ROS 2 Jazzy on macOS doesn't link with mamba env python

[mora200217]

I installed ROS 2 Jazzy on macOS using the idesign0/ros2 Homebrew tap:

brew install idesign0/ros2/ros2-jazzy

The formula builds and installs successfully, but the generated ros2 executable and the Python C extensions appear to be hardcoded to a Python Framework installation that no longer exists on the system.

I am using a Mamba environment with Python 3.11:

/Users/amoralesma/conda/envs/p311/bin/python3

Environment

• macOS
• Homebrew
• ROS 2 Jazzy
• idesign0/ros2/ros2-jazzy
• Version: 26.07.31.106
• Python: 3.11
• Environment manager: Mamba

Relevant Python installations:

/Users/amoralesma/conda/envs/p311/bin/python3
/opt/homebrew/bin/python3
/usr/bin/python3

Homebrew Python 3.11 is available at:

/opt/homebrew/opt/python@3.11

---

Initial error

After installation, executing ros2 resulted in:

zsh: /opt/homebrew/opt/ros2-jazzy/bin/ros2: bad interpreter: /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.11/bin/python3: no such file or directory

The generated executable had the following shebang:

head -n 1 /opt/homebrew/opt/ros2-jazzy/bin/ros2

which pointed to:

/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.11/bin/python3

That Python installation does not exist on the machine.

---

I temporarily changed the ros2 shebang to use the Python 3.11 interpreter from the Mamba environment:

/Users/amoralesma/conda/envs/p311/bin/python3

The ros2 command then starts, but importing rclpy fails because the compiled ROS libraries themselves were built against the missing Python Framework.

The complete error is:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/opt/homebrew/opt/ros2-jazzy/bin/ros2", line 34, in <module>
    sys.exit(load_entry_point('ros2cli==0.32.11', 'console_scripts', 'ros2')())
             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/opt/homebrew/opt/ros2-jazzy/bin/ros2", line 26, in importlib_load_entry_point
    return next(matches).load()
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/Users/amoralesma/conda/envs/p311/lib/python3.11/importlib/metadata/__init__.py", line 202, in load
    module = import_module(match.group('module'))
             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/Users/amoralesma/conda/envs/p311/lib/python3.11/importlib/__init__.py", line 1176, in _find_and_load
    return _bootstrap._find_and_load(name, import_)
  File "/opt/homebrew/opt/ros2-jazzy/lib/python3.11/site-packages/ros2cli/cli.py", line 22, in <module>
    from rclpy.executors import ExternalShutdownException
  File "/opt/homebrew/opt/ros2-jazzy/lib/python3.11/site-packages/rclpy/__init__.py", line 49, in <module>
    from rclpy.signals import install_signal_handlers
  File "/opt/homebrew/opt/ros2-jazzy/lib/python3.11/site-packages/rclpy/signals.py", line 15, in <module>
    from rclpy.exceptions import InvalidHandle
  File "/opt/homebrew/opt/ros2-jazzy/lib/python3.11/site-packages/rclpy/exceptions.py", line 16, in <module>
    from rclpy.impl.implementation_singleton import rclpy_implementation as _rclpy
  File "/opt/homebrew/opt/ros2-jazzy/lib/python3.11/site-packages/rclpy/impl/implementation_singleton.py", line 32, in <module>
    rclpy_implementation = import_c_library('._rclpy_pybind11', package)
                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/opt/homebrew/opt/ros2-jazzy/lib/python3.11/site-packages/rpyutils/import_c_library.py", line 39, in import_c_library
    return importlib.import_module(name, package=package)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ImportError: dlopen(
/opt/homebrew/opt/ros2-jazzy/lib/python3.11/site-packages/rclpy/_rclpy_pybind11.cpython-311-darwin.so,
0x0002
): Library not loaded:
/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.11/Python

Referenced from:

/opt/homebrew/Cellar/ros2-jazzy/26.07.31.106/lib/liblifecycle_msgs__rosidl_generator_py.dylib

Reason:

tried:
'/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.11/Python'
'/System/Volumes/Preboot/Cryptexes/OS/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.11/Python'
'/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.11/Python'

The C extension:

/opt/homebrew/opt/ros2-jazzy/lib/python3.11/site-packages/rclpy/_rclpy_pybind11.cpython-311-darwin.so

failed to be imported while being present on the system.

Expected behavior

I would expect the Homebrew package to either:

1. Use the Python interpreter provided by the active Homebrew Python installation, or
2. Provide a clear/official way to configure the Python interpreter used by the ROS 2 Python bindings.

In particular, I would expect the generated rclpy libraries to link against a Python installation that is actually present on the system.

Actual behavior

The ROS 2 Python executables and compiled libraries reference:

/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.11/

even though that Python installation is not present.

Changing the ros2 shebang to point to another Python does not resolve the issue because the compiled .dylib files still reference the missing Python Framework.

[idesign0]

Hi @mora200217, thanks for the detailed report — the traceback makes the cause clear.

This is expected right now, and unfortunately Mamba/conda Python won't work with the current builds. The prebuilt ROS 2 binaries are compiled and linked at build time against the python.org framework Python at /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.11/. That path is baked into the install names of the compiled libraries (liblifecycle_msgs__rosidl_generator_py.dylib, _rclpy_pybind11.cpython-311-darwin.so, etc.), which is why changing the ros2 shebang gets you past the bad interpreter error but the .dylibs still fail to load — they resolve against a Python that isn't there.

For the same reason, Homebrew's python@3.11 is also not supported (it lives at a different path), and there's no per-interpreter configuration option at the moment — the linkage is fixed when the binaries are built, not something the tap can rewire at install time.

The supported setup right now is python.org Python 3.11:

1. Install the macOS universal2 3.11 installer from https://www.python.org/downloads/macos/
2. brew unlink python@3.14 (or whatever Homebrew Python version is linked)
3. Add /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.11/bin to your PATH
4. Verify: which python3 → /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.11/bin/python3

Full steps are in the Prerequisites section of the tap README. Once the framework Python is active (and the mamba env deactivated / not on PATH), ros2 and rclpy should both load correctly.

Configurable-interpreter support (conda/Homebrew) would need the binaries to be relinked, so I'll keep it in mind as a possible future improvement, but framework Python is the way forward for now. Let me know if you still hit issues after switching.