Mac Installation

Introduction

For getting ConTeXt MkIV onto a Mac there are basically two routes to take. MacTeX (TeXLive distribution made especially for Mac OSX) and the ConTeXt Suite (Standalone), recommended for all those that want the most current versions or latest developments in ConTeXt.

Naturally, there are other ways, but they are more for experienced Mac users and those comfortable with using the command line.

The simplest method is to use MacTeX, but as this is essentially TeXLive you will not have the most recent binaries (generally frozen for a year).
The advantage is that you get TeX et al, fonts and some nice utilities, including the editor TeXShop (highly recommended) which can run ConTeXt and TeX-Variants from within the editor without any knowledge of the command line.
ConTeXt Suite (Standalone) is recommended for those that wish to have the latest stable version, latest developmental version, or wish to run several versions of ConTeXt side by side. The downside to the side by side approach is that you need some knowledge of how to use the command line and how to set-up the paths in a Unix environment.

MacTeX

The easiest way to install ConTeXt on Mac OSX is to use the the MacTeX distribution. MacTeX is a TeXLive distribution modified especially for use on Mac OSX. It will install every thing you need to run ConTeXt, TeX, LaTeX, Xe(La)TeX, along with the editors TeXShop and TeXWorks, the TeX Live Utility for managing updates, fonts and many other goodies.

As MacTeX is a TeXLive distribution all binaries are generally frozen for a year. If you wish to have a more current version or the latest beta version of ConTeXt you should consider, also installing the "ConTeXt Suite" often called "Standalone ConTeXt".

After installing MacTeX all you need to do is set up TeXShop to use ConTeXt, see the TeXShop page.

Installing MacTeX

Download and follow the instructions from the MacTeX site (Installer larger than 2GB, instructions for slower internet connections on the site of MacTeX)

You can also buy a TeXLive DVD (if you are a member of a TeX user group you often get it for free).

Standalone ConTeXt

The new LMTX distribution is also able to run Mark IV files. See Installation or Installing ConTeXt LMTX on MacOS for details.

Configuring ConTeXt-Aware Editors on the Mac

Typically, most editors work out of the box with MacTeX, but if you are using a version earlier than those shipped with MacTeX 2011 (TeXShop 2.42), or if you would like to use the Standalone distribution (ConTeXt Suite), you need to configure engines for ConTeXt manually.

Skim (PDF viewer)

Unless you are using TeXshop or TeXworks with built-in viewers, the recommended PDF viewer with SyncTeX support and auto-refresh on Mac OS X is Skim.