Build from source

Build the runtime and CLI from the streamlib repository. Use it while the installers roll out, on a setup they don't cover, or to work on Tatolab itself.

The runtime and CLI are built from the streamlib repository. A source build gives you the same tatolabd and tatolab the installers ship. The difference is that nothing starts the runtime for you: you run tatolabd in a terminal of its own.

What you need

Rust, installed with rustup.
uv, which the build uses to run its pinned Python tools. See Install uv.
A native toolchain and a few libraries:

On Debian or Ubuntu:
Terminal window
```
sudo apt install pkg-config protobuf-compiler libclang-dev libvulkan-dev glslc python3-dev cmake ninja-build
```
On macOS, with the Xcode command line tools (xcode-select --install) and Homebrew:
Terminal window
```
brew install shaderc cmake ninja
```
shaderc provides glslc. You don’t need a Vulkan SDK on macOS: the build puts a Vulkan loader and MoltenVK inside the runtime.

The platform requirements are the same as for the installers: Linux x86_64 with a Vulkan GPU driver, or an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 15 or later.

Build

git clone https://github.com/tatolab/streamlib.git
cd streamlib
cargo xtask build-runtime --release

The first build takes a while. When it finishes, target/tatolab-runtime/ is laid out like an installed copy:

target/tatolab-runtime/
├── bin/
│   ├── tatolabd        the runtime
│   └── tatolab         the CLI
└── lib/tatolab/lend/   the runtime's Python bindings, which each node's process loads from here

Keep bin/ and lib/ together: tatolabd finds lib/ next to itself, and each node’s process loads the runtime’s bindings from there, never from your .venv. To move the build, copy the whole tatolab-runtime folder.

Put it on your PATH:

export PATH="$PWD/target/tatolab-runtime/bin:$PATH"

Add that line, with the full path, to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc to keep it.

Start the runtime

In a terminal of its own, run:

tatolabd

Leave it running. It’s the runtime for the whole machine: every stream you run loads into it. It runs in the foreground until you press Ctrl-C.

In another terminal, check that it answers:

tatolab streams

No streams in this runtime.

You’re ready for the quickstart.

Notes for macOS

Camera and microphone prompts name your terminal app, not Tatolab, because the terminal started the runtime. Allow access for Terminal (or iTerm, or whichever you use) in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
the machine runtime lock cannot be taken: /Library/Application Support/Tatolab … does not exist. The Tatolab app creates that folder on its first launch. Without the app, run the sudo commands the message prints, once.

Updating

git pull
cargo xtask build-runtime --release

Then stop tatolabd with Ctrl-C and start it again. Streams you kept with tatolab run -d load again when it starts.

A debug build (without --release) builds faster and runs slower; it’s useful when you’re working on the runtime itself.