How to open system console to get output from Blender on Mac OS 10?

Question

Noobie here.

Should I open Mac terminal and cd to /Applications/Blender/ which is where my Blender app is? Doesn't seem to work for me trying to run script from Text screen in Blender. I guess there is no way to see output within Blender itself?

Answer 1

Right click on the Blender icon in the Applications folder and select "Show Package contents". Make an alias of Contents/MacOS/Blender by right clicking and selecting "Make Alias". Rename it and move it somewhere you like.

This opens the console in the background, next to the Blender application.

source: https://www.lynda.com/Blender-tutorials/Set-up-Blender-console-window/486043/533594-4.html

Answer 2

The only way to see the Blender console and thus the script output is to launch Blender from a terminal using the full path to the executable: "/Applications/Blender/blender.app/Contents/MacOS/blender"

All script output will appear in the terminal only.

Following @DickMeehan's comment and since I hate to install yet another App, here is the AppleScript to automatically start a Blender with its Terminal window.

Note: tested on MacOS High Sierra 10.13.3 only:

    set blenderAppPath to "/Applications/Blender/blender.app/Contents/MacOS/blender"

    (* This command will open a Terminal app that should be closed with CMD-Q otherwise
   it will persist after Blender and the terminal window are closed with CMD-W *)

    set openCmd to "open -n -W -a /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app/Contents/MacOS/Terminal --args "

    do shell script openCmd & blenderAppPath

Refer to the following to make an actual clickable App using the Automator. This app can then be simply dragged to the launch bar for convenience.

https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/84348/how-can-i-create-a-stand-alone-app-to-run-a-terminal-command

Answer 3

A really quick way for mac users to do this is to create an alias using the Terminal (It's not as scary as it looks)

open Terminal

type nano ~/.bash_profile

on the first line paste this alias blender='/Applications/blender-2.80.0/blender.app/Contents/MacOS/blender'

Exit nano by ctrl + x and press y to save changes

type source ~/.bash_profile

You only need to do this once.

Now every time you need to open Blender from the command line, open terminal and type blender

Blender will launch from the terminal and you can see the output.

Answer 4

If you want to be able to launch it like any other application, the simplest way is to do this:

1. Launch Automator (it is in your Mac's Applications folder) and launch Terminal (it is in Applications/Utilities).

2. Create a new Application in Automator.

3. Type "run" in the variables search field, and drag Run Shell Script to the right part of the workspace.

4. In Finder, locate Blender.app (it is probably in your Applications folder). Right click on the app and choose Show Package Contents. Inside the Contents, navigate to /Contents/MacOS/Blender

5. Drag this Blender file onto your Terminal window and Terminal will show you the file path. For me it is /Applications/Blender\ 2.9.app/Contents/MacOS/Blender, for example.

6. Copy that file path. Inside Automator, in the Run Shell Script text field, type open then space, then paste in the file path. Example: open /Applications/Blender\ 2.9.app/Contents/MacOS/Blender

• Note: If you have multiple versions of Blender in your Applications folder (Blender 2.79b.app, Blender 2.9.app, Blender 2.92.app ...) and update regularly (as you should), then it might make more sense to create an alias in your Applications folder of .../Contents/MacOS/Blender called something like "Blender - Console" and use that for your shell script path instead: open /Applications/Blender\ -\ Console. Then you don't need to mess with Automator each time you get a new version of Blender - simply make a new alias with the name "Blender - Console". This way launching "Blender (Console).app" (or whatever you name it) will always point to the latest.

7. Name and save your launcher app in your Applications folder. Then in Finder you can drag it to your Dock.

8 (Optional). If you don't like the default robot icon, you can give your app a custom icon using Finder's Info window. In your Applications folder, select both Blender.app and your new custom app, then press CmdI to Get Info. Click on Blender.app's icon to highlight it, then CmdC to copy it. Then click to highlight your app's icon and press CmdV to paste the blender icon in.

You can create a custom icon too if you like, open it in Preview and copy it. But icon design is beyond the scope of this topic. Enjoy your custom launcher app.

---

Edit: One final thing to mention is that the first time you launch a newly installed version of Blender you should launch the Blender app normally instead of through your custom launcher. This gives macOS a chance to verify it so that you don't run into any errors when launching. In other words, let your Mac do this once:

Answer 5

Without creating a new application with Applescript and all, you can just create a shell script with the '.command' extension. The extension makes it clickable, which opens a console and executes the file.

1. Open a terminal
2. cd /Applications
3. nano Blender.command

paste this and save the file

#!/bin/sh

cd `dirname $0`;
./Blender.app/Contents/MacOS/Blender

4. chmod u+x Blender.command

Now click on the 'Blender.command' icon next to your Blender application.

Answer 6

It seem's I cannot comment.

Small note, blender 3.x is located at: /Applications/Blender.app/Contents/MacOS/Blender