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Table of Contents

• Pre-Build Requirements
  • Python
  • Python Virtual Environment
  • CMake
  • Conan
• Building the NvNmos Library
  • Local nmos-cpp Checkout
• Run-Time Requirements

Pre-Build Requirements

Python

Having Python 3 isn't an absolute requirement but it makes the subsequent steps to install the dependencies easier.

Linux

Use the system package manager to install Python 3 and the venv module (on Debian and Ubuntu the package is python3-venv). A system-wide python3-pip install is optional if you follow the recommended virtual environment below: the virtual environment gets its own pip, which avoids touching the distribution's managed environment (PEP 668).

‍💬 Note: The -y option allows apt install to run non-interactively.

sudo apt install -y python3 python3-venv

Windows

Download the Python 3 installer from python.org and run it manually, or use the following PowerShell commands. Python 3.14.4 (64-bit Windows, latest stable release at the time) has been tested.

‍💬 Note: The ` is the PowerShell line continuation character.

Invoke-WebRequest `
  https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.14.4/python-3.14.4-amd64.exe `
  -OutFile python-3.14.4-amd64.exe
 
./python-3.14.4-amd64.exe /quiet PrependPath=1 Include_tcltk=0 Include_test=0

Confirm this Python is available on the PATH. Try closing and reopening the terminal if not.

python --version

Python Virtual Environment

For manual builds, a virtual environment in the repository root (for example, .venv) is recommended. It isolates the Python environment used for Conan and other pip-installed build tools from the system interpreter, pins compatible tool versions on PATH, and on Linux avoids PEP 668 "externally managed" errors when using the system Python.

Linux

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install --upgrade pip

Windows

From PowerShell, use the following commands.

python -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
# If PowerShell reports that "running scripts is disabled on this system" {#if-powershell-reports-that-running-scripts-is-disabled-on-this-system}
# you can adjust the execution policy as follows and try again. {#you-can-adjust-the-execution-policy-as-follows-and-try-again}
# Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser {#set-executionpolicy-executionpolicy-remotesigned-scope-currentuser}
python -m pip install --upgrade pip

Or use Command Prompt instead.

python -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\activate.bat
python -m pip install --upgrade pip

To exit the virtual environment later, run deactivate (same on Linux and Windows).

CMake

The project requires CMake 3.17 or higher; dependencies may require a higher version.

There are x86_64 and arm64 packages for CMake 3.30.0 on the Python Package Index (PyPI) which have been tested. Visual Studio 2026 requires CMake 4.2 or higher, which pip install cmake~=4.2 installs.

Linux

pip install cmake~=3.17

Windows

pip install cmake~=3.17

Conan

Using Conan simplifies fetching, building, and installing the required C++ dependencies from Conan Center.

The project requires Conan 2.2 or higher; dependencies may require a higher version. Conan 2.28.0 (latest release at the time) has been tested.

Linux

pip install conan~=2.2 --upgrade
conan profile detect

The detected profile is displayed, along with some WARN messages. For example, the following profile has been tested.

[settings]
arch=x86_64
build_type=Release
compiler=gcc
compiler.cppstd=gnu17
compiler.libcxx=libstdc++11
compiler.version=13
os=Linux

Windows

pip install conan~=2.2 --upgrade
conan profile detect
notepad (conan profile path default)

You may wish to edit the detected profile. Conan Center prebuilt binaries target MSVC 193/194 (Visual Studio 2022), not 195 (Visual Studio 2026). Set compiler.version=194 and compiler.cppstd=17 so that conan install downloads packages instead of building them from source. With Visual Studio 2026, this requires its MSVC v143 build tools, which the Visual Studio Installer offers as an individual component.

Alternatively, with Visual Studio 2026, keep the detected compiler.version=195. Conan then builds every dependency from source, which takes much longer. The nmos-cpp package needs CMake 4.2 or higher to build with Visual Studio 2026, but its recipe currently allows only CMake 3. Add the following to the profile so that Conan uses CMake 4 instead.

[replace_tool_requires]
cmake/*: cmake/[>=4.2 <5]

The following settings have been tested.

[settings]
arch=x86_64
build_type=Release
compiler=msvc
compiler.cppstd=17
compiler.runtime=dynamic
compiler.version=194
os=Windows

Building the NvNmos Library

Linux

Prepare a build directory adjacent to the src directory.

mkdir build

To install the dependencies using Conan, use the following command.

‍💬 Note: Replace <Release-or-Debug> with the necessary value. Passing --lockfile=src/conan.lock pins dependency versions per src/conan.lock (Conan Center nmos-cpp package graph). Do not pass -g CMakeToolchain or -g CMakeDeps; src/conanfile.py already generates them, and Conan fails if they are duplicated (for example when copying older command lines).

conan install src \
  --settings:all build_type=<Release-or-Debug> \
  --build=missing \
  --output-folder=src/conan \
  --lockfile=src/conan.lock

Use the following CMake command to configure the build.

‍💬 Note: Replace <Release-or-Debug> with the necessary value. The CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE path is resolved relative to the top-level src directory passed as the last argument.

cmake -B build \
  -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=conan/conan_toolchain.cmake \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=<Release-or-Debug> \
  src

Build the library and example application.

cmake --build build --parallel

Windows

Prepare a build directory adjacent to the src directory.

mkdir build

To install the dependencies using Conan, use the following command.

‍💬 Note: The ` is the PowerShell line continuation character. In the Windows command prompt, use ^ instead. Replace <Release-or-Debug> with the necessary value. Passing --lockfile=src/conan.lock pins dependency versions per src/conan.lock (Conan Center nmos-cpp package graph). Do not pass -g CMakeToolchain or -g CMakeDeps; src/conanfile.py already generates them, and Conan fails if they are duplicated (for example when copying older command lines).

conan install src `
  --settings:all build_type=<Release-or-Debug> `
  --build=missing `
  --output-folder=src/conan `
  --lockfile=src/conan.lock

Repeat the command for both Debug and Release if required.

Use the following CMake command to configure the build.

cmake -B build `
  -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE="conan/conan_toolchain.cmake" `
  -DCMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES="Debug;Release" `
  src

CMake uses the newest installed version of Visual Studio that it supports. To select a generator explicitly, add for example -G "Visual Studio 17 2022".

Build the library and application with the following command or manually using the generated Visual Studio solution.

‍💬 Note: Replace <Release-or-Debug> with the necessary value.

cmake --build build --config <Release-or-Debug> --parallel

Local nmos-cpp Checkout

To build against a clone of nmos-cpp while using Conan to resolve Boost, cpprestsdk, Avahi or mDNSResponder, and other dependencies:

1. Clone it into a directory nmos-cpp in the same parent directory as nvnmos.

2. Install Conan dependencies with the consumer option nmos_cpp_from_source=True and without the default lockfile, which is for the packaged nmos-cpp graph:

   Linux

   conan install src \
     --settings:all build_type=<Release-or-Debug> \
     --build=missing \
     --output-folder=src/conan \
     --lockfile="" \
     -o "&:nmos_cpp_from_source=True"

   Windows

   conan install src `
     --settings:all build_type=<Release-or-Debug> `
     --build=missing `
     --output-folder=src/conan `
     --lockfile="" `
     -o "&:nmos_cpp_from_source=True"

‍💬 Note: With --lockfile="", versions of dependencies such as Boost and OpenSSL are not pinned. You may choose to create a lockfile for nmos_cpp_from_source=True installs (conan lock create per profile, then conan lock merge), then pass --lockfile=<path> on conan install.

1. Configure and build as in Building the NvNmos Library above, adding -DUSE_ADD_SUBDIRECTORY=ON to the cmake configure step. (If you followed step 1, you do not need -DNMOS_CPP_DIRECTORY=<path-to-nmos-cpp/Development>.)

Run-Time Requirements

Linux

Install and run the Avahi Daemon.

apt update
apt install -y dbus avahi-daemon
 
/etc/init.d/dbus start
/etc/init.d/avahi-daemon start

‍💬 Note: Since Ubuntu 24.04, an init script is not provided for the Avahi daemon; run avahi-daemon --daemonize instead.

Windows

Install and start the Bonjour Service.

See Download Bonjour Print Services for Windows v2.0.2.