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Asked: 2026-05-14T14:40:28+00:00

I want a python physics engine that works on mac and makes it easy

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I want a python physics engine that works on mac and makes it easy to simulate physics. I have VPython and it works fine, but it is not quite what I want. VPython just shows visual elements and all the physics is in formulas. I looked at the documentation for PyODE and it looked like more what I want. It allowed you to add forces to masses and have worlds and things like that. When I tried to install PyODE (I am using a Mac), it didn’t work. One reason was that I didn’t have pyrex (I do have Cython, so maybe there is some way to have it use that?), but the other was that I didn’t have ode installed. I looked and realized that PyODE is dependent on ode. I tried to install ode but that didn’t work. Is there some documentation or binary or something that makes it easy to install PyODE on a mac? Or is there a similar module?
Edit:
This is the error I received when trying to install PyODE:

sh: ode-config: command not found
sh: ode-config: command not found
WARNING: <ode/ode.h> not found. You may have to adjust INC_DIRS.
INFO: Creating ode_trimesh.c
pyrexc -o ode_trimesh.c -I. -Isrc src/ode.pyx
sh: pyrexc: command not found
ERROR: An error occured while generating the C source file.

I got this error because pyrex and ode weren’t installed. There was no documentation for installing ode on mac so there were no error messages for what I tried to do but the errors stayed the same for PyODE so ode wasn’t installed.

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    You can easily install ODE on your Mac with darwinports — instructions here. You can easily list PyODE versions for darwinports — then pick the right one for your chosen Python version — by entering PyODE on the “search in darwinports” text box, and similarly for Pyrex (Cython is not 100% compatible with Pyrex, so it may not be worth the bother to tweak things for it… even though Cython tends to be better;-). Note that it will be easiest if you also install a Python version with darwinports rather than sticking to the one Apple supplies (the darwinports version will be more up-to-date and will have plenty more extensions available that might be more work to install on the Apple-supplied “system” Python).

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