktop.org/releases/pkg-config-0.29.2.tar.gz
tar zxf pkg-config-0.29.2.tar.gz

2. Configure pkg-config

cd pkg-config-0.29.2
export LDFLAGS="-framework CoreFoundation" 
./configure --with-internal-glib --prefix=/usr/local/pkgconfig

3. Compile and install pkg-config

make && make check
sudo make install

4. Set search path

export PATH="/usr/local/keyconfig/bin:$PATH"

4) Install Libcheck/Check

1. Download the latest Check

cd ~
curl -LO https://github.com/libcheck/check/releases/download/0.15.2/check-0.15.2.tar.gz
tar zxf check-0.15.2.tar.gz

2. Configure Check

cd check-0.15.2
./configure --prefix=/usr/local/check

3. Compile and install Check

make && make check
sudo make install

4. Set search path

export PATH="/usr/local/check/bin:$PATH"

5) Install PCRE2 Libraries

1. Download the latest PCRE2

cd ~
curl -LO https://github.com/PCRE2Project/pcre2/releases/download/pcre2-10.45/pcre2-10.45.tar.bz2
tar zxf pcre2-10.45.tar.bz2

2. Configure PCRE2

cd pcre2-10.45
./configure --prefix=/usr/local/pcre2

3. Compile and install PCRE2

make && make check
sudo make install

6) Install OpenSSL Libraries

6-1. When you use LibreSSL…

1. Download the latest LibreSSL

cd ~
curl -LO https://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/LibreSSL/libressl-4.0.0.tar.gz
tar zxf libressl-4.0.0.tar.gz

2. Configure LibreSSL

cd libressl-4.0.0
./configure --prefix=/usr/local/libressl

3. Compile and install LibreSSL

make && make check
sudo make install

4. Set search path

export PATH="/usr/local/libressl/bin:$PATH"

5. You can confirm the installation:

which openssl
/usr/local/libressl/bin/openssl
openssl version
LibreSSL 4.0.0

6-2. When you use OpenSSL…

1. Download the latest OpenSSL

cd ~
curl -LO https://github.com/openssl/openssl/releases/download/openssl-3.5.0/openssl-3.5.0.tar.gz
tar zxf openssl-3.5.0.tar.gz

2. Configure OpenSSL

cd openssl-3.5.0
./configure darwin64-x86_64-cc --prefix=/usr/local/openssl

3. Compile and install OpenSSL

make && make test
sudo make install

4. Set search path

export PATH="/usr/local/openssl/bin:$PATH"

5. You can confirm the installation:

which openssl
/usr/local/openssl/bin/openssl
openssl version
OpenSSL 3.5.0 8 Apr 2025 (Library: OpenSSL 3.5.0 8 Apr 2025)

7) Install JSON-C Libraries

JSON-C is a JSON implementation in C.

1. Download JSON-C

cd ~
curl -LO https://s3.amazonaws.com/json-c_releases/releases/json-c-0.18.tar.gz
tar xzf json-c-0.18.tar.gz

2. Configure and Generate JSON-C

cd json-c-0.18
mkdir build
cd build
cmake -D CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/json-c ..

3. Compile and install JSON-C

make && make test
sudo make install

4. Create Symbolic Link

sudo ln -s /usr/local/json-c/lib/libjson-c.dylib /usr/local/lib/

8) Install Ninja Build System (Optional)

Ninja is a small build system with a focus on speed.
So this is an optional install.

1. Download Ninja

cd ~
curl -LO https://github.com/ninja-build/ninja/archive/v1.12.1.tar.gz
tar xzf v1.12.1.tar.gz

2. Configure and Generate Ninja

cd ninja-1.12.1
mkdir build
cd build
cmake -D CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/ninja/ ..

3. Compile and install Ninja

make && make test
sudo make install

4. Create Symbolic Link

sudo ln -s /usr/local/ninja/bin/ninja /usr/local/bin/

5. You can confirm the installation:

which ninja
/usr/local/bin/ninja
ninja --version
1.12.1

9) Build ClamAV with CMake Build System

9-1. When you use LibreSSL…

1. Download the latest feature release ClamAV 1.4.2 from ClamAVNet.

cd ~
curl -LO https://www.clamav.net/downloads/production/clamav-1.4.2.tar.gz
tar zxf clamav-1.4.2.tar.gz

2. Set CMake options and library paths and Configure and Generate.

cd clamav-1.4.2
mkdir build
cd build 
cmake \
-D CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-D OPTIMIZE=ON \
-D BYTECODE_RUNTIME="interpreter" \
-D CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/clamXav/ \
-D ENABLE_JSON_SHARED=OFF \
-D ENABLE_TESTS=ON \
-D LIBCHECK_ROOT_DIR=/usr/local/check \
-D LIBCHECK_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/local/check/include/ \
-D LIBCHECK_LIBRARY=/usr/local/check/lib/libcheck.dylib \
-D OPENSSL_ROOT_DIR=/usr/local/libressl/ \
-D OPENSSL_CRYPTO_LIBRARY=/usr/local/libressl/lib/libcrypto.dylib \
-D OPENSSL_SSL_LIBRARY=/usr/local/libressl/lib/libssl.dylib \
-D PCRE2_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/local/pcre2/include/ \
-D PCRE2_LIBRARY=/usr/local/pcre2/lib/libpcre2-8.0.dylib \
-D JSONC_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/local/json-c/include/json-c/ \
-D JSONC_LIBRARY=/usr/local/json-c/lib/libjson-c.dylib \
..

3. You get results as below:

-- Configuring done (32.9s)
-- Generating done (0.8s)
-- Build files have been written to: /Users/xxx/Desktop/clamav-1.4.2/build

4. Compile and make test;

make && make test

5. You get results as below:

Running tests...
Test project /Users/xxx/Desktop/clamav-1.4.2/build
Connected to MAKE jobserver
    Start 1: libclamav
1/6 Test #1: libclamav ........................   Passed   15.83 sec
    Start 2: libclamav_rust
2/6 Test #2: libclamav_rust ...................   Passed   10.26 sec
    Start 3: clamscan
3/6 Test #3: clamscan .........................   Passed    0.12 sec
    Start 4: clamd
4/6 Test #4: clamd ............................   Passed   15.04 sec
    Start 5: freshclam
5/6 Test #5: freshclam ........................   Passed   41.48 sec
    Start 6: sigtool
6/6 Test #6: sigtool ..........................   Passed    0.48 sec

100% tests passed, 0 tests failed out of 6

6. Install ClamAV®

sudo make all install

9-2. When you use OpenSSL…

1. Download the latest feature release ClamAV 1.4.2 from ClamAVNet.

cd ~
curl -LO https://www.clamav.net/downloads/production/clamav-1.4.2.tar.gz
tar zxf clamav-1.4.2.tar.gz

2. Set CMake options and library paths and Configure and Generate.

cd clamav-1.4.2
mkdir build
cd build 
cmake \
-D CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-D CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/clamXav/ \
-D BYTECODE_RUNTIME="interpreter" \
-D OPTIMIZE=ON \
-D ENABLE_JSON_SHARED=OFF \
-D ENABLE_TESTS=ON \
-D LIBCHECK_ROOT_DIR=/usr/local/check \
-D LIBCHECK_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/local/check/include/ \
-D LIBCHECK_LIBRARY=/usr/local/check/lib/libcheck.dylib \
-D OPENSSL_ROOT_DIR=/usr/local/openssl/ \
-D OPENSSL_CRYPTO_LIBRARY=/usr/local/openssl/lib/libcrypto.dylib \
-D OPENSSL_SSL_LIBRARY=/usr/local/openssl/lib/libssl.dylib \
-D PCRE2_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/local/pcre2/include/ \
-D PCRE2_LIBRARY=/usr/local/pcre2/lib/libpcre2-8.0.dylib \
-D JSONC_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/local/json-c/include/json-c/ \
-D JSONC_LIBRARY=/usr/local/json-c/lib/libjson-c.dylib \
..

3. You get results as below:

-- Configuring done
-- Generating done
-- Build files have been written to: /Users/xxx/clamav-1.4.2

4. Compile and install ClamAV®

make && make test
sudo make all install

10) Build ClamAV with Ninja Build System

10-1. When you use LibreSSL…

1. Download the latest feature release ClamAV 1.4.2 from ClamAVNet.

cd ~
curl -LO https://www.clamav.net/downloads/production/clamav-1.4.2.tar.gz

2. Set the build generator to Ninja, set Options and Library Paths, Configure and Generate

cd clamav-1.4.2
mkdir build
cd build 
cmake -G Ninja \
-D CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-D CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/clamXav/ \
-D ENABLE_JSON_SHARED=OFF \
-D BYTECODE_RUNTIME="interpreter" \
-D ENABLE_TESTS=ON \
-D LIBCHECK_ROOT_DIR=/usr/local/check \
-D LIBCHECK_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/local/check/include/ \
-D LIBCHECK_LIBRARY=/usr/local/check/lib/libcheck.dylib \
-D OPENSSL_ROOT_DIR=/usr/local/libressl/ \
-D OPENSSL_CRYPTO_LIBRARY=/usr/local/libressl/lib/libcrypto.dylib \
-D OPENSSL_SSL_LIBRARY=/usr/local/libressl/lib/libssl.dylib \
-D PCRE2_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/local/pcre2/include/ \
-D PCRE2_LIBRARY=/usr/local/pcre2/lib/libpcre2-8.0.dylib \
-D JSONC_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/local/json-c/include/json-c/ \
-D JSONC_LIBRARY=/usr/local/json-c/lib/libjson-c.dylib \
..

3. You get results as below:

-- Configuring done
-- Generating done
-- Build files have been written to: /Users/xxx/clamav-1.4.2/build

4. Compile and make test

ninja && ninja test

5. You get results as below:

Running tests...
Test project /Users/xxx/Desktop/clamav-1.4.2/build
    Start 1: libclamav
1/6 Test #1: libclamav ........................   Passed   15.28 sec
    Start 2: libclamav_rust
2/6 Test #2: libclamav_rust ...................   Passed    7.49 sec
    Start 3: clamscan
3/6 Test #3: clamscan .........................   Passed    0.12 sec
    Start 4: clamd
4/6 Test #4: clamd ............................   Passed   14.84 sec
    Start 5: freshclam
5/6 Test #5: freshclam ........................   Passed   41.37 sec
    Start 6: sigtool
6/6 Test #6: sigtool ..........................   Passed    0.47 sec

100% tests passed, 0 tests failed out of 6

6. Install ClamAV®

sudo ninja install

10-2. When you use OpenSSL…

1. Download the latest feature release ClamAV 1.4.2 from ClamAVNet.

cd ~
curl -LO https://www.clamav.net/downloads/production/clamav-1.4.2.tar.gz

2. Set the build generator to Ninja, set Options and Library Paths, Configure and Generate

cd clamav-1.4.2
mkdir build
cd build 
cmake -G Ninja \
-D CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-D CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/clamXav/ \
-D ENABLE_JSON_SHARED=OFF \
-D BYTECODE_RUNTIME="interpreter" \
-D ENABLE_TESTS=ON \
-D LIBCHECK_ROOT_DIR=/usr/local/check \
-D LIBCHECK_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/local/check/include/ \
-D LIBCHECK_LIBRARY=/usr/local/check/lib/libcheck.dylib \
-D OPENSSL_ROOT_DIR=/usr/local/openssl/ \
-D OPENSSL_CRYPTO_LIBRARY=/usr/local/openssl/lib/libcrypto.dylib \
-D OPENSSL_SSL_LIBRARY=/usr/local/openssl/lib/libssl.dylib \
-D PCRE2_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/local/pcre2/include/ \
-D PCRE2_LIBRARY=/usr/local/pcre2/lib/libpcre2-8.0.dylib \
-D JSONC_INCLUDE_DIR=/usr/local/json-c/include/json-c/ \
-D JSONC_LIBRARY=/usr/local/json-c/lib/libjson-c.dylib \
..

3. You get results as below:

-- Configuring done
-- Generating done
-- Build files have been written to: /Users/xxx/clamav-1.4.2/build

4. Compile and install ClamAV®

ninja && ninja test
sudo ninja install