Running on the command-line
Note: If you are happy with the GUI instructions below, then
please ignore these instructions.
MacOS X on the command line
The most convenient way to run lilypond scripts is by setting up
“helper” scripts of your own.
-
Create a directory to store these scripts,
-
Create a file called
lilypond which contains
Note: DIR will generally be /Applications/
-
Create similar files
lilypond-book,
convert-ly, and any other scripts you wish to use, by
replacing the bin/lilypond with bin/convert-ly
(or other program name).
-
Make the file executable,
-
Now, add this directory to your path. Modify (or create) a file
called
.profile in your home directory such that it
contains
This file should end with a blank line.
Invoking individual scripts
The scripts — such as lilypond-book, convert-ly,
abc2ly, and even lilypond itself — are included
inside the .app file for MacOS X.
Scripts can also be run from the command line by invoking them
directly:
The same is true for all other scripts in that directory, such as
lilypond-book and convert-ly.
Compiling a file
Note: These instructions assume that you are using the LilyPond
application. If you are using any of the programs described in
(web)Easier editing section ‘Easier editing’ in General Information, consult the documentation for those
programs should you have any problems.
Step 1. Create your ‘.ly’ file
Double click the LilyPond.app, an example file will open.
From the menus along the top left of your screen, select
File > Save.
Choose a name for your file, for example ‘test.ly’.
Step 2. Compile (with LilyPad)
From the same menus, select
Compile > Typeset.
A new window will open showing a progress log of the compilation
of the file you have just saved.
Step 3. View output
Once the compilation has finished, a PDF file will be created with
the same name as the original file and will be automatically
opened in the default PDF viewer and displayed on your screen.
Other commands
To create new files for LilyPond, begin by selecting
File > New
or File > Open to open and edit existing files you have
saved previously.
You must save any new edits you make to your file before you
Compile > Typeset and if the PDF file is not displayed
check the window with the progress log for any errors.
If you are not using the default Preview PDF viewer that comes
with the Mac Operating system and you have the PDF file generated
from a previous compilation open, then any further compilations
may fail to generate an update PDF until you close the original.
Mac OS X x86 32-bit: LilyPond 2.20.0-1
For Mac OS X 10.4–10.5 running on Intel CPUs and Mac OS X
10.6–10.14 (for 10.15 see below).
