How to Install Dendro for Grasshopper on Mac (Rhino 7 or 8)

Dendro is a powerful voxel-based modeling plugin for Grasshopper that lets you create organic, 3D-printable shapes, lattice structures, and custom volumetric forms. While originally built for Windows, with a few simple steps, you can get it running on macOS too. This guide is tailored for students participating in our Computational Design Workshop at Cademy, where we use Dendro for advanced voxel-based modeling workflows.

Credits: The following guide is made by compiling different resources found on the Rhino Discourse Forum. It includes the compiled version of Dendro for Mac by https://github.com/ryein/dendro and additional instruction by Timo Harboe. We’re grateful for the open-source community that made this possible.

What You’ll Need

• A Mac with Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, or M4 chip)
• Rhino 7 or 8 for Mac
• Terminal app (comes pre-installed on all Macs)
• Download the Dendro for Mac ZIP file.

Step 1: Install Homebrew

Homebrew is a tool that helps you install software and libraries via the Terminal.

1. Open Terminal (search for it using Cmd + Space).
2. Copy and paste this command:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

4. It will take a couple of minutes to completeñy install. Check it worked:

brew --version

Step 2: Install the Dendro Plugin

1. Download the Dendro for Mac ZIP file.
2. Open Rhino and type Grasshopper, then press Enter.
3. In Grasshopper, go to:
   File → Special Folders → Components Folder

4. Extract the ZIP and move its contents into this Components folder. Just keep the folder for your Rhino version and delete the other version folder.

Step 3: Install Required Libraries

Back in Terminal, install Dendro’s dependencies:

brew install boost cmake c-blosc openvdb tbb zlib

This may take a few minutes. These are needed for Dendro to function properly on Mac.

Step 4: macOS Security Settings

When you first try to use a Dendro component:

1. You’ll see a warning that macOS blocked a file.
2. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security.
3. Look for an "Allow Anyway" button — click it.

Then:

• Force quit Rhino.
• Reopen Rhino and Grasshopper.

Step 5: Allow Full Access

1. When you reopen Rhino, try to use a Dendro component again.
2. You may get another popup — choose Always Allow.

That’s it! Dendro should now be fully working on your Mac.

Need Help?

If you’re enrolled in one of our classes, you can always reach out to us before joining the session. We’re here to help you make cool stuff faster!

Happy modeling,
Team Cademy